Kensal Green Backpackers

13 reports · 4 recent reports · 645 text reviews scanned

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1. Review 1 Google Maps 6 months ago

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   The trauma of this hostel has stayed with me years later. Stayed in 2016, place is basically a homeless shelter and they let people book it outside, felt unsafe. Rude staff members We were kicked out one room when we were at a gig to make room for a group of 4 girls travelling, our bags and belongings thrown into black bin bags and left dumped at reception, they didn’t bother telling us we had been forcibly moved… so we opened the door to 4 scared women in our bed who swore at us in another language. Reception didn’t give a poop and then gave us another room with a dodgy door that almost didn’t lock. Middle of the night we were awoken by a woman coming in, stripping naked and then going to sleep on the bunk above me .. who then left… Was frightened to even use the toilets, place was so filthy I barely slept and I’m surprised I didn’t get a disease from the place. Put me off hostels for life and has still scarred me.

2. Review 2 Google Maps 7 months ago

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   Kind of homeless right now so maybe I’m biased but this is a decent place. Not crazy about the cockroaches. But the shower works, the beds clean and the staff are really nice. Two teeny tiny things though. 1: PLEASE START SELLING SLIPPERS! my slippers got soaked with pineapple juice and now I’m walking around in socks. Security really hate that and so do I. 2: please replace the shower heads. They are not good. They keep leaking EDIT: amending my review because something new has come to light. The kettle they provide us is poorly maintained and has limescale inside it. Their wiring is dodgy. My brand new phone heats up while charging and Apple customer service have said there’s nothing wrong with my cable or my phone. Additionally- security are useless. Absolutely useless. Someone’s been through my suitcase and nicked four items. Someone’s been nicking my food, another person put something in my drink and another person tampered with my food while it was next to the microwave waiting for the kettle to finish boiling. ANOTHER EDIT: BEDBUGS. I have bedbugs in my bed. They’re calling pest control but it’s taking a while. And It’s become extremely loud at nighttime with music blaring from the cafe.

3. Review 3 Booking.com 1 year ago

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   Nada I arrived at this hostel and was immediately asked to pay a £10 deposit for a key. I had only booked one night and left around 8 PM. That night, I had an accident and spent the night in the hospital. After being discharged, I booked three more nights. When I returned and handed back the key, they refused to return my £10 deposit because I didn’t return the key “on time.” I submitted a complaint through Booking.com, and as a result of the negative review I left, the manager denied me entry to the hostel altogether. I’m not sure if they’ll refund the £56 I prepaid — maybe they’ll keep that too. If they do, I hope they use it to buy a decent mattress. I definitely do not recommend this place. I found another hostel nearby that was cheaper, better in quality, and—most importantly—didn’t have a pickpocket-like manager watching your every pound.

4. Review 4 Booking.com 1 year ago

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   • Violence / coercion / drugging

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   • Theft / access / security Relevant passage Got robbed nothing nice or good Everything

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   Got robbed nothing nice or good Everything

5. Review 5 Booking.com 1 year ago

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   Lo único bueno del alojamiento eran los recepcionistas, muy atentos y amables. Las sábanas de las camas estaban sucias, con pelos de las personas anteriores (y no de la cabeza). Las literas tenían chicles pegados, polvo y manchas. Los pasillos olían de forma muy desagradable, los baños estaban muy sucios y no quisimos ni probar el resto de instalaciones del asco que daba todo. Además, pese a asegurar que hay un límite de edad, alojan a gente mucho mayor y muy extraña, había hombres mayores que nos seguían por los pasillos desde el baño intentando colarse en nuestra habitación. La falta de higiene general y la falta de seguridad dentro por culpa de ciertos residentes es algo que deberían solucionar. Por último, la ubicación es bastante mala, muy alejado.

6. Review 6 Google Maps 1 year ago

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   • Boundary violations / harassment

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   • Violence / coercion / drugging Relevant passage And the scariest part was, I almost got beaten up just for making eye contact with someone at the entrance that night!

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   Don’t be fooled by these reviews! Let me tell you about my real experience! This place is not for tourists! I booked a bed here because I didn’t know much about the areas in the UK, and it was already very late. Other hotels or hostels s were either fully booked or too far away, so I had no choice but to come here. At first, I saw the reviews and thought this was an okay hostel , but when I arrived, I couldn’t believe I had to stay here for a night! As soon as I opened the door, the place reeked of marijuana, and there were even people selling drugs inside! The security was terrible! There were drunks and addicts hanging around the entrance, and the hygiene was awful! The people staying here weren’t tourists, but mostly homeless addicts. And the scariest part was, I almost got beaten up just for making eye contact with someone at the entrance that night! If you want to visit the UK safely and return home safely, I strongly advise you not to stay here! This place is not suitable for a normal person!

7. Review 7 Booking.com 1 year ago

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   • Theft / access / security Relevant passage My luggage is stolen someone,I told again and again in the reception,5 time I complained but they didn't any response and no help for getting my luggage..I asked to checked the camera who stole the luggage but that said camera not working..ohh Allah !

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   My luggage is stolen someone,I told again and again in the reception,5 time I complained but they didn't any response and no help for getting my luggage..I asked to checked the camera who stole the luggage but that said camera not working..ohh Allah ! Only staff know about camera,and they stolen guests luggage easily,very very disappointed,and never ever booked this hostel..

8. Review 8 Google Maps 2 years ago

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   • Boundary violations / harassment

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   • Violence / coercion / drugging

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   This is not a hostel for tourists. It is a flop house for people addicted to hard drugs and a money making operation for gangsters who loot the rooms. I spoke to several people living here long term because they had no other option than the streets. I felt so sorry for them. I was booked in for a week but had to leave after 1 night because this place was so terrifying. There were people high on crack, weapons and drug dealers. People accost you in the hallways. The bathroom pipes leak raw sewage so the stench was everywhere. The rooms smell like high school gym changing rooms but worse. I still see this place in my nightmare, the dimly lit halls with scary murals and the feeling of being in the room while people keep trying to break in all night. Please do not ignore the reviews, women are not safe here, NO ONE is safe here.

9. Review 9 Google Maps 2 years ago

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   • Booking / payment / trust Relevant passage After all this dodginess I of course refused, so she refused to refund my booking.

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   I made a booking here and tried to check in. The woman behind the counter asked me for the card used to make the booking, handed it back to me then accused me of having stolen it. She called a male colleague over and he then started standing over me, obviously trying to intimidate me. She told me that she would not be accepting my stay but then asked me for my card again. When I asked her what the point is if she won't be allowing me to stay she said "See?" so since I had nothing to hide, I gave her back the card. She then told me that she would not be giving it back because she did not know if it was really mine, told me to sit down and then appeared to make a call, presumably to the police. She then called me back over to give the card back and again declared "This card is stolen". I can only assume the police told her that she had no evidence for her claims and refused to entertain her stupidity. I of course asked for a refund, so she asked to see the card again. After all this dodginess I of course refused, so she refused to refund my booking. If she genuinely believed I am a fraudster who took someone else's card, then this would appear to contradict that belief; why the heck would you refuse a refund just because the "fraudster" didn't want to give you the card back? The only explanation I can come up with for this is racial profiling, as she thinks it is impossible for someone with my face to have my name. Avoid these scum!

10. Review 10 Booking.com 2 years ago

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    Staff are really nice people. Everyone was extremely helpful and super friendly. They always smiled was very pleasant especially reception and security. The restaurant, the broken toilets on the 2nd floor, the mouse in the small lounge room, housekeeping had to be reminded to wash out the shower, Mold inside the shower in the female room. Small lounge area closes at 11pm. The larger longe room windows were open when it was cold outside. Male staff walking into a female room before knocking on the door.

11. Review 11 Hostelworld 2 years ago

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    Although the hostel was very close to a train station which was helpful, it didn’t feel that safe. The front door was broken, the lock on our dorm was dodgy and at one point I was locked out. The staff were polite but not always in reception when needed. The room wasn’t clean and the bathroom was falling apart. The sheets seemed to be clean but the bed was very uncomfortable and felt very unstable. The shower cubicle in the room was literally a cubicle with no space to get dressed.

12. Review 12 Google Maps 2 years ago

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    • Boundary violations / harassment

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    • Violence / coercion / drugging Relevant passage If you are female, do not stay here, even in a private room, as you will encounter essentially homeless or drunk or drugged out men in the narrow dark hallways when you need to use the bathroom or when you are coming home to your room.
    • Theft / access / security

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    I’ve stayed at a ton of poorly rated places over the last year as I’ve backpacked around the world, but this is the only place that I truly felt unsafe. If you are female, do not stay here, even in a private room, as you will encounter essentially homeless or drunk or drugged out men in the narrow dark hallways when you need to use the bathroom or when you are coming home to your room. Multiple times, instead of walking straight to my room, I had to quickly walk a weird roundabout way to lose a creepy guy following me. I stayed here with my partner (also female) for 3 nights in a private room without a private toilet. One night someone tried to get into our room but luckily I had locked the door handle (no deadbolt present). I would never stay here again. If you’re still reading, I assume you’re a guy. The rest of this review is for you. I read the reviews before booking this place, and I assumed a lot of the bad reviews were just picky people, as is usually the case with places I book. Nope, this place was the dirtiest I’ve encountered in my travels as well. The toilets will not flush after someone else has used it recently, so they are clogged with paper and poop and unusable, and so the halls stink. There were guys coughing and puking in the toilets all hours of the night all 3 nights we were there, which you can hear through the paper thin walls of the rooms. The “kitchen” is one tiny room at the end of a narrow hallway on the 3rd floor. The room is maybe 6ft by 6ft and was so gross we didn’t go back, even though we wanted to take a picture for this review. Imagine a steamy room with no ventilation, wet fogged windows, and the only cabinet is under the sink. So all the plates/cups/cooking implements are stored under the sink in a puddle. There was, no joke, only one single coffee mug for the whole place, and it was cracked. This is also the only sink in the place that doesn’t have a Not Safe to Drink sign. Instead of going back for that, we just used our water purifier from our travel in Asia with the sink in our room. I’m surprised this place hasn’t been shut down.

13. Review 13 Booking.com 2 years ago

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    The location and the price for London was great. Friendly and polite staff especially the cleaners and room preparers. The cleaners have a big job and are working fast and as best as they can. Guests need to be more self aware of not leaving a mess. The guests had been stealing kitchen items and so to use the kitchen was very challenging. Only one stove top was working. There is an overall issue with using hostels for both travellers, and homeless people. Cleaners need to reach into the corners for a thorough cleaning. Upgrades can be made to the common areas.