I paid £44 for what was advertised as a "double" room but when I got to my room it was actually bunk beds. Not impressed. The room was a good size but was really shabby and grotty. The worst bit was the communal shower cubicles though, they were bizarre and looked like they'd been installed by the worst kind of amateur DIY enthusiast. A total botch up. I've seen better showers at a £5 a night campsite. The rooms and bathrooms seriously need some attention as it's a bit of a p*ss take expecting people to pay relatively high prices (for a hostel) and then providing such awful rooms and bathrooms. Staff were great however, friendly and helpful.

Hostel is what u expect. Fairly basic affair. The things that annoyed me the mist were the commercial nature of the hostel trying to charge for anything, lack of plug sockets, small rooms and fairly average showers... but its clean and cheap and close to the station.... nowhere cheaper in Cambridge.

Stayed here for one night in august 2011 and was disgusted by the night receptionist who was rude,confrontational and aggressive when there was a problem with our booking. Severe lack of customer service and she allowed a very heated situation to develop. I realise you need to have a backbone to man reception at night in a hostel but I have never experienced the attitude of this woman. Be warned.

Our stay here was comfortable, fun and easy. Although I can understand why this hostel has some negative reviews on here, there is much to recommend about it.

Staff: uniformly excellent, welcoming and helpful. It can't be easy to maintain this busy city hostel but they do a great job. The desk staff were quick to help when we asked to hire items (towels, a hairdryer), when we needed to store luggage before and after we checked in, and so on. We had a child staying with us - a friend of the family - who is from a disturbed background, and when he wet the bed we had to call out the housekeeping staff at 2am. Within minutes we had not only fresh bedding but a new mattress, and were treated with great kindness. The next day, the head of housekeeping asked how the little boy was and offered to help in any way she could, asking for our input. We were incredibly grateful for this understanding and kindness.

General condition: there are the usual problems associated with city hostels. The plastic sinks stain easily, a few items broken (bed lights, hand dryers) and some wear to the walls. But this appears more due to lack of investment at a central level than to staff effort - toilets were clean, showers worked, floor was clean, beds were clean. Just allow for a slightly more dilapidated hostel than you may be used to. That said, my kids did not mind this in the slightest. Downstairs, the communal areas are well-maintained and less knocked-about than the upstairs areas.

Facilities: nice big fridge, microwave, oven, hobs, plenty of seating in various rooms. Nice to have a TV in the restaurant. Drinks at very reasonable prices. Food very good - one night I fancied a snack after nine o'clock and was served at once. The starter I ordered was £3, a good portion & was really nice. The lounge has a large-screen TV with remote, comfy sofas and a few games for the kids. Outside area is good for those who want to smoke or to eat outdoors. My kids played pool, I was able to get online easily, others used wi-fi. Very nice atmosphere too. The member's kitchen could do with a few more utensils but these can be borrowed from the main kitchen (and this is something common to city hostels).

Parking: non-existent, you have to plan this in advance. We took the train, however, and found the transport links to be excellent.

Kid-friendly: very definitely. Plenty of room for them to play, they loved the room, and as noted we had excellent customer service. Parkside swimming pool and playgrounds not far away. Great idea to offer a family pizza meal (with drink) to share for £10. My kids fought over who would use the card key to open the various doors. I liked the fact that the doors to the communal areas were only accessible to key-holders as I felt my kids were safe at all times - something very important when you have an extra child, too. Choose this hostel for an informal and fun stay for your family - don't worry about the slightly run-down rooms, because they won't mind.

General area: close to station & also to Mill Road (which is packed with interesting independent shops). Tesco & Co-Op the other side of Mill Road bridge. Note that there is construction work in the area, though we did not find this intrusive at all. There were a few drunken shouts at closing time (outside, on the street) on one night, and obviously a few banged doors at night, but the kids were never woken up.

I met several people at this hostel who had stayed for quite some time (graduates working for the university, waiting to move into their new accomodation) who considered it a good home from home.

To sum up: don't worry too much about the faults of this hotel. Yes, a few things don't work. Yes, it needs updating upstairs, and yes it has been knocked-about. But the facilities, the convenient location, and above all the staff more than make up for this. Just know what to expect before you arrive, and you'll be fine.

One last thing: the temperature control was much-appreciated in an August of varying conditions. The hostel was always warm but it's easy to open windows and let in a breeze if necessary. Having stayed in many hostels over the years, I am used to either stuffy or cold rooms - great to have somewhere where this wasn't a problem.