When you hear the words ‘youth hostel’ my mind goes straight to images of my dad backpacking the world in the 1980s, staying in dorms with strangers for about 20p a night! And I am sure there are still plenty of youth hostels around the globe that are like that, but we have unearthed a family friendly youth hostel option here in the UK with the YHA. After staying in 6 over the last couple of years we wanted to share our experience in the hope it also provides cheaper accommodation for other families, even in the school holidays. We’ve inflicted our love for a youth hostel with friends and family and even they were impressed with what you get for a (usually) relative cheap price.

We’ll start with general info and then further down this blog we write a short summary of each of the YHAs we have stayed in.

The YHA is a charity organisation and there is even an option to join as a member giving you a saving each time you book. The cost of membership is £26 per year and we got that saving back on just one booking one year. I would say if you are staying in 2 or more YHAs a year then the membership is very much worth it. They often have additional discounts when you land on the home page (we just got 20% off using a landing page code and that’s in the middle of August) and if you take children a 5% discount is automatically applied. You can also use booking.com to give you free cancellation, and your other loyalty perks you may have with them, but you wont get the membership discount.

When searching there is the need to enter the ages of all people visiting as children aren’t allowed to stay in mixed dorms (obvs) and there are various accommodation options open to you from private rooms with a shared bathroom, private ensuite rooms, bell tents, glamping pogs and even pitches for camping (tents only). All YHAs provide bedding (duvet and pillows), and everyone we have stayed in has been immaculately clean, not to mention in the most beautiful buildings around the UK. We’ve stayed in both bell tents and private rooms with a shared bathroom, and the showers and toilets have always been clean and no issue not having an ensuite. The beds are comfortable, usually single beds or bunk beds, and the rooms are spacious. Private rooms usually have 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 beds so accommodate larger families as well. You pay for the room rather than per person so we have often stayed in 5 or 6 bed rooms for our family of 4 when a smaller one hasn’t been available.

The other benefit of a YHA is that they come with fully equipped kitchens for guests to use, so you can self-cater if you prefer. And I do mean fully-equipped, there is nothing you can’t make or serve up in there and there is plenty of crockery and cutlery for all guests, and again cleanliness is always spot on. There are fridges and freezers for storing food, which you just label up with your name and room number, and large dining areas for eating with friends or as a family.

Where the YHA is really set apart is the family areas. Compared to staying in a hotel, when everyone goes to their own room when the kids are tired, it’s dark or cold, the YHAs have lounge facilities and usually several areas indoors for games, watching TV or relaxing. There are usually book shelves and games, and some we have stayed in even have pool tables or football tables for guests to enjoy. And family entertainment isn’t limited to indoors, but outdoors we have found hostels with garden games (large Connect 4s, skittles etc.) and safe open places for kids to play and adults to enjoy a drink in the sun (always wishful thinking). Our kids usually make friends whilst playing out which makes it an even more relaxing area.

If you have come for a break and cooking isn’t on your agenda, most YHAs offer food options which are outstanding. There are breakfast, lunch and evening meal options as below:

• breakfast: Unlimited full English including hot and cold drinks for £9.95 and kids eat for £1 with every adult meal ordered. The continental breakfast is £5.95 (but then you don’t get the kids for a £1 offer). The breakfasts have always been outstanding quality and much better than some other budget friendly hotels.

• lunch: sandwiches and wraps around the £5-7 mark

• evening meals: pizzas, burgers, pies (the most delicious pies), pub favourites all ranging from £8-£12, and again for every adult meal over £6, you get a kids meal for £1 which includes sausage and chips, pasta, nuggets or fish, and a choc ice or fruit for dessert.

• bar: most YHAs have a license and bar and drinks are around the same price as in a pub. You can take your own booze, but given they do have a license a bit of discretion is needed!

Note: the kids for £1 offer only applies for kids 10 and under! Alicia always gets her money’s worth at the minute! Especially on the buffet breakfast!

The final general point on YHAs is their location. They support the outdoor adventure lifestyle so are always near good walks (there are usually recommendations and maps in the reception area), lakes, mountains but there are also a few in town centres - we even stayed in the St Paul’s one in London (see below). Click the title of the YHA to go to that specific hostel on their website.

Few other practical things worth noting:

• Whilst bedding is supplied, towels are not so don’t forget to pack one. Some of the hostels do rent towels for £2 but not all. We rented them in London so we didn’t have to carry them on the train!

• All adults need to check in with photo ID

• Check in is 4pm, and check out if 10am and they are quite strict about sticking to these times

• There’s no mod cons or luxuries - so no hair dryers, no shower gel / shampoo / conditioner etc, no kettle or fridge in the bedrooms!

Here’s all the YHAs we have stayed at over the last 2 years and we will keep adding to this list.

YHA Hartington

We stayed here in August 2024 for 1 night with friends, and it was their first YHA experience so we were a bit nervous. The building for the YHA Hartington is absolutely beautiful with history to enjoy throughout, including Bonnie Prince Charlie’s room! It is located in the small village of Hartington in the peaks, with the most amazing cheese shop and a couple of village stores and pubs. The Tissington Trail is nearby for family friendly cycling, and there are several walks to explore.

In the grounds itself are various gardens with plenty of spaces to explore and sit whilst the kids play or climb trees or play the garden games. There are even fire pits available at this one! The food was as usual excellent, and there are 3-4 lounges and a great games room stocked with games for kids of all ages from toddler to teenager.

YHA St Pauls

How to stay in the centre of London for £100 a night for a family of 4 - use the YHA by St Pauls. It is so close to the centre that you get given ear plugs due to the bells from St Paul’s cathedral - the noise didn’t bother us, as we were so delighted with the location and price. We stayed during May half term in 2023 and other hotels in London were going to set us back £300 and that wasn’t for anything special so getting a 4 bed private room for £100 was great for us! Location-wise this can’t be beaten and we explored all of London from here. St Paul’s and Blackfriars tube station is a 3 minute walk away, and the bridge over to the Tate Gallery is less than 5 minutes walk. At the time of staying the YHA didn’t offer evening meals, but we took advantage of unlimited breakfast for us all for a total of £22 and it was the usual good standard. The only thing to call out on this one is that we did stay at the same time as a French school group who were a little noisy and obviously very excited to be staying away from their parents.

YHA HAWKSHEAD

The Hawkshead YHA was our first ever experience of a YHA as we were looking for somewhere cheap to stay for a few nights during the Easter holidays in 2023. We stayed in a bell tent on this occasion but you still have access to all the facilities in the house such as kitchens and bathrooms. Our bell tent had a wood burning stove which heated the tent up well, and a double bed and 3 single beds. It was still icy on the ground in the mornings so the stove was a welcome addition. There was also a fire pit outside and space to play. The YHA is located a few miles from Coniston water which gave some great paddleboarding, and we also walked over the hills with views to Windermere, and drove all around the Lakes District’s largest lake, including the car ferry which caused a lot of excitement!

YHA RAVenstor

In July 2023 we subjected our family to a stay here, taking 3 rooms for the 10 of us. It’s another beautiful building, with 2 large lounge areas, and a great outdoor space with a walk that takes you to the most beautiful views right from the garden. We had selected this YHA due to being on the Manifold Trail for more family-friendly cycling and went from the YHA all the way to Bakewell, around 7 miles away. Buxton is only 10-15 minutes away and of course being in the peak district there is lots more to explore in terms of walking.

YHA ILAM

Ilam was a trip planned with friends and their kids with just the mums, and the convenience of a YHA is another reason it works so well for families. There’s no need to take bedding or camping equipment, and by eating their food offering, you only need to worry about snacks! Ilam is a beautiful YHA only a few miles from Dovedale and the famous peak district stepping stones. The village of Ilam is also stunning with a few pubs and shops. Like Hartington, the gardens had kids entertainment and games, and the private room we had taken for the 7 of us was very spacious and meant the mums could sit and chat quietly, once the kids had finally flaked! It also kept the cost very low!