I stayed here with a friend (we are both 21) for a week in early September. We had a private twin room. Although the rooms are not supposed to be lockable by guests, the manager gave us the key because we were a single party in there. This made me feel very secure, although I later became sure that the hostel itself was a very safe place and our belongings would have been safe anyway. The building itself is beautiful.

The bedroom had no window, which was a drawback as it was very small and felt like a cave. But who goes to a hostel and spends lots of time in their room anyway? The bed linen was clean, but I recommend bringing an extra pillow or two as they are about an inch thick. There was no mirror in our room which made blow-drying our hair awkward.

The girls bathrooms are adequate, there are aprox. 5 toilets and three showers (two of which have no temperature control so you have to toggle between freezing and scalding), and a bank of sinks and mirrors. They were basically clean enough.

In the kitchen, there is masses of shared dishes etc, space in teh fridge and all the cooking equipment I could want. There is a big dining room table. The courtyard is where you will have a chance to meet lots of people, there are sofas and chairs under a covered area, washing lines to dry your beach towels and a dilapidated looking barbecue. There is also a surfboard store.

The advertised 'chill out room' and the laundry facilities are only for people staying longer than 2 weeks (longtermers), they also get their own fridge and dorms. However there is a laundrette about 3 buildings away.

Upstairs, there is a massive lounge with pool table that no one seems to use, ping pong, a telly, large video library and lots of sofas and armchairs. It all has the feel of a boarding school common room, and doesn't feel disgustingly dirty (although maybe a little grubby). The bar is never open, I don't think they use it and I suspect it doesn't have an alcohol licence anyway.

The staff are all very friendly and helpful, and there is a lovely dog who belongs to the deputy manager - a big wolf-type dog - who is friendly and well behaved. However, this would have been a drawback if we had been allergic or scared of dogs as they didn't mention it to us before. To access the building, you need a code for the front door (which changes regularly, and then you have to cross a covered bridge over the courtyard and go past reception. It all seems very secure.

The location is perfect - 2 mins from Fore St and the harbour, 5 from the train station and right next door to a Chinese, a chippie, several pubs and the cinema. On Thursday mornings, they hold a farmers market in the building next door.

I would definitely stay again!