ThePassportPrincess

Stayed: September 2015 for 3 Nights & A further 4 nights after my tour
Room: 6 Bed Female Dorm with En-suite Bathroom
Overall Rating: 9/10

I don’t get paid to write any of my reviews (However I wish I did) so these are all my honest opinions.

One of the most stayed at Hostels in London – everyone who’s doing a Top Deck Tour knows about Wombats Hostel.
They have Hostels not only in London, but also in Berlin, Budapest, Munich and Vienna.
I’ve only stayed at the London Wombats Hostel, but I’d defiantly stay in one of their other ones if I was ever in Europe again.

The owners, Marcus & Sascha are very well traveled and actually got the name Wombats from a guy they met while in Australia at an Irish Pub. They met this guy called John while they were playing a game of Pool against him.
John got talking and told them his dreams of opening up a hostel one day. John loooved Wombats (The little marsupials from Australia) and had about 6 of them living with him.
Eventually when Marcus & Sascha went back to Australia a couple of years later, horribly they found out that John had died in an accident a few months earlier so when Marcus & Sascha went to set up a Hostel in Vienna, they knew exactly what to call it. Wombats Hostel.

Awards:
They’ve just recently won the 2016 Award for the ‘Best Hostel in England’ and all of their other Wombats Hostels have won the HOSCARS Award for the ‘Most Popular Hostels in Town’

Getting There:
I took the Heathrow Express  straight from the Heathrow Airport to Paddington Station. This is the fastest way into Central London and as the trains leave every 15 minutes, it’s the most convenient as well.
It’s cheaper if you book your tickets online, otherwise you can buy them at the terminal.
When I got to Paddington Station, I took the Circle Line to Tower Hill and got off feeling very confused!
By this stage, my phone had no internet so I couldn’t look up what direction to walk in.
Eventually (After walking the wrong way) I headed in the direction of Dock Street.
I think it’s the only Hostel on the street so it’s pretty easy to find.

If you’re coming from Gatwick Airport – Take the Railway towards the City Centre and get off at London Bridge. From there, you can take the RV1 bus to Tower Gateway. Then walk down Shorter St and take a right into Royal Mint St. Take a right into Dock Street.
Otherwise, Just do what everyone else does and look on Google Maps. 🙂

My Experience:
When I eventually found the hostel, there were quite a few people checking in/checking out. The staff seemed pretty friendly when they were telling people where to go and even the waiting area looked really tidy and inviting. The people on Reception looked like your usual travelers and when I did talk to them they were very well informed with advice on things to do and places to see. Even providing me with a map for my stay.

It was a little while ago now, but I think my room was on Level 6.
From the elevator to my Dorm Room, everything was clean. The hallway lights are on a sensor so only came on when you opened a door. I was also impressed with how safe the Hostel was. I was assigned a swipe card for my stay which got me past reception and into the main foyer of the Hostel. When you get to your level, you also need to press a button to get into your hallway and then swipe your card to get into your room.
All the lockers they have in your dorm room are Swipe Card activated as well, so you just need to swipe you card against it for your personal locker to open. It was so much easier than trying to find padlock keys at the bottom of my bag.

I personally stayed at Wombats because I was about to embark on a two week tour around Europe with the tour company called Top Deck. This is their main base where the tours leave from so you’re bound to find many people who have just come back from a Top Deck tour or are about to embark on one. One of the girls in my room was on the same tour as me so we became instant friends and went and grabbed dinner together when I arrived!

I loved Wombats first of all because of how clean and safe it was, but also because of the social atmosphere!
Downstairs they have their own bar called The WomBar where they have staff serving drinks and food.

They also have Beer Pong set up, an Xbox (Or maybe it was a PlayStation I can’t remember) with couch-type things you can lie on and play games.
As I was staying in London over the Rugby World Cup season, they had set up a projector with the games playing live so people would pull up a chair and watch the games together.
Just off the WomBar they have a Laundry area with washers and driers for you to use – However, I think you have to go to the reception and exchange your money for Laundry Coins.

If you’re feeling hungry and don’t want to go out to eat, downstairs they have a large kitchen with fridges to put your food in and everything you need to cook up a storm!
They do provide a breakfast (For a little bit of extra moolah) and have toast, cereals, juice and toasted sandwiches for you to eat. (And yes they have Nutella and Vegemite!)

I loved everything about my stay. The people were fun, the reception is open 24/7 so if you ever have a problem there’s someone to help you. My room had friendly girls in it and the location was pretty close to the London Bridge!
As I had to be downstairs by 6am for my Top Deck Tour it was super convenient compared to staying someone else, plus I got to met some people on my trip before it even started.
The reception staff were nice enough to store a bag of my stuff I didn’t want to take with me on my tour until I got back as well.

 Pro’s

• Free Wi-Fi
• Very safe
• Super clean! (Cleaners come in to clean your room)
• WomBar – Hostel’s own bar
• Modern rooms
• Personal lockers with card
• Large kitchen
• Out-Door area (Not that I ever went outside as it was too cold)
• 24 Hour Reception
• All-you-can-eat breakfast (Costs a little extra)
• Self-Service laundry
• Personal charging stations in your bunk bed

Con’s

• Pillows are awful (Way too flat for my liking, you may as well not have one)
• Probably need more blankets in the winter time!
• Price – Probably a bit more spendy than your usual hostel
• Close to the London Bridge, but a bit further away from everything else. (However, close to the underground)
• Have to turn in your ID to get your room key
• Power points next to mirrors are for shavers only so a bit hard to straighten your hair from 3 meters away trying to look in the mirror
• The Shower Heads – They’re one of those waterfall type shower heads where it’s right above you (It looks cool) but it’s so annoying when you have a shower and don’t want it right above you
• Tripadvisor Note: I’ve seen that a few people are saying that the staff aren’t so friendly anymore, so maybe they’re getting a bit over it…