YHA London Oxford Street

If you’d like to visit London on a budget, staying at a hostel is the way to go. With the British pound being so strong these days, this is also a good way to stretch your dollar a little further.
I stayed at the YHA Oxford Street during my recent trip to London. This hostel was centrally located within walking distance of Oxford Street and the famous Piccadilly Square. The building is nondescript. The front entrance is slightly hidden except for a sign that says YHA Oxford Street.
To get to the reception area, you’ll need to take a short ride on the elevator or walk up three flights of steps to get to the third floor. The reception area is tiny and is often occupied by travelers either checking in or checking out. This is also where you sign up for tours or group activities if that’s your thing. The reception staff members are cordial but not overly friendly.
I stayed in a four-​person dorm with three other ladies. The room was about the size of a typical one-​bedroom with four bunk beds. The room had a small sink and large individual lockers. Showers and toilets were located just across the hall from our room.
The hostel offers a breakfast for £4.99 each morning that consists of croissants, cold cuts, toast, coffee/​tea. Taking advantage of the breakfast presented me with the opportunity to mingle with the other travelers in the small break room that seats about fifteen people.
The guests were a mix of young adults and families. This is not a party hostel, which is great for people like me who plan to be out and about as much as possible and then want to come back to the room at night to actually get some sleep.
The location is safe. Both the main entrance and the individual rooms were accessible using a key card. Each bed had an individual outlet next to it. WiFi was available in the common areas, but not in the individual rooms.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The YHA isn’t the Ritz-​Carlton, but it’s a good value for the money.

I stayed at YHA Oxford Street for 5 days in October while traveling around Europe. I found this hostel on Hostel World and was initially attracted to it because of it’s location, the reasonable rate (I paid about $ 35 a night), and because of its ratings and how clean and well appointed it appeared from all of the photos.
I arrived and found two very helpful people at the front counter who checked me in. I got a key to room 3 on the main floor near the kitchen and bathrooms. Initially I thought this area might be a little noisy but it wasn’t at all. Over the course of 5 days I never heard a noise and was never woken up by people in the hallway, etc. The rooms were clean, had their own sink, and featured giant lockers to stow away gear. The room had a giant window looking down to the street offering tons of natural light and the beds were very comfortable. I only wish that the room had some seating but otherwise the setup was good.
As for amenities, the hostel had a laundry facility in the basement for a fee (£1 per wash and dry), luggage storage (£3), towel rental (£5 deposit + £2 fee), not to mention a kitchen to use as well as an eclectic lounge and dining area. The front desk had different beverages and food available for purchase and also offered discounted tickets to various London attractions. I took advantage of discounted tickets to the Tower of London which were open ended and available for use at any point within a period of time.
As for the location, the hostel is located in Soho which is a vibrant part of London with plenty of bars, restaurants, stores, and it’s not far from Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus making anyplace in London just a short tube ride away. The only thing I disliked about this hostel was the ridiculous stairwell to get from the ground floor up to the lobby. I almost needed a Sherpa when I arrived on the first day.
Would I stay here again? Yup! The staff were great, the accommodations were comfortable, and the rate was perfect. The location made it easy to take advantage of many of the cool sites that make a trip to London so memorable. 4 Stars!

Amazing experience at YHA Oxford st! After staying at a different hostel the night before and having a terrible night, I was pleasantly surprised at how large (by hostel standards) the room was. The room was clean and had a fan, plenty of locker space, and good beds. The bathrooms and showers were in great shape. It felt like I was back in my old college dorm and I had no issues whatsoever. On top of that– its in a great location in Soho. And for less than £20 a night this is a great deal. I would love to stay here again.

We have stayed at the YHA London Oxford Street for 6 different trips to London. We are always very happy and satisfied with this hostel! Plus nothing can beat the location!!! Will be coming back for many years to come :)!!! Plus easy access to M&S, Starbucks, Prêt and Oxford Street!

Absolutely fantastic hosteling experience. The location is fabulous. The rooms are relatively quiet. The duvets are incredibly cozy. Plenty of hot water and water pressure. Well-​appointed kitchen. Basically, awesome. :)

Traveling solo to Soho, I booked the YHA because of it’s high ratings on
. What a great decision! This will be my fourth stay in a European hostel, so I have some basis for comparison.
The building is secure, with a call box at the door so you can be let in for check in. The door is always locked. There is an elevator to reception, which is open 24 hours a day (very convenient). Check in was easy, although — as another reviewer stated — they charge for EV-​RY-​THANG. This includes the norm (drinks, coffee, towel use), and the not-​quite-​as-​normal (padlocks — the lockers don’t lock on their own, wifi, luggage storage). It’s not outrageous — a padlock was £3, but just be prepared to spend a little.
The whole place overall is very hip. There is a lounge in reception where you can sit and have a beer, wine, or cider — available at the reception desk! There is a bigger lounge with tables to sit and eat, bean bag chairs, and computers with paid internet access. There is an ABUNDANCE of information in reception about local sights, unique tours (Camden pub crawl, for example), and YHA offers (slightly) reduced admission to most tourist attractions.
In terms of the actual room and accommodations: I was in a 4-​bed female dorm. 2 set of 2 bunks, one on either side of the room, which was about 8′ x 10′. There were 2 lockers stacked: 2′ wide and 4′ tall. The other two lockers were in drawer form under the bottom bunks and looked to be about 1′ tall and 3′ wide, so if you don’t get a stacked locker, your luggage will just have to be pushed under the bunk, not locked up. There is a sink, a regular mirror, and a full-​length mirror in the corner. Rooms have their own radiators so you can adjust the heat, key-​card access to get in, and a big picture window. Beds and pillows were not super comfortable, but they were alright. Each bed has its own reading light and charging outlet. Linens are provided at no extra charge.
Showers were clean and hot, even for a long shower; bathrooms are minuscule but functional. Walls were a little thin in the hostel — I could hear the neighbors talking, but seriously, for the cost, you have to know you’re not staying at the Ritz.
The only drawback I found was the wifi — you have to pay for it, and you could only access the signal in the lounge, not in any of the rooms. A bit of a pain.
Everything else was pretty great, and I would definitely recommend YHA Oxford Street if you are hitting London!

Supposedly this place had a renovation so I don’t know how bad it was before, but it was pretty clean and seemed updated when my group of 4 arrived.
It’s probably got the best location and with a group of 4, we got our own room. It’s in the heart of SoHo and with only a less than 10 minute walk from Oxford Circus, it’s easy to get to anywhere in London.
The receptions were nice and although everything was charged, from water, to coffee, and all the above, it was understandable. After all, we’re paying 80 euros a night for something that could easily cost us triple that.
The kitchen was easy access. The bathrooms were shared and had hot water. They cleaned everything everyday and that was definitely reassuring. We were able to just come and go as we please. Although the crowd seemed to vary in ages (typically its nice to see people 20−30s, but who can blame ya) there were different floors that may have been a problem for people upstairs. We lucked out in the first floor where the reception was so lugging our baggage wasn’t too bad.
I’d highly recommend the place to anyone with a group and is looking to explore London. Although the lounge isn’t big and as inviting for socializing within the hostel, Soho probably already warrants having to get out of the hostel and go explore. Happy hours around the neighborhood seemed to be a big hit so I’d suggest hitting those up.

Newly renovated since the last person’s review, I think. It was super nice for a hostel! You are basically just paying for a clean bed to sleep in and a place to keep your things. Our double bed room was nice and had it’s own sink. Everything was very clean, even the toilets and showers. The reception was friendly and helpful with our questions about the city. It had a nice kitchen where you were allowed to keep food (marked with your name) if you like, a nice lounge area with computers with internet available (1 pound per 20 min.). The best thing is the location! Right in the middle of the West End (Soho, Covent Garden, etc.), really close to Oxford Street shopping, Oxford Circus tube station, and a Barclays cycle hire rack just around the corner. I would definitely stay there again.

A friend and I decided to rough it for a few days here. The price was right and the location –right in Soho– is simply amazing. The luxury hotel we were staying at didn’t have a room for a few of the nights, so why not rough it in the heart of Soho.
Well, it’s true, the location is unbeatable. Arriving could not be easier. Just get off at Oxford Circus and it’s a short walk away. Soho is all its glory is right at your footsteps. Unfortunately, I think the location is the only thing that lived up to expectations.
Ok, well I might as well get it out. The drawbacks of this place:
– No lift to the rooms. The lift/​elevator only goes to reception, so be prepared to drag your luggage up a few flights on your own.
– No towels, no towel racks. Only one tiny hand towel rack. No hooks, racks, nothing.
– Shared hallway showers that were out of order. Two of the three hallway shower rooms had missing locks, so anyone could walk right in. The showers that did work had poor ventilation, unless you prefer that nice musty, fungi smell and a 200-​degree room.
– Lights burnt out in the stairwell. At least two of the lights were not working during my entire stay. Gave the place a nice haunted house feel.
– No deadbolt or chain on the doors. It looks like the doors used to have deadbolts, but they made them inoperable.
– No in-​room wifi. The website lists wi-​fi, but they told me you can only get signal in the hotel lounge, which was almost as hot and stuffy as the showers.
– Noise level. This hostel’s claim to fame must be «the world’s loudest doors.» Seriously, I could hear people closing doors in the hallway through my earplugs! Could barely sleep a wink.
I don’t have any hostel horror stories, I suppose. There was hot water and not a bug in sight. But for me the savings was sooooooooooooooooooooooo not worth it. Lesson learned.