There are many different factors in what makes a great hostel. There is no clean cut answer nor an…read moreeasy way to measure. They are all so different! City Hostel in Inverness is a very unique establishment. From the outside it looks very shady and is incredibly difficult to locate. Not a promising start. It is a little hole in the wall nook dead center of downtown Inverness. Upon entering we were greeted by a wafting scent of illicit drugs but the scent seemed to die off by the time we rounded the staircase upwards. As all Scotland hostels seem to have, we pushed our way through countless doors until finally we reached reception. The reception desk was incredibly kind and helpful. They were young and full of energy. I think it may be a volunteer job in exchange for lodging but I may be wrong. The room was packed with bunk beds just as one would expect. That being said, it was clean and tidy. The entire hostel was very well maintained. The people in our room were from all over. Sadly, many were loud late into the night. The common room is big and welcoming. It offers plenty of window seating and charging ports. There are pool tables and board games for the guests. The kitchen was poorly organized but well stocked and decently clean as far as hostels go. Overall I would say that this was a very pleasant experience. The inside of the hostel is much nicer than one would expect from the outside. The staff was kind, the kitchen stocked, and the rooms clean. Showers are available in abundance. It is in walking distance to everything in downtown Inverness. Definitely recommend to anyone passing through that doesn't mind a bit of craziness! Sometimes it can be fun!

Absolutely amazing. Stayed for over 10 days, absolutely great staff, laundry facilities on site,…read moregreat kitchen set up (even with lots of guests using it at the same time.) So much fun! Great prices, great location, facilities are kept really clean (even the showers, you can shower without shower shoes, a huge plus in the hostel world.) Absolutely stunning!!

The facilities are basic, kept clean. Communal kitchen closes way to early, opens at 8 closes at…read more23:30. Baggage storage available

This is one of the better hostels I've stayed in - friendly helpful staff, clean rooms and…read morefacilities, nice lounge (complete with piano, guitar, and "bar") - this place had a mellow vibe and seemed to attract friendly and interesting travellers. It was also reasonably priced - as low as £10/night, and I know they offer decent weekly rates as well. Very close to the bus & train stations and right off of Academy St. downsides: above a VERY noisy nightclub (only open on weekends, so not TOO bad), kitchen is closed 11pm-8am and the staff are not always there at exactly 8am (lost our food because we made plans after 11pm to catch an early bus - nobody was there to open the kitchen by the time we had to leave at 8:10) Overall a great place to stay :)

A first rate place if you're looking to house a group for a trip to the Scottish Highlands…read more Complete with full kitchen, dining room and even its own little pub, this is absolutely the best place to stay! Both Catered and Self-Catered options available.

Decent place to stay while exploring Loch Ness. Also a good place to stay if the hostels in…read moreInverness are all booked up or if you're looking for a quiet getaway from the bigger cities. The hostel is located close to the Stagecoach and CityLink bus stop, nearby a supermarket, and is about a 30 minute walk to Urquhart Castle, which arguably has the best views of Loch Ness. There's a board with information on all the nearby hikes. Free coffee and tea. Large common area with a bar and a nice outdoor area. The rooms themselves are on the small side. When everyone sets down their backpacks, it's quite crowded.I usually don't spend much time in hostel bedrooms opting instead to hang out in common rooms so this wasn't a problem for me. Other problems with the rooms were no lockers and only one electrical outlet in the room. The more reason to hang out in the common areas instead. I met some cool people there and ended up playing an international version of Scrabble with the French and Germans :D

I took a group of 14, 12 students and 2 chaperones to Loch Ness Backpackers. We absolutely LOVED…read moreit. The owners, Patrick and Nikki, are fantastic....God bless them they even loaded all our luggage into their car and drove it to the bus stop when we making our way to Portree. We felt at home right away and my students were sad to leave. The pub and the house are very warm and inviting and the rooms charming. The showers had excellent water pressure and were very hot. For the price, you really cannot beat this. Thank you for hosting us so graciously!

I really loved this hostel!…read more I paid about 19 quid a night, which included breakfast (2 pounds). And it was delicious. They also serve dinner there, but it's like 6 pounds. I was in a five-person room with my friends. The room was clean and smelled nice. The staff was friendly. The walls weren't paper-thin, so I wasn't hearing every noise my neighbors made. I wasn't scared for my life when I went in the showers (quite the opposite). Guys, this is not normal of some of the hostels I've been in at this price. It was in a good spot in Ft. Augustus, although there's not a whole lot to do in that town (that closes at 5 pm :) ). I was with a tour, so we just stayed there at night and I got driven around in the morning, fun times. The place serves free hot chocolate, tea, and coffee (!!), and has a great little kitchen with a bunch of dining supplied. They also make an attempt to be environment-friendly. I can't remember if they have a place to store your luggage, but since their doors locked and all the people in the room were friends of mine I didn't mind either way. The only thing was its location was a little out of the way, and unmarked from the main road (no signs leading to it). So I had to wander around alone in the rain. Loved it. It is the hostel to which all others are failing to compare. Edit: Forgot to mention the bar on-site, with a roaring fireplace. And the free internet (there's also free WiFi but I didn't bring my laptop).

We were 2 cyclists going through the Great Glen and arrived here looking for a place to rest for a…read morenight. There were covered areas for locking up our bikes, and reception was smooth and friendly. The only slight problem was that their credit card processing machine was out of order, and we had to pay cash. The rooms were great! Ours had 2 bunk beds for 4 people and did NOT smell like a petting zoo. Actually clean and fresh. The sheets were clean and comfortable, and our room had its own dedicated bathroom and shower, so we only had to share it with a maximum of 4 total. The daily cleaning was on time and diligent. Only downside for us was that our room was a bit far from the router, so WIFI didn't exist in our room. The hostel itself had a great vibe. Lots of people of all different backgrounds, although it seemed to be heavy on the American and Scottish side. The shared kitchen was not spotlessly clean, but pretty damn clean for a hostel and well equipped. The fact that they have a constantly ready hot water boiler for tea and coffee was a special plus! The common areas were clean and tidy, although the raucous-ness from the bar area tended to spill over quite loudly in the evenings. The bar area seemed great fun if you are under 25 and into toga parties and horrible karaoke. Not our thing but it definitely seemed like people were having a blast screaming "I'M ON A BOAT MOTHA F****ERS!!! YEAH I'M ON A BOAT" into the mic.

As member of the international youth association, i visited many hostels. This hostel is alike many…read moreothers in uk, i.e. - good value for money accomodation - clean - friendly staff, willing to give tips what to do Overall, an ok hostel. Do note, the hostel easily books full in summertime. Book timely. There are often groups staying in the hostel and it may get noisy in weekends.

A credit to the SYHA. I've a vague recollection of spending a night in the predecessor to this…read morepurpose-built establishment twenty-odd years ago and whilst that wasn't a bad experience this building is better appointed etc. The showers are worth the money alone. the hostelling experience may be a bit more impersonal these days seeing as you don't have to muck in and clean the places before you depart etc. but the value for money is very high so that's a decent trade-off.

Perfect location, lovely garden and spectacular scenery…read more Located in the west edge of The Glen Nevis this place provided everything what you need for wonderful adventure. Owner (kind of Gandalf type) was very friendly with unique sense of humor ready for a wee chat in every moment. We rented separate bunkhouse with 5 beds, separate private shower, toilet and kitchen. All facilities were in perfect condition. Unfortunately without nice view from the window. Next time we took 3 bed room which was located in separate kind of flat with two bedrooms (ours 3 bed room and second 2 bed room occupied by some couple). For five of us we had separate shower, toilet and kitchen&lounge area with nice view on the garden. Everything charged in a hostel price Parking outside and no problems.