When I made the decision to go to England in 2022, a friend of mine mentioned hostels. Until that time, I had never heard of such a thing and, being the introvert that I am, I was unsure about this concept of staying in a dorm like atmosphere with people I had never met before. However, everyone who worked at the Astor Hyde Park Hostel and those who were staying there, along with the friend who traveled with me, made the experience comfortable and fun and unforgettable for me. In fact, due to my great experience here, hostels will typically be my way of staying whenever I do go on my travels.
Admittedly, the reason I picked this hostel at first was how close it was to Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea play. I did a great deal of research before I made my decision, and the reviews of the hostel were extremely helpful in making my decision as well. Regardless, they were very easy to work with when I first checked in, and allowed me to put my stuff in a staging closet and change (since check ins were not official until 2PM) and then the receptionist was very helpful and kind in getting me the directions to my first destination, Twickenham.
The staff were friendly, and one of them was from Kentucky, and as someone who is originally from Indiana, it was great to see another Mid Westerner in London, and we were able to share a couple anecdotes about where we lived and what it must be like to be from the Mid West of the States and living in a city that is as vibrant as London. After the trip, we exchanged Instagram handles and it has been neat to see some of his posts and feel like I am keeping up with someone from the trip.
There was one evening, that same staff member was looking for the remote for the TV in the common room, something that became somewhat of a sideshow to watch, and it led to what became a "manhunt" for that remote. After a few moments of an entertaining search, another guest brought about the idea of some of us playing a game. We all started out playing the phone game "Heads Up" and from there we played a game that was akin to charades. A couple hours later, a few dozen laughs and we all realized it was midnight and we needed to get some sleep.
One afternoon, I was sitting and looking up tickets during some down time that I had while my friend was taking a short nap, one of the staff members came into the common area and began to play piano and sing along with what she was playing. I am was not sure what song she was singing, as it was in a foreign language, but I do recall it being very pretty, and something that caused me to stop what I was doing and listen to her and enjoy being in the moment.
Breakfast was served for about 3.50 GBP, or about $5 USD, whichever way you wanted to look at it. It was nice to be able to get something in our stomachs before we headed on out for the day and get in a little socializing with other travelers as well. The bathroom in our dorm was clean everyday we were there, and the dorm was kept nice and tidy. My friend and I stayed in the mixed 12 bed with an en suite and even though there were 12 of us, everyone kept it looking and smelling nice and were very courteous of one another when it came to using the restroom and the shower.
In terms of safety, I had no issues with leaving behind anything important or even sleeping in the hostel. I felt that the travelers were very respectful of each other and I never once felt like any of my items or my personal safety were going to be in jeopardy. You needed a PIN code in order to access the hostel from the reception area and you needed a key card in order to get into the dorms. Astor Hyde did everything it could to make sure that those who were staying in the hostel were safe and secured.
The hostel was about a 15 minute walk to the closest tube station and from there, it was 25 minute tube ride to Buckingham Palace, 27 minutes to Piccadilly Circus, and as I mentioned before, close enough to Stamford Bridge that one could walk there in 45 minutes or take the tube and be there in 25 minutes. One of the first places my friend and I went to was Kensington Palace, and it was an 11 minute walk through Hyde Park to get there. The hostel is close enough to any of the major attractions in London that you can access them easily, but also far enough away from the major part of downtown London.
Overall, my time at the hostel was extremely positive and the place was priced extremely reasonably as well. I was able to exchange social media information with a couple different people and even kept in contact with one of them in the last couple years. As someone who is introverted, as I mentioned earlier, the experience I had at the hostel was extremely pleasant and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is staying in the Kensington area of London.
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