There are two directions to Astor Vistoria Hostel. One and the easiest is from Pimlico Station and the other is through Victoria Station. On the day of my arrival, the Pimlico Station was closed for some renovation. I made a mistake earlier of not looking at the announcement on the Metro Station website. Apparently, the Pimlico Station will be closed on weekends for a few months for some upgrading work. So I had to stop at Victoria Station instead. The direction to the hostel from Victoria Station is not very clear and easy to find. I was dragging my luggage around looking for the hostel but could not find the location even though I was very sure that I did not missed any corners. In the end I walked into the police station to seek help but was still unable to find the hostel. After a long walk, and fortunately it was a hot sunny Sunday afternoon, I managed to find the hostel. Again, this place is a little isolated. The buildings looked the same but most of them are hostels or hotels. One stranger noticed my confused look and offered help. Apparently, the name of the street was changed some time ago but it was not updated on the signboard. After a short while, I finally found the Astor Victoria with his help.
The hostel itself was quite beautifully decorated. Again, there was no lift but that is just a small problem to me. What I want is security, convenience and clean premises.
That's my room. There is inroom locker, hooks for hanging clothes and even a tiny bathroom. No one bathe in the room except me, out of curiosity I tried and I wet the carpet a little. There was no hook in the bathroom so I had to hang my clothes and towels on the door knob outside the bathroom door. It was very inconvenient and when I opened the door to take my clothes and towel, I would wet the carpet. The bathroom comes with heater so it is not too bad but the toiletries would need to stay on the floor. No wonder everyone else bathe outside the room. The common washroom and bathrooms are quite clean. The room is quite comfy to me. There is also a basin near the window. The window in the room is very big and at night I used to buy prepack Asian food from the sundry shop nearby and eat next to the window under the cool breezy air.
That's the kitchen. Breakfast is pathetic. There is only coffee/tea/milk and some bread and jams. After being "spoilt" at Jacques Brel Hostel in Brussel, I tend to have higher expectations of the breakfast at other hostels. However, usually the free breakfast in hostels are as simple as this....just some coffee/tea/milk, bread/jams and maybe cereals. So this is actually the stardard breakfast provided everywhere else.
It was even more difficult to find the hostel after dark. I was very lost at night and everywhere looks about the same to me. The area was again quiet and even with the map, I had problems looking for the hostel. It usually takes me about 1 hour to find my way home from the station even when I thought I has memorized the directions. But when Pimlico Station was opened again during the weekdays, I had no problem finding the hostel. It suddenly became very convenient.
On the last day, I checked out about 7.30am in the morning but I left my luggage at the storage area. As you can see, it's kept at your own expense. Can you see my red luggage? I went walking in the London city and went back to the hostel to collect my luggage at about 4.30pm before I took the train to the Airport. When I reached the hostel, the luggage room was locked and when I asked for the key from the reception, they just gave the key to me. Anyway, even though I've heard of people's luggage being stolen, I don't really think anyone would steal a person's luggage. What's there in it? Dirty old smelly clothes....unless I'm wrong about this.
This photo is taken by a Korean for me. She just checked in the day I checked out and we happened to leave the hostel at the same time in the morning. Well, to sum it up, this location is ideal if only Pimlico station is open. Otherwise, I do not think I want to stay here again.
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