YHA accommodation has changed considerably over the years, but the one thing that has remained is the distinctive character of each location. Stay in a mansion, a castle, a thatched cottage or a modern purpose built Youth Hostel, in city, coast or countryside locations and you’ll find that the beauty of YHA is that no two properties are the same.
Accommodation is usually in comfortable bunk-bedded rooms, sharing with people of the same sex and most locations offer smaller private rooms for couples and families, sometimes with en-suite facilities.
Laundered bed linen, pillows, duvet and blankets are provided free of charge for you to make up your bed.
YHA offers an excellent full meals service at many of our properties, often using as much local produce as possible. Some locations also have self-catering kitchens which are fully equipped with all you’ll need to do your own cooking. Facilities vary between locations, but most will also have a sitting area, drying room and cycle store.
Star ratings
Our accommodation is assessed by VisitBritain (formerly known as the English Tourism Council) in accordance with their National Quality Assurance Standards for Hostels. Hostel accommodation is assessed for both quality and facilities, including cleanliness, the friendliness and efficiency of staff, decor, furnishings and food. Hostels are then rated from one star, indicating an acceptable overall level of quality, moving up the scale to a full five stars, which marks a hostel as having exceptional overall quality.
Bunkhouses and camping barns are also assessed, although they are not given a star rating. Both categories must reach the VisitBritain minimum requirements before they can use the designators Camping Barn or Bunkhouse.