Everyone comes to London, including people who want to concentrate more on getting drunk and having a great time, than on seeing every last exhibit in the British Museum. You might be surprised that most of the hostels in London are actually known for being quiet and peaceful inside. But not all of them.
Fortunately, similar to the best Amsterdam party hostels and the best Paris party hostels, many of the biggest and most famous London hostels are also the wild ones. Below is a complete list of the places that really cater to the nightlife crowd. The first five mentioned are all part of the excellent St. Christopher’s chain, and if you stay at any one of them you’ll know why they are on this list. But there are also other places to consider, and they are spread all over the city center.
Map of these party hostels at the bottom of this article
St. Christopher’s Village
This place, which is the flagship in the entire St. Christopher’s chain, actively promotes itself as a party hostel, so you need not be shy about wanting to get wasted and hang out with all the other guests as well as a few locals. As with almost every other St. Christopher’s in London and throughout Europe, the main floor is dominated by Belushi’s Bar, which has a great atmosphere as well as cheap drink specials all day and into the night. The bar is open until 2am on weekdays and 4am on weekends, so this is the best place in the whole area for late night craziness and debauchery.
They’ve also got free Wi-Fi, a rooftop spa pool, as well as a chill-out room with a TV and free DVDs to watch. You’ll need to bring your own towel, or rent one from the hostel, but aside from that this place has everything you could want, and it’s actually close enough to the Thames that it’s an easy walk to most of the main attractions just over the river. The chain has two other hostels very nearby – The Inn Hostel and the Orient Espresso Hostel – and you can stay in either of those and still enjoy the party atmosphere at this place until you are spent for the night.
>> more information on the St. Christopher’s Village Inn Hostel
St. Christopher’s Greenwich
Almost everything about this hostel is the same as the Village Hostel discussed just above, but it’s in a rather remote location south of the Thames. The St. Christopher’s chain does an excellent job of keeping their hostels up to a high standard, and almost all of them go for this exact same party vibe. You’ve got your Belushi’s Bar here, with cheap drink specials and a 10% discount on top of that for guests. This place also has DJs until 2am on weekends, so it’s not for light sleepers or those who prefer to turn in early.
The location is in an interesting and historic neighborhood, and very near the famous Greenwich Observatory, but it’s not terribly close to much else, so this place is best for people looking for something in this area, or for those who can’t find a party hostel available in a closer area.
>> more information on the St. Christopher’s Greenwich Hostel
St. Christopher’s Shepherds Bush
Once again, see the description for the St. Christopher’s Village Hostel on top and pretty much all of that applies here too. This place is also built around a ground-floor Belushi’s Bar that has great drink specials and a 10% discount for guests. The bars in all of these places are surprisingly cool, and they tend to attract locals for that reason, so these hostels get a nice mix of fellow travelers and Londoners alike.
Our only beef with this place is the location information they provide is more than a little deceptive. They imply that the place is actually in the “West End” but it’s really way west of the West End. This place is right across from an enormous new shopping mall, which isn’t really much of a plus for most hostel types. There are some interesting things in this neighborhood, and a few good clubs, but it’s several stops on the Tube or a LONG walk to SoHo or Covent Garden (AKA the real West End).
>>more information on the St. Christopher’s Shepherds Bush Hostel
St. Christopher’s Hammersmith
This hostel is, again, nearly identical to the other St. Christopher’s hostels mentioned above, so see the top listing for the details. The bar here is great, and so is the bar food (also typical of all the hostels in this chain). There aren’t many features outside of the fantastic bar itself, but the fact that the entire hostel lobby is a cool pub makes it a qualifier for this list of party hostels.
The location on this one is quite remote, and sorry to say, the neighborhood it’s in doesn’t have much to offer most London tourists. There’s plenty of shopping on the high street, but that’s about it. You’ve got an even cheaper huge (corporate) pub next door, so drunks on a budget should like this place. It’s located right across from the Hammersmith Tube Stop, so that part is very convenient, even though the place is very difficult to find at first. If you can get a bed at the Village you might be better off. But if not, this place is a great alternative.
>>more information on the St. Christopher’s Hammersmith Hostel
St. Christopher’s Camden
This St. Christopher’s Hostel is one of the newer ones, and it might have the best location of all of them. It’s got the Belushi’s Bar and all the other main features just like The Village mentioned up top, but it’s also in one of the best party neighborhoods in London. Camden Town itself isn’t quite as crazy as it was 10 or 20 years ago, but it’s still filled with a bunch of cool pubs, and the streets are lined with edgy and artsy shops, in addition to the Camden Markets just a few blocks away.
It’s quick and easy to get to Camden from the main tourist area just to the south, but better still, this place is more or less within walking distance of the Clerkenwell area, which, along with nearby Islington, is where the best party nightlife in London is now located. The Village Hostel itself might be more of a party inside, but this place is in a better neighborhood, so it should be one of your top two choices.
>>more information on the St. Christopher’s Camden Hostel
Bestplace Paddington
This is a fairly new and fairly small hostel, but it’s definitely going for the party crowd. Their offer of giving you “FREE stuff” after you’ve purchased 10 drinks in their ground floor bar with your loyalty card tells you all you need to know in that regard. The Green Man bar is open around the clock, or as close to that as you are likely to get in most of London, and the place has quickly become popular and highly rated among past guests.
This is also one of the best-located party hostels in London. It’s right on Edgware Road, which is actually the liveliest neighborhood in all of London between midnight and dawn. The fact that this neighborhood is a major hangout for all the Middle Eastern communities in the city might be slightly off-putting to some people, but it really a great feature, and this hostel is walking distance to several other more conventional neighborhoods and many daytime attractions as well.
>>more information on the Bestplace Paddington hostel
Bestplace Waterloo
This new hostel is similar to the Paddington location mentioned just above in that they aren’t even pretending to be anything other than a party hostel. They’ve also got a 24-hour bar, along with great drink specials until 8pm every day. Every Tuesday they give away 10 free pints at 12:20 to the first 10 people in line, so again, you can see what they are going for here.
The location isn’t great if you are interested in being near attractions during the day, but it has a few good points as well. It’s convenient for walks up and down the South Bank, which is now very trendy and fun, and the London Eye is fairly close. This is also the closest party hostel to the legendary Ministry of Sound nightclub, so punters for that place should like it here.
Generator Hostel
With around 800 beds, this is by far London’s biggest hostel, and in fact it’s currently the third largest hostel in the world (behind one in Copenhagen and the Generator in Berlin). It’s also a fun place with a lively bar with good drink specials, which is open until 2am nightly, and a never-ending stream of special events to keep you busy. They have DJs on the weekend, and karaoke and quiz nights during the week.
The location here is excellent, as it’s close to the British Museum and several other worthwhile attractions, and it’s close to good nightlife districts nearby also. It’s walking distance to SoHo and Covent Garden (although not a short walk) and also to the better and hipper nightlife areas of Islington and Clerkenwell.
>>more information on the Generator Hostel London
Hootananny Hostel
This small hostel with a weird name is not quite as much of a party hostel as most of the others on this list, but it does have a lot going for it and should be considered, especially if you are after a place in this interesting neighborhood. It’s got its own bar that sometimes features live music, as well as 3 pool tables, and they offer guests 20% off everything. They’ve also got free Wi-Fi, which is not true for many London hostels yet.
The location near Brixton could be either great or a problem depending on your perspective. In case you aren’t familiar with it, Brixton is London’s most notorious black neighborhood, and it’s largely populated by West Indian immigrants. But it’s also trendy and cool, as well as far safer than its reputation would lead you to believe. There are edgy and hip pubs and clubs around here, as well as the famous Brixton Academy concert hall.
>>more information on the Hootananny Hostel in London
Globetrotter Inn
Another of London’s larger hostels with 400 beds, the Globetrotter is plenty lively and fun, and it’s one of the cheapest hostels in the city as well. They’ve got their own bar with good drink specials every night, and they also organize a weekly pub-crawl along the riverfront area near by. This is a good place for a larger group, but it’s not quite as mad as some of the other places listed near the top of the list.
The location of this place is its biggest weakness. It’s located in Hammersmith, even farther out than the St. Christopher’s Hostel in the area. There are pubs nearby, just as there are in every neighborhood in London, but the best nightlife areas are all quite a distance away from this place. It’s best for groups and those on tight budgets, and probably not ideal for the up-all-night crowd.
>>more information on the Globetrotter Inn Hostel in London
Map of London party hostels
Click on the blue pin for the name of each hostel
