Review of Generator Hostel-London. #BEDM

On my recent stay in London I had the pleasure of staying at the Generator Hostel, as money was a little tight for my visit I thought it would be a sensible option especially when I wouldn't actually be spending much time in the room as I'd be at Blogtacular. 

Now the truth is I'm a hostel virgin, I never backpacked around Europe and normally want the hotel experience for my Husband and I. I've shared hotel rooms before with strangers when helping out with stores openings across the country and managed fine, I'm quite easy going like that; not everyone would be.
Although it's a strange feeling that you maybe sharing a bedroom with a complete stranger, to be honest I was too knackered to care. You can also book single, twin, quad or 10 bedroom dorms.
Prices start at £26.50, although they quote often have special deals on.

On arrival I was struck by the haphazard, but obviously well thought out design elements and well structured communal areas. These left enough room for small groups to be together but not encroach onto others.

I had gallery wall envy here, all the decor looked homely, clean and comforting which if you were spending quite some time from home would probably be a great space to come back to. The whole hostel also came with free wi-fi, which as I was at a blogging conference was a bonus to keep up to date afterwards.

The only disappointing thing (for me anyway) was the uninspiring breakfast, it seemed to lack much imagination but would certainly sustain you till lunch. Maybe a better option would be to wait till 10.30am for the option of a full English instead in their bar area, sadly this wasn't something I could try out, or try some of the wonderful cafes nearby that had more options. I would have really liked the chance to sample their menu but timings for the conference and then the train was against me, it looks like really nice food.

The Russell Street tube is only 5 minutes from here making it a great venue for travelling around London and sightseeing, I'd definitely consider staying here with my children when we come to visit London. I saw other children staying that were enjoying the Eurovision show and colouring at this huge table on the Saturday. I think this would be a hugely exciting adventure for them, and give them the opportunity to communicate with strangers in a positive atmosphere. 

 The whole building had quirky artwork at every turn, this mural was in the stairwell to the ground floor.

This is my bunk, although I actually swapped with Emily Beale so she could relive her childhood of sleeping on the top bunk. The room had 3 sets of bunks, sink, mirror, and underbed storage for your valuables. I was shocked at how comfortable these bunks were, the mattress is probably better than the one on my own bed, and sleep came pretty easy to me both nights. 

A few tips for staying here: 1. Bring photo ID (as it says on the booking form) they will smirk when the only ID you have is your local museum card with a stupid photo on it. 2. Bring a small padlock to lock the underbed storage and protect your stuff, or you can either buy one in the hostel travel shop for £4 or trust people to leave it alone which they probably would but you never know. 3. Do not forget you're in a hostel and barge into the hotel room at 11pm like a herd of rino, there maybe people who checked in after you that have already gone to bed in your room, sorry lady. Also a small torch, or app on your phone maybe useful so you don't have to switch main lights on and disturb folk. 4. Do not lose your room keycard, Generator London is sited down a back alley which I thought may have been scary at night, however we were pleasantly surprised to find door staff waiting to check people in when we came back that night, they did want to see your keycard to get in though.  5. Use the common rooms to party, meet friends, watch movies on your tablet etc... thats what they're for as well as making new friends, although I wasn't there long enough for that. It did make me wish Stu and I had travelled and stayed this way while young, it could have been a great adventure instead we'll hopefully pass that opportunity to our children. 
Until next time Generator, and I'm sure there will be.