YHA Reviews 

Just visited YHA Edale with 150 other walkers from the fire service, they coped brilliantly with the amount of people and the food was excellent. Rooms were clean and comfy and we were well looked after. If I had any tiny comments the shower pressure wasn't great, but it's an old building with lots of people using it, so to be expected. We had an absolute blast, and YHA made it easier.

Hawes YHA is in a beautiful location on the Pennine Way. The hostel is cosy and super clean. The food is home cooked and delicious and the wardens are friendly and helpful. This is how all hostels should be!

Set in beautiful surroundings the YHA hostel in Ilam Hall is really well run, with friendly, helpful staff. The National Trust park in which the hall sits is full of beautiful mature trees and adjoins a local river which makes a lovely walk in either direction

I stayed at YHA Bridges in early May, to be near the Long Mynd, especially to look at Ediacaran rocks. The site is wonderful, tucked away and with many routes for walking and cycling from the door, as well as the 20 minutes drive over the Mynd to Church Stretton. The hostel is simple and individualistic, built as a tiny school in1860s; the manager has converted the space to suit being a cosy hostel and has built annexes which blend seamlessly with the Victorian architecture: a pleasing blend of convenience and the genuine/original. The facilities are simple and down to earth; I self catered but it can be arranged for the manager to cook for groups. It must be a great place for a group to go and is small enough for solo travellers easily to fall into conversation, as I did. The manager was very helpful and advised me about how best to set about what I wanted to do.

The Youth Hostel at Sill is close to Hadrian's Wall and Sycamore Gap. The location is fantastic, the staff brilliant and food is excellent. It is ideal for walkers. It is a hostel not a hotel. Hostels are more friendly than most hotels and I would strongly recommend the YHA for active people of all ages, such as walkers, cyclists and climbers. I have been using YH hostels for 60 years.

Such value for money and a great chance to meet new people. YHA has given me a new sense of adventure as a single, late 40s woman. Love it.

If I could give a zero review I would have. Our dogs were poisoned and required out of hour vets. Not only will the YHA not own up to it (full proof, video and vets bill) but they have refused to even pay the vets bill. This was a 50th birthday party, thousands of pounds spent on the venue and weekend and most of it spent at rhe vets.

Open bait traps, children, dogs, anybody could have been there.
Sod you YHA, a life long supporter who will never visit your sites again.

We stayed one night at YHA The Sill Hadrians wall. It was fantastic and I really don't know how they provide such good accomodation at this price. The staff were all friendly and professional throughout our stay and couldn't do more to help guests. The whole place was spotlessly clean. The rooms were warm and comfortable and I slept really well. The bathroom was well maintained with a good shower. We will definitely be back

A lovely hostel in a splendid old building, set an a marvellous grounds.
The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. I stayed in a shared room which was really clean, as were the facilities. The only problem I had was that there were two very loud snorers in the shared room which resulted in a broken sleep.

Cleaner and more comfortable than the timeshare or any AirBnB I used to visit. Very friendly staff, building and facilities very well maintained. I used to travel staying at YHA when I was younger, and am now really appreciating again the continuity in standard, cleanliness and level of freedom you have with the YHA. It's my preferred way of holiday.

Used the YHA at Pen-y-Pass as a base to climb Snowdon and explore the area. We had a great time, enjoyed breakfast and evening meals, cosy areas to sit and relax and the well-equipped kitchen to self-cater the odd meal

We love YHA and have had loads of great experiences with YHA but we had a really annoying experience when changing our bookings recently because unexpected surgery meant we couldn’t go on holiday when planned.

(Our booking was still over a month away.)

YHA lets you ‘request a change to your booking’ so I did this rather than cancel outright because we like YHA and still wanted to get away but later in the year.

I checked the price and availability for the changes we wanted.

What I didn’t realise was that YHA still charge 20% fee to change a booking which is the same as if you cancel it.

I’m sure it is included in the small print but it seems a total waste of time to ‘request a booking change’ when the fee is exactly the same as cancelling and rebooking yourself.

In the 1wk plus for YHA to action my request the price/availability, which I checked when I put the requests in, significantly changed.

I would have been better to just cancel and rebook myself at the time rather than wait for YHA to do it, spending an hour on the chat unpicking what the new availability was/would cost via an agent.

I strongly recommend YHA makes this clearer or ideally removes or reduces the booking change fee if the booking is more than a month away.

Whilst it may be convenient for some people to have an agent arbitrarily adjust there booking for them I’d be surprised that the majority would be fine with any new price decided at the time you action it as per your ‘dynamic pricing’.

Excellent organisation. Providing first class accommodation.

I stayed at YHA Lee Valley.The room I was given, a hole appeared in the ceiling.Water poured onto me, the floor and my clothes through that hole in the ceiling. Apparently that water came directly from the shower in the room above me.There were cracks in the ceiling and damp patches in the ceiling. The hostel seemed to be unaware of this.
When I spoke to the hard to find hostel manager, she was rude,very rude. Refused to answer any of my questions or engage with me. The hostel overall was shoddy,shabby and unprofessional. It was advertised as having 24 hr recpetion, but this wasnt actually true because they were 'short staffed'. So far YHA Lee Valley has refused to compensate me.
Also the room had a heater with a wheel missing. YHA thinks this is perfectly fine and not important. I have formed the opinion through my experience and my interaction with them, that they are a truly rubbish organization. Do not stay at Lee Valley. It is rubbish. Mostly because the manager of that hostel has made it so.

The manager who interviewed me at the Cheshunt branch in Hertfordshire was very kind, but after her departure, the new management proved to be disappointing. Unfortunately, the new manager made inappropriate comments about a customer disliking me because of my skin color. When I was eventually let go, it led me to believe that it was due to my skin color, which is unacceptable. While the organisation itself is a great company to work for, the management exhibited racist behaviour. I hesitated to leave a review initially, but I felt compelled to share my experience to prevent it from happening to anyone else.

Awfull experience. Member of stuff walked in the room without knocking the door …so embarrassing. But hostel head office only believe on his based on lie statement when he excepted on the spot he made mistake and should have knock the door 1st.
Sooo disappointed and completely waste of time and money … also bed bags there .. will never go again… please avoid…

Great location, lovely atmosphere, very helpful friendly staff. Quiet.

Chester YHA has a fixation with photo-id. I have stayed at many hostels over 40 years sometimes without photo-id and have never been refused but last night Chester YHA turned me out of my pre-booked room and left me no option but to sleep in our car. It was a degrading experience and I am considering giving up my membership. This is the worst treatment I have ever received anywhere from the hospitality sector in the UK or abroad.

My partner and I arrived by car for our pre-booked night for 2 YHA members at Chester YHA. I do not drive but my partner does and has a photo on the driving licence. The booking was in my partner's name and the photo on the driving licence was accepted as valid photo-id. I have no equivalent. I endevoured to satisfy the requirement for id by showing my credit card and my YHA card. We were given the room key but a few minutes later the receptionist appeared and told me to leave the room, while my partner was allowed to stay. The manager had been called and decided my id was to be rejected because there is an obsession with a photo. I said I would oblige and expected a refund. I was told that I would need to phone customer services in the morning and explain the situation to them if I wanted a refund. In disgust I spent a cold night in our car.
In the morning I was told that charging is by room and therefore as one of us occupied the room, no refund is due. This is despite the cost-per-head doubling and the inconvenience and discomfort to myself. There was not a word of regret from Chester YHA ; this is the way their system is supposed to work.

There are million of people in the UK who do not have photo-id, nor is there any requirement by law to have one. These millions are ineligible to stay at Chester YHA regardless of what other forms of id they possess.

Most hotels I stay at do not check id at all, providing you have the booking reference. The YHA could do the same, but doesn't.

The YHA issues membership cards which their own staff routinely sneer at and dismiss as potential forgeries, to the degree that there is no point in issuing these membership cards and presenting one merely makes you the object of derision. There is widespread requirement with photo-id in the YHA, though no database check is made against card details to authenticate them. Rather, YHA staff merely certify that photo-id has been presented. It stands to reason that, since no authentication is carried out, photo-id is inherently no more secure than non-photo-id. This should be apparent to anyone but I mention it only because YHA staff routinely tell me that they recognise only photo-id as anything else is assumed to be a forgery. They ignore that photo-id is just as liable to forgery. Moreover, since there is no authentication, the photo-id provides is no check on criminality or an anything else.

If YHA seriously believed that photo-id provided security, they would incorporate a photo into their own membership card and require staff to check the card details against their database. Instead, YHA have chosen to rely exclusively on unauthenticated photo-id nominally issued by third parties and thereby to marginalise non-drivers and UK nationals who are not passport holders.

As stated above, my experience over many years is that most hostel managers realise the absurdity of the photo-id requirement and tend not to enforce it strictly. However, Chester YHA has a fixation with photo-id and the experience of dealing with staff there was akin to dealing with automata, unamenable to reason. Their mantra is: photo-id, photo-id, photo-id.

This review would merit zero stars but I give it one star to reflect the fact that we were able to transfer our baggage from the car into the room before my partner went to bed, thereby freeing up space on the car's back seat for me to lie on. Otherwise Chester YHA would have had me in the open.

YHA Blacksail and Ennerdale, led by dedicated outdoor professional and assistant manager Anthony, supported by manager Steve, provides an exceptional gateway to the transformative power of adventure in the great outdoors. Anthony's commitment to facilitating meaningful experiences shines through, making every visit a catalyst for personal growth.

In an era dominated by social media's illusions, Anthony ensures that YHA's Ennerdale and Blacksail offer a refreshing escape. By disconnection from mobile internet, Wi-Fi, and mobile phone networks, these havens create a space for genuine connection, teamwork, and reflection—free from the noise of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The absence of distractions allows for a level playing field where individuals of all ages but particulary yout of limited means can be, whether it's a first night away or the thrill of conquering a mountain. YHA's commitment to affordability makes the Lake District National Park and its enchanting landscapes accessible to everyone.

As a charity, YHA plays a vital role in shaping young lives, welcoming over 425,000 guests under 26 last year alone. Beyond offering affordable stays, the organisation provided 8,000 children facing challenges with free and supported breaks. Supporting YHA means supporting opportunities for discovery and personal development because, as they believe, where you go changes who you become.

We would like to commend Anthony and Steve for their dedication and hard work running not one but two YHA hostels in tandem with limited resources. It’s a challenging and difficult job but they make a success of it.

We previously stayed at the YHA Berwick upon Tweed 2 years ago, which was both cheap and comfortable. We have just phoned up for an overnight stay in April for 2 adults and was quoted £70, this seems largely inflated as we have been quoted £61.99 for the same day at Travelodge. Knowing that we will get a nicer room, tea/coffee making facilities/tv and a nice bed, how do the YHA justify £70 ??. Also 2 years ago YHA accepted dogs - but no more. Very disappointed.