YHA Wye Valley - Hostel

Stayed in a bell tent. Comfy beds, spacious tent in a beautiful setting by the river. Tent had a (slightly muted) light and a nice picnic table and fire pit outside. It's a bit of a walk up to the showers and broader facilities like the kitchen, but it was all v well done. The only reason I haven't given it 5* is that I'm not really a camping fan! Next time I'll aim to stay in a room. Oh, and you access the site down a bumpy single track road with steep edges. Not the most comfortable ride but we survived!

Sadly, despite an amazing location this YHA is very tired and needs significant investment. We have stayed at several hostels in the past as a family and this one fell well below our expectations. The decor was very sparse and most rooms suffered from areas of peeling paint and poor lighting. Often the lounge areas are cosy and somewhere to enjoy spending time but even these were bare with limited seating and the board games on offer were all incomplete. The self catering dining room felt like we were eating in prison with high windows, nothing on the walls, white peeling paint and a single light bulb "lighting" the room. The kitchen was acceptable but had fairly limited utensil selection. The other key thing to note, which isn't mentioned on the website or welcome email, is the steep and narrow access road. Whilst some may be comfortable driving this path it is definitely worth being aware of! The bedrooms were a standard YHA offering with bunk beds and a basin, fairly comfy and very quiet. We appreciated the canoe launch point which allowed direct access to the river from the property which was great. Sadly, overall, we were really disappointed with our stay and actually left one day early as couldn't face another day/evening in the property.