Safestay London Elephant & Castle

I got bitten by bed bugs and had to deal with women getting into loud arguments with eachother past midnight in the dorm. I cannot get in contact with the establishment now either.

The most important for me is that this hostel is bedbugs free. Because lots of hotels and hostels in London have this problem. The breakfast is very nice for the price included in the room. Nice atmosphere. Super clean. Great bathroom. Comfy duvet. Excellent heating.

This hostel’s hygienic standards isn’t safe for guests, I have been bitten by bed bugs countless times my whole back was red. Secondly, the attitude of the staff doesn’t make you feel like your staying in a place you would get peace of mind, they allocate you rooms with broken windows in this chilly winter, as if you had begged them a room and not paid for it. Toilets dirty, with a cleaning staff that isn’t focusing on their job. When you complain, their manager a lady with a headscarf from Somalia always instructs the others not to help the guests and to the contrary, ensures their stay is as unpleasant as possible. One time, I was sleeping when I noticed two staff members have entered my room to do their little thing which shocked me and made me feel like living in a common room where anyone can just barge in. I had 3 bookings worth 200 pounds that was not refunded. So do not expect any type of refund from them. This place is not advised for those looking have a positive change of air as their negativity will take you down.

Do not stay in this place you will be swarmed with bed bugs. And the manager of the place a Somalian lady will make your stay hell.

O ralo do banheiro não escoa água fica aquela poça de água enquanto se toma banho parece está entupido, mas o que mais me incomodou foi o colchão de casal muito Velho e torto fazendo um buraco no meio minha coluna e do meu marido ficou com muita dor. O quarto não tinha percevejos mas o colchão não me deixou descansar em paz

Came away with painful bedbug and flee bites. One of the shower rooms was out of order and had to wait almost 30mins for my turn.

Reise als Familie mit 2 Teenagern. Vorteilhafte Lage mit den öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln zur Innenstadt, viele Einkaufsläden,Restaurants in der Nähe, sehr freundliches hilfsbereites Personal Aufzug war defekt, Eingänge zu den Zimmern mehrfach mit Codekarte gesichert.Zimmer klein aber für 1Nacht ausreichend. Betten bezogen. Frühstück Preis/Leistung in Ordnung. WLAN top Ausstattung veraltet, teilweise defekt. Die Sauberkeit im Aufenthaltsbereich grenzwertig, klebrige Tische, schmutzige Böden. Im Zimmer das Bad mit Haaren und Fusseln schmutzig, Bett ebenfalls. Nach der Nacht hatte einer unser Reisenden Ausschläge(vermutlich Bettwanzen)

Die Ausstattung ist veraltet,teilweise defekt. Die Sauberkeit im Aufenthaltsbereich grenzwertig ,klebrige Tische,schmutzige Böden. Im Zimmer waren Haare und Fusseln im Badezimmer. Die Bettwäsche ebenfalls fusselig. Nach der Nacht hatte einer unserer Reisenden Ausschläge,(vermutlich Bettwanzen).

Bed bugs and piss in the showers

i found bed bugs in my bed... and they were not even impressed, so i thing is something that happens often! I wanted my money back and they just told me to send an email but they haven answered me yet...

Very poor customer service 2/10 nights I booked here someone was in my room and the gentleman without hair on the reception by the name of ‘aks’ (probably a fake name he gave) was very rude while being very confrontational when I asked to speak to a manager he refused to allow me to speak to them repeating information I didn’t ask for in an attempt to argue with me. Not only this on the first night I was there I received multiple bites from bed bugs that developed into really swolen and itchy cuts all over my legs and arms see photos AVOID THIS ESTABLISHMENT AT ALL COSTS I will be pursuing a refund Not only this the rooms smell very bad there was no shower in the room or toilet. The windows cannot be closed allowing for the elements and bugs to come in through the windows. Waking up to a puddle of rain in my room and my shoes soaking wet. The best thing about this place is the location hence the one star. No privacy sharing room with rude unpolite people who smell like they are not utilising the shower facilities. Which are covered in rot and the floors are always soaking wet with their being paper towels discarded on the floor showing their is no regular cleaning. If you want to come here thinking you will get a good nights rest think again. Poor organisation, poor customer service, no microwave or plug sockets downstairs Very bad WiFi do not rely on being able to use it unless you are on the lower ground floor(which I wouldn’t because the lobby area has a nasty smell of rotting food and coffee mixed with body odours DO NOT COME HERE YOU WILL DEEPLY REGRET IT LIKE I DID

Was bitten by bed bugs all through out the night.

The dorm mattresses are cheap and you sweat a lot laying on them because of the plastic lining. It was during the summer so the room was humid and there was a singular fan pushing the hot air around. I had the fortune of sleeping next to one window but you could only open them 20cm because there was a stopper screwed in. The bathrooms were alright when recently cleaned, although they had black spots in the shower and I assume it's mold. They were dirty sometimes but that's on the guests. Only one of the two shower-bathrooms had a window so the other one was hot and humid all the time. Worst of all when I got home I found a bedbug in my luggage, (and I hope it was just the one) which explained the weird marks/red bumps on my body. The receptionists seemed like they wanted to be anywhere else but there, but I won't fault them for that. Still, not the worst (european) hostel I stayed in, but a close second.

Staff were indifferent, we waited half an hour to drop off bags as the reception staff was on abreak. At check in I had to show a member of staff my credit card account to prove I'd paid, the hostel was super noisy, bedding inadequate and I've come away with multiple bed bug bites. There was no ID check for the luggage drop off, so anyone could have taken our bag, staff just could not care less. Never again, not even good value for money!

Tinha um percevejo na minha cama, na primeira noite :c

There were bedbugs in my bed, I got bites from them. The beds were very loud- whenever somebody in the room turns in their bed I would wake up (I am someone who normally does not wake up to noise).

I'm pretty sure I got bed bug bites from staying here unfortunately, which is a shame as otherwise it's quite convenient. Won't be coming back :(

There were bed bugs in our room and we had to be moved to a different room that was downgraded because they had no more three person rooms available (without any other compensation). The security was inconsistent and did not show up at the same time every night like we were told. Staff was not helpful and seemed confused and annoyed any time we would ask a question.

LA FALTA DE ATENCIÓN Y EL NO POSEER ALCOHOL ANTISÉPTICO SIQUIERA EN UN BOTIQUÍN

**"Horrifying Experience – Bedbug Infestation and Zero Accountability"** Our stay at this property was an absolute nightmare. From the moment we arrived, we were faced with a serious health hazard: **our room was infested with bedbugs.** We documented the issue with photos of the bedbugs and the bites we suffered, which completely ruined our sense of safety and peace of mind. We immediately reported this to the reception desk, but their response was shockingly inadequate. They claimed they couldn’t move us to another room because the hotel was fully booked and suggested splitting our group into separate rooms. This was not a viable option as we were traveling with two underage children, and staying apart would have been unsafe and unacceptable. To make matters worse, we contacted Booking.com to escalate the issue, but despite multiple follow-ups, we have received **no resolution, no compensation, and no accountability.** The lack of care and professionalism is outrageous. We have since filed a formal report with Southwark Council’s pest control department to alert them to the appalling conditions at this property. It is clear that guest health and hygiene are not priorities here. This experience has caused us significant physical discomfort and emotional distress. We strongly warn anyone considering this hotel: **avoid it at all costs.** If you value cleanliness, safety, and basic human decency, find another place to stay.

Mangel an Sauberkeit. Hatten Bettwanzen im Zimmer und habe nun lauter Bisse. Das die Sauberkeit ließ auch ansonsten zu wünschen übrig. Das Zimmer sah durch fehlende Fußleisten nicht sehr gepflegt aus und das Badezimmer war dreckig (Abflusssieb voller Haare und am Boden waren Shampoo Rückstände). Personal an der Rezeption war nicht sondern freundlich oder hilfsbereit bei Fragen zum Check-In wurde man nur an die Computer zum Express-CheckIn verwiesen. Guter Standort, Bushaltestelle paar Meter von der Unterkunft entfernt und nächste U-Bahnstation ebenfalls fußläufig.

Personal an der Rezeption war nicht sonderlich hilfsbereit. Badezimmer dreckig- Abflusssieb war mit Haaren verstopft. Boden im Badezimmer sah nicht sauber aus. Durch fehlende Fußbodenleiste wirkte das Zimmer runtergekommen. Im Zimmer waren Bettwanzen welche mich gebissen haben.

This review refers to room 022, which we booked as a private room for a group of eight for four nights. The room itself was very tidy, as were the toilet and shower within the room. The mattresses were somewhat worn out, but within the expected standard for a hostel. I had made myself paranoid by reading other reviews beforehand and thoroughly inspected everything for bedbugs, but none were present. A positive aspect was that towels were provided for all of us. However, it became somewhat uncomfortable over the days as the room grew increasingly stuffy and humid. This was mainly because the window couldn't be fully opened, and the bathroom ventilation only worked semi-reliably. A suggestion for the hostel: providing guests with a squeegee could help them clean up excess water in the bathroom. We also booked breakfast, which was more than reasonable in terms of price and value. There was a small selection of cereals, typical cold cuts and spreads, toast, warm (chocolate) croissants, fruit, eggs, and beans, along with two large coffee machines and orange juice. Regarding other reviews, I can’t necessarily confirm their criticisms. At no point did we feel unsafe (even late at night when some of us arrived very late), as only hostel residents have access to the rooms. While there were some individuals in the lobby who stayed for extended periods, slept there, or charged their devices, they were always well-kept, quiet, and merely seeking shelter from the November cold. Overall, this hostel absolutely meets expectations and offers good accommodation for a short trip to London.

Our stay at SafeStay, Elephant and Castle, in November 2024, was extremely disappointing. The most serious issue was a bedbug infestation that caused bites to two of our group members. Despite thoroughly washing and drying all our clothes and luggage after returning home, the infestation followed us, which is completely unacceptable. Additionally, the staff showed no willingness to help when we reported problems with the heating and elevator. Combined with poor cleanliness standards, this stay was far below expectations. I strongly urge management to address these issues immediately to prevent similar experiences for future guests.

Overall I was not happy with the stay. The elevator kept malfunctioning while we were there, the heater in the room was too hot and someone had taken off the plugs to rotate the temperature and so the room was always burning hot. The beds were not very comfortable and they were extremely noisy so each time someone moved you kept hearing them all throughout the night. Two of the other people in the room also found what appeared to be bedbugs, which bit them. This I could not confirm personally.

Las habitaciones al principio parecían adecuadas en cuanto a relación calidad/precio. La segunda noche vimos que habían chinches en dos de las camas y bajamos a recepción, donde nos dijeron que no les quedaban habitaciones y después de quejarnos nos dijeron que nos podían habilitar una. La habitación que nos dieron estaba sucia, con botellas en el suelo y con las sábanas sin cambiar. No nos dieron ninguna solución, solo pasar la noche en la recepción del hotel.

Do not go! If you are thinking of staying here, think about another option. The location is not that bad but the closest you have is tower brigde 30 min away. Anyone can enter the lobby so it is full of homeless or people who just go to charge their cell phones, I even saw people sleeping there with all their belongings in plastic bags, when you enter you get a smell so foul and pungent. It's okay if they do that, we all deserve help, although they should clarify that they do that, that the lobby is for homeless people. In other hostels they told me everything I could find, here they only told me "check in is at 3". Just like they ask you to be respectful and clean because you share space with other travelers. Here they ate in the room and everything stunk, not very hygienic everywhere. I got to my room and just wanted to go to bed, mmmm there were bed bugs!!!! I went downstairs and asked to change my room, at first they only wanted to change my bed in the same room. In the end they did change my room but it took them another 2 hours to give it to me. I arrived at noon and was able to get into my room until 6:45 am. However, the guy was very concerned and asked me 5 times if I had slept in the bed and if it was clean. He was really more worried about me assigning that bed to someone else than about getting it clean. The bed was moderately clean of course but with bedbugs !!!! Yuck! The safety boxes where you can keep your suitcase dirty and some don't close well, shower very small, uncomfortable mattresses, dirty walls, I don't even want to think about how clean the sheets were or if they were changed before I arrived, I just put up with the displeasure of being there for 5 days.

Bed bugs!!! Lots of them!!!

Booked from booking.com // booking number: 4653239764 Terrible stay. Property infested with bed bugs. Got bitten all over. Couldn't sleep whole night. Avoid if you dont want to get bitten by bed bugs.

I had a great experience during my first stay here – the room was comfortable, and the people were friendly. That’s why I decided to return for a few more days, but unfortunately, this time wasn’t as pleasant. The room I was given was far worse in comparison. The heating was stuck on, and it felt like it was 30 degrees inside at all times. After two nights of sweltering heat, maintenance finally sorted it out. To make matters worse, on the morning of my last day, a staff member woke me up by tapping me, telling me it was time to check out. First of all, don’t touch me – what gives you the right? Secondly, I had paid for a late check-out. Incredibly, another staff member came in about 10 minutes later to tell me again that it was time to leave. When it was actually time for me to check out, I discovered that my keycard had gone missing. It had either been picked up by the cleaning staff or someone else in the room, so I couldn’t even hand it in. I’d also like to add that I got bitten quite a few times, presumably by bed bugs. If you get a good room, this place can be great, but after experiencing both ends of the spectrum, unless you can guarantee a good one, it’s not worth the risk.

Bedbugs

So you reply to every review but ignore the last review about the bed bugs? I am here to agree with that review. If you stay there a single night, you are guaranteed to leave with at least 15 bites. This place needs to be shut down and properly fumigated. Disgusting.

todo, el personal necesita más simpatía, salvó por 2 chicos que fueron muy amables, en general deben mejorar eso. Al staff se les nota lo agotados y cansados de la cantidad de gente. Entra y salen grupos de chicos constantemente y son muy ruidosos. No deberían permitir adultos de más de 35 años compartir habitación con nadie, por cuestión de seguridad y de necesidades diferente, así como tener espacios de camas solo para chicas y solo para chicos, me tocaron todos mis rommies señores muy mayores y varios de ellos eran personas que se rebuscaban lo del día, no me sentí muy segura, la cama al segundo día tenía chinches, terminé toda picada, el baño sucio y la ducha era demasiado pequeña, se compartia con el lavamanos, por mebos dinero me he quedado en mejores hostales con mejores condiciones.

Bedbugs :( It was also boiling hot, despite the fan and window

DONT NOT STAY HERE. THIS PLACE IS FULL OF BED BUGS. Me and my two friends had to move rooms because they were legit festering around our room. Not clean, sketchy people outside and just bad vibes. Don’t waste your time !!!!!!! ❌❌❌

I had bed bug bites

To flee, I had bedbugs in my bed and had to change rooms at 1:30 AM. I was told that I would be reimbursed and that I had to send an email. I never received a reply. Outrageous.

Do not stay here!! Two rooms I had had bed bugs! I was told my reception that their manager would refund me, but they would my reply to any emails or calls. I stayed in many hostels all around the world and this is by far the worst. Bed bugs are not okay

bed bugs in the rooms. staff took it upon themselves to move our items, including underwear to a different room without letting us know. bed bugs in the new room too.

Bed bugs.. not one, many.. I got more than 30 bits. I recommend not to leave your belongings on the floor, near the wall or wooden furniture.

Les punaises de lit...

Honteux. Les draps de lit grattent. Les photos montrées au medecin indiquent des punaises de lit. C’est un festival. Le sol est collant. Le sommier s’affaisse, nous étions obligé de mettre le matelas par terre. Il n’y a pas de tapis par ailleurs, donc de l’eau de partout. Sans compter le gel douche qui n’a pas été ravitaillé, donc au final on se tape une chambre maudite où rien ne va, qui montre la qualité déplorable de «l’hôtel ». Le ménage n’a pas été fait au début ni chaque jour du séjour. La santé mondiale est au plus bas.

Poor hygiene, I get bite by bedbugs am I leave the place , I didn't stay the days I booked , yfsyaff so rude and zero professional. I never will back.

I will ask for refund , so disappointed .

Bed bugs on the room

I got beaten by bedbugs all over my body

I got beaten all over my body by bed bugs

The low cost and the location are the best things about this property. Everything else is not great. Our room was overbooked our first night and this created a mix up with the beds. We were also bitten by something in the night and had to change rooms. Not a mosquito, could be bed bugs, but unsure. On the last night, someone was let into our room mistakenly and security had to be called.

Management is clearly at fault for claiming false promise of improvement, while adopting denial and inequal treatment. I confirm the review of Amarande, there are bed bugs in "safe"stay London Elephant & Castle. I stayed in the hostel for one night but it was enough to see the flaws are spread on different levels. Frontdesk staff looking not happy and complaining about upper management bullying. I've been on the end of my sabatical year around the world post covid and never experienced bed bugs ever (meaning i have a good budget), the I reached "Safe"stay, felt like the first thing on checking how people are put in rooms based on skin coulour and age. Twice, i've been allocated to rooms with homeless /financial distressed people where it litteraly stinks and the cleaning staff not doing it's job. Better quality hostels branches in London (those who run charities, recruit young motivated volunteers from different countries) costs three quids more, but provide kitchens and great socials. While this "safe"-stay would charge more than £5 for a poor breakfast and no facilities to cater yourself. What kind of unrational arrangements/deal was made with management towards competitors ?

Nous avons eu des punaises de lit !! Aucun dédommagement et la réception ne comprenait pas l'importance de nous faire évacuer des chambres, ça nous a gâché notre voyage !