Good accessible bathroom, good prices, bedroom a bit cheerless
4
4
Date of visit: August 2018
I have experience of challenges around: moving around
Overall Rating
Good
I was pleased to find an accessible ensuite bedroom at such a reasonable price in Alnwick, and I'd go to Alnwick Youth Hostel again, but I hope they've got plans to perk up the room.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
Getting around the ground floor of the hostel was fine as long as there were people around to help with heavy doors, and the best bit was the attractive and spacious dining room at the back. It's a bit of a shame, though, that the construction of the dining room extension meant that the bedroom now used as an accessible room lost its window (which had to be blocked up because otherwise it would have looked straight into the dining room). This has obviously made the accessible room dark, but it needn't be quite as cheerless as it is at the moment: a lick of paint, better lighting and sorting out the damp patch on the ceiling would help a lot. In contrast, the spacious accessible bathroom adjoining the room is surprisingly good, with proper rails and a wetroom shower with seat and a hose you can hold. Be aware that the accessible room is technically a single room, although when I went there I noticed they had squeezed in a second folding bed if we'd needed it.
Parking & Transport
Good
The hostel doesn't have its own parking, but we had no trouble finding blue badge street parking nearby.
Accessible Toilets
Excellent
It was the best thing about the room!
Staff
Good
The staff were pleasant but very busy - seemed a case of one or two people having to do everything. This small hostel isn't staffed all the time, so be careful not to lock yourself out of your room! One thing I'd like to thank the staff for is finding a way to accommodate me and my family when I phoned (hoping to book an accessible family room). They explained that their accessible room wasn't big enough for the three of us, but that if I was happy to stay in it on my own, they would book a neighbouring dorm room as a private room for my partner and our young son, and this worked well. And the prices at Alnwick hostel are so reasonable that booking two rooms in this way was easily affordable.
Additional Information
Just a bit of information: Alnwick Youth Hostel is an independent hostel, but affiliated to the YHA, and you can book through the YHA website: https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-alnwick The hostel also has its own website which includes a contact number so you can phone and talk about access: http://www.alnwickyouthhostel.co.uk/
