Me and my wife traveled from Bristol to Lands end and decided to stop in st ives after seeing it on the tv show called coast . we decided to stay at the st ives backbackers as money was tight , Upon entering the hostel we were greeted and then shown to are room . The hostel was nice and claen with some lovely people their althoigh a little cold at night we had a great time , thanks st ives

Now I'd like to put this review into some sort of context to fully justify the one. I stayed here as part of an art trip with my university. This naturally assumes that I have fairly low living standards, which is true to some degree, but this did just push it a bit.
The main issue I had, was that I spent the entire time I was there in a constant state of frosty. As it was January, I naturally expected it to be cold, but had an expectation for at least some warmth from the place I was staying. The majority of us slept fully clothed and completely submerged in the fairly dubious looking sheets. And I'm fairly certain the majority of us tried to maintain a level of drunk that provided an additional alcohol blanket. AND walking outside to shower?! In January!?!? GAH! In Summer, this would probably be a lot less of an issue, so this review is based purely on time of year. Also, the staff had taken the off peak season as a chance to refurbish elements, which did have an effect on the impression of it. But on a plus, I can imagine it being a lot more suitable in the Summer months.
Cleanliness did seem a bit of an issue, but nothing too drastic or unmanagable. You get what you pay for I guess.
Just serious issue with lack of heat.

The stay at Backpackers was noisy, but pleasant enough FOR A HOSTEL. IT IS NOT A HOTEL. Cleanliness was ok. A lot of the 'mess' was caused by us students. I think the lady who cleaned did the grandest job in keeping up. She in particular was absolutely lovely, put in 101 %, and was very helpful, as was Bern and his lady. There was a 'stoned', very unpleasant man there tho who was part of the management team. The lady who cleaned's partner. He was not very professional, being agressive toward his partner, and insulting his partner in front of guests. In my opinion he should be sacked. It was obvious he was intoxicated on something. He did actually say some quite unpleasant stuff to me too, when I walked in on him insulting his partner in the kitchen. Bad practise if you want your guests to return.
The dog added a friendly feel to the place. The rooms were clean, if somewhat 'dark'. Five of us in one room designed to hold 6, did feel a little overcrowded. The bed sheets were clean, and bedding was adequate.
Kitchen facilities were basic but more than adequate for our needs. Toilets and showers were clean.
Overall, I did actually enjoy my stay at Backpackers, though I am not sure I would return on my own. I would feel unsafe.
Best wishes to Bern, his partner, and the lovely lady who cleaned up after us. Thank you. xxxxx

The writer of the previous review was very unfortunate. Since middle of August this backpackers hostel has new management. They have mounted a big cleanup and repairs operation and so far are doing really well. I shared a twin room on 4th, 5th and 6th September 2010 and it was very clean, pillows were brand new, sheets freshly changed. Nothing much can be done about outside noise if you have a room at the front (main road). Over the winter Bern and Amy (really pleasant and helpful management) are redecorating the hostel. Some work is needed on I would definitely stay there again.