Beds are in reasonably sized, four-person dorms, complete with a small writing table and chair, and cost a shocking £16 for members, with a £2 surcharge for non-members. Sheets and thin blankets are supplied, but be warned -- the heating system isn’t great, and the rooms can get a little chilly. Indeed, the hostel closes from early December until January. The price seems high, even though it does include a reasonable breakfast, served from 8am until 9am in the dining room.

Reception is open from 7:30am until 10pm, although you can make reservations over the phone if you are arriving outside of these times. Check-out time is at 10am, while the hostel itself closes at 11pm sharp, although a late key for the front door can be rented from reception (while it is open) for those who aren’t quite ready to sleep at this time. Reception also sells all the usual backpacker requirements, including postcards, noodles, and ketchup.

The shower rooms are spread throughout the sprawling building, and I was never quite able to count how many there were, but off season, when we were staying, there were always a few empty, and there were also separate boys’ and girls’ washrooms (in case your morning ablutions are just too revolting to perform in front of the opposite sex), and all these are kept reasonably clean.

There is a small, fully equipped kitchen, a laundry with a washer/dryer and ironing facilities, a lounge with satellite TV, pool table, library, board games, overpriced Internet access, and a day room, with outdoor games and basketballs for the newly installed hoop.

The building has a great deal of character, which is more than can be said for the staff, and this is your typical institutionalised youth hostel.