Review: Bunk Taksim

SCORE: 8.1/10

LOCATION: ISTANBUL, TURKEY

NIGHTS: 4

DATES: 16TH AUGUST – 20TH AUGUST

ROOM: 6 BED FEMALE DORM WITH PRIVATE BATHROOM

STAFF 10/10

The few times I talked to the staff they were friendly and helpful when asking for good places to eat or best way to walk to a sight/attraction. Also the staff that worked at the rooftop bar were incredibly nice

LOCATION 8/10

Although the hostel is only 5 minutes walk away from the Havatas Airport Bus, metro about 5 minute walk away with line direct to Faith and short 15 minute walk from the main shopping street in Taksim the hostel is very far away from all the main sights and attractions such as the Mosques and Palaces. As Istanbul is a large city with a lot of suburbs within I found it quite hard to find a good location hostel.

CLEANLINESS 7/10

My room was clean to an extent, but the walls had a lot of scratches and marks and the floors were very dirty from peoples shoes and rubbish. The bathroom, although wasn’t that dirty apart from hair in the shower was never cleaned which I found disgusting. The room looked nothing the photos online.

COMFORT 7/10

Bed wise the mattress was comfortable, however the pillow was misshaped and lumpy so I had a hard time sleeping. Although this is not the hostel’s fault it did end up playing a large part in my overall review of this hostel. The girls I shared the room with were being very inconsiderate and loud, especially between 11pm and 2am they would come in turn all the lights on, have showers and sort out their suitcases before going to bed while fully knowing others including myself were sleeping.

FACILITIES 8.5/10

I loved the rooftop terrace it had great views of Istanbul and was a nice place to chill out and relax. The room was good as each bed had a shelf with 2 plugs and a reading light. Although in the bathroom the lockers were excellent as they were large enough to fit in my backpack and you created your own unique code for the locker which I thought was a smart idea. The WiFi was pretty good, occasionally it would cut out. I also loved that my room had two balconies.

Greek Island Hopping

This is the tour I am most excited about as I have always wanted to visit the Greek Islands. I found this tour through their sister company’s website Sail Croatia. This tour “Greek Island Hopping” by MedExperience is a small group tour (max 30 pax) that island hops around 4 Greek islands starting in Athens. This tour runs every second day between June and September. The main focus of this tour is to travel between islands on a low budget while having fun swimming in crystal clear blue waters during the day and partying with your group of new friends at night till sunrise. Down below I have

Cost:£399 ($830AU)

11 days/10 nights (3rd-13th September)

1 Country / 4 Islands 

– Santorini

– Ios

– Paros

– Mykonos

Transportation: Ferry

Accomodation:

Athens- Athens International Youth Hostel

Santorini- Santorini Camping

Ios- Sunrise Hotel

Paros- Siroco’s Rooms & Studios

Mykonos- Paradise Resort

Review: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage

   

Score: 7.8/10

Location: London, England

Nights: 5

Dates: 4th April – 9th April 2015

Room: 12 bed female dorm with en-suite

Staff 8/10

The staff at reception were really friendly and helpful when asking for directions. However the staff/cleaners that came into the room to clean were rather rude and always had an angry look on their face, they didn’t ever say hello and act friendly.

Location 8.5/10

I loved the location! At Swiss Cottage, northwest of Central London. The hostel was literally a 2 minute walk to a tube station and was very close to some shops and restaurants such as McDonald, KFC and this really great pub. By Tube it only took about 7-10 minutes before you were in Piccadilly Circus.

Cleanliness 7/10

This hostel wasn’t the cleanest in fact, it was quite dirty. The en-suite bathroom that I shared with 12 others was always dirty with muddy floors from people’s jandals that they wore outside then wore in the shower and always had hair everywhere. I know this isn’t the hostels fault but I wish they would of cleaned more often. In the 5 days I was there I only saw them clean 1 time. The room itself wasn’t exactly dirty, but it was very old and the carpets and curtains on the beds were not very nice at all.

Comfort 7.5/10

The beds were actually really good, very comfortable, but the bunk itself was very old and seemed unstable, which was bad considering I was on the lower bunk. However, I did like that there was a small shelf overhead with a reading light for each bed. The room was quite large and a good size for 12 people.

Facilities 8/10

There was a common room I didn’t use, but saw it had free coffee/tea and two vending machines and also a restaurant downstairs (in the basement) which I thought was a great idea. The WiFi from what I remember was good. I loved how at the reception they had over 20 different brochures and maps for London for free so you always left the hostel knowing what to do and how to get there. The one thing I didn’t like was there wasn’t a plug socket for each person, I was fortunate to have my bed right by one so I could charge my phone and still use it in bed.

Review: Code Pod Hostel

Score: 9.1/10

Location: EDINBURGH, Scotland

Nights: 3

Dates: 1st April – 4th April 2015

Room: 6 bed mixed dorm

 

Staff 9/10

I didn’t have much contact with the staff as everything ran smoothly during my visit and due to my lack of time in Edinburgh I was out the door at 8am and not back till 9pm. But the few times I did speak with the staff they were incredibly always friendly and nice.

Location 10/10

The location was amazing in the new town of Edinburgh, literally only a 2 minute walk before you are on princess street that main area for shopping and public transport. But the street the hostel was on still had a medieval vibe with cobblestone streets. The old town of Edinburgh is also very close only about a 10 minute walk away so in the perfect position for both modern era shopping and history.

Cleanliness 9/10

The hostel was kept immaculate. Cleaned every day (as all hostels should) and done thoroughly the bathrooms were always spotless and never dirty or smelly, dorms are always clean and my sheets were in excellent condition. A lot cleaner than some of the hotels I have stayed in.

Comfort 8.5/10

The pods are such an awesome idea. Your bed/bunk has the head against the wall with two walls on either side and a curtain at the end for optimal privacy. My mattress, however was a little thin, so when you rolled over you could feel the wooden boards underneath. All pods were equipped with a charging point, reading light, a small shelf and a rack at the end of your pod for your towel.

Facilities 9/10

I didn’t use much of the facilities as I was rarely there. The bathrooms were great. The showers had two areas a drying/changing area and then the shower part, between the two was a glass door not a curtain which meant no water went everywhere. The common room and kitchen upstairs, I didn’t use, but did and a look and was good with couches and cooking appliances for you to use. There was also a balcony off the common room and it had amazing views of parts of Edinburgh. You did get free breakfast, but I never got a chance to try as breakfast was so late in the morning I was already gone. The best part of this hostel was the code you got in your locker and the front door, instead of a key or card they give each person a unique 4 number code that you type in to get through the front door and you use to unlock your locker.

So far the best hostel I have ever stayed at.

Review: St Christopher’s Inn

Score: 7.9/10

Location: Paris, France

Nights: 5

Dates: 27th March – 1st April 2015

Room: 4 bed female dorm with private bathroom

Staff 9/10

The staff was incredibly friendly and always up for a chat with you and other travellers. What I found most appealing with the staff was they were all backpackers themselves. The staff was always helpful and informative about how to see the best sites and what local restaurants to go

Location 8/10

I really liked the location some may find it too far from the city centre (closer to the Eiffel Tower). Located in the 10th ARR of Paris the hostel was right next to Gare du Nord Station and only a 20min walk to Montmartre District including Sacré-Cœur. This is a great location if you don’t want to be in a bustling tourist crowded area but the more of a local area. It took me 35min to walk to the Louvre.

Cleanliness 7/10

My bed sheets did have a large yellow stain when I arrived (GROSS) so I asked downstairs at the reception and they were more than happy to give me another one. The bathroom was always clean except the floor due to no floor mat so water went everywhere. All in all acceptable.

Comfort 8/10

I really liked the beds they were proper mattresses they were incredibly comfortable. Each bed had a curtain to pull across perfect for some privacy. Also, each bed had a reading light, USB plug and 1 charger point with a little shelf above head. The room itself was a good size for 4 people, it had a desk and chair with a full length mirror.

Facilities 7.5/10

The bar and restaurant were great they had live bands playing at night and the food on the menu looked amazing. However the free breakfast in the morning was a let down it consisted of cereal and milk with stale bread and jam and water downed juice. Probably my favourite room (don’t ask me why) was the laundry great service had 6 washers and 6 dryers sold packs of washing powder and softener for 1 euro in a vending machine. WiFi was great! Always working fine no matter where you were in the building.