**Disclaimer: this post is sponsored by Clink Hostels but all opinions are my own.**
Guys! Happy New Year! I hope you all had great holidays with your family and friends. I sure did, I spent my time in Italy and three days in London, which I loved. Is London on your bucket list but not within your budget? Are you looking for a place to stay at that won’t break the bank? Look no further, let me take you to the creative, fun hostel Clink78!
If you follow my travels on Instagram (which is the easiest way to keep in touch with me… follow me here!), you’ll know that I took a trip to London right after Christmas with my brother Lorenzo and our friends Chiara and Michele. The whole point of the trip was to go see the Darts World Championship, which we paid kind of a lot of money for… so we knew we had to economize on the rest of our trip.
You know how that goes… you keep an eye on Ryanair flights and buy the cheapest one, you pack everything you need in the smallest bag you can find, you decide to not take public transit and just walk everywhere. As far as where to stay, we knew a hostel was the only option that would match our budget. I was a little skeptical as I had never stayed at one and didn’t really know what to expect, but it’s only fair to say that Clink78 definitely exceeded our expectations.
The Hostel
We loved Clink78 from the very first moment we walked in. We had just walked a whopping 48 minutes from Liverpool Station (with our bags, too!) after a 1.5 hours bus ride from Stansted Airport and a 2 hours plane ride. Clink78 appeared like an oasis in the middle of the desert and welcomed us like only friends would do – aka with a gigantic Christmas tree in the lobby and a coupon for free beer.
In addition, Clink78’s central location (King’s Cross) was a blessing. It helped us a ton when we decided to only walk around London instead of taking public transit!
The Room
We slept in a four-beds private room. The room itself was pretty small in size, but it really didn’t matter to us since we were out and about in the city all day.
Pic from Clink Hostels website
Each of us had a shelf and a small locker – which can be locked, but you’ll need to bring your own lock pad. There were a few plugs for each person, including USB plugs, that way you don’t have to have a UK adaptor to charge your phone.
Wifi is included, you don’t need to sell your soul, or give your email address, or even type in a password. It’s actually free.
The beds were not made when we got there, but Clink 78 provides linens free of charge. The mattress was actually really comfortable but honestly, after walking 20km per day I would’ve been okay with sleeping on the floor! We were there for three nights and slept like babies every night. I woke up feeling actually rested! Not bad for a hostel bed!
The Breakfast & Kitchen
Clink78 has a great value breakfast option. You can book it in advance for £2.50 a day, or £3 a day at check-in. You can also just buy it separately in the morning for £4. There’s a good offer of toasted bread, jams and butter, mini pancakes, yogurt, fruit, cereal, milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate…
On top of that, the kitchen is very well equipped, in case you want to cook for yourself. I saw some girls cooking actual meals there. Complex stuff too, like stews and soups from scratch.
If you like to eat out instead, there are many inexpensive options available in the surrounding area: we tried Eat O’Clock for dinner and breakfast, and Pizza Union for dinner. If you want to venture to King’s Cross, you’ll find many more options there.
The ClashBAR
The ClashBAR might be my favorite thing about Clink78. It’s an actual pub inside the hostel where travelers gather to drink and socialize. I know what you’re about to say: hotel bars are boring. In all honesty, I have found myself agreeing with that in some cases. However, that is so not the case for ClashBAR. ClashBAR is actually poppin every night. There are always lots of people just chilling there and having fun, or playing pool. My favorite thing about it is that you can play board games with your friends as you drink: we played an animated game of Jenga to decide who would pay for beer, it was a really fun time.
Overall
The hostel is in King’s Cross, an excellent and convenient area. The reception is open 24/7, the showers are so clean. Laundry is available, there are multiple events going on every day and most importantly, the people who work there are so nice. I’d definitely recommend Clink78 for your time in London: you won’t be disappointed. Book your stay here and feel free to contact me with questions!
