I confess that I have not stayed in a Youth Hostel for many years - about the same length of time since I last considered myself to inhabit the 'youth' category in fact - but in looking for venues to host a small conference, I came across the Stirling hostel, which turned out to be the perfect solution.
Located just down from the castle in the heart of the town, the hostel was built in 1994 behind the façade of an 1826 church, so the facilities are in reasonably good order throughout. They have a good selection of private en-suite rooms (mostly twins), and a licensed kitchen where you can pre-order breakfast and evening meals. There's a good DIY kitchen area too, and common areas to chill out in, with TV and free Wi-Fi (although I could never get that to work).
The location is just dripping with history - a huge monument out front marks the site of the original church and the grave of Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, leader of the Secessionist movement in 1733 that split from the Church of Scotland and eventually became the Presbyterian Church. The grounds still have plenty of interesting gravestones around, and I suspect that some of these denizens may still inhabit the darker corners of the hostel..!
The conference room accommodates up to 30 people and comes with tables, chairs, a screen and flip-boards (you'll need to provide your own projector); we had exclusive use of this room and were able to lock it when not in use so our equipment was secure.
It's a hostel, so you can't expect hotel standards of accommodation of course; however it's a lot better than many student halls that I've stayed in at other conferences, and very reasonably priced too, even if you're not a member of SYHA. read more