Derwentwater Independent Hostel

Hostel

Cannot fault the hostel in any way. Amazing staff, great Covid plans in place. Amazing location and so clean. Alison has been a super star before and during our visit accommodated all requests and the group had the most amazing time! Thanks again.

Beautiful views over Derwentwater on one side and of a lovely waterfall on the other. Good homemade food and local beers. Generous fair priced breakfasts. Good awareness of hygiene, safety and social distancing. We will definitely come back for longer soon!

Can’t recommend this hostel enough. Clean, laid back, spacious rooms, excellent social areas. Very child friendly.

A wonderful friendly place to stay.

Just perfect and staff are friendly and helpful. Food is good too.

The peace and tranquility, lovely atmosphere.

Stayed in a little cottage just down the road from here and went for a walk over their waterfall with hydroelectric power and it was very interesting and a nice short walk.

Great place. Been here many times. Beautiful area.

Beautiful and cozy. Amazing view. You can see the lake from some rooms. The beds are a bit small for me but very comfortable. Very friendly staff. They explain everything in detail which is very good. There's only a 4 minute walk to the lake where you can take a boat and go all around it.

Outstanding Hostel located very close to Derwent Water. Very friendly staff. Communal kitchen is large and has a freezer. Reception bar has plenty of snacks, drinks and toiletry essentials for sale. Pool room, tablets now and football all available. Rooms surprisingly cool in the summer heat. Only negative is that the fly control in the summer heat wasn't as good as I would have hoped and not allowed to consume alcohol unless purchased from the reception bar.

Wonderful location, fantastic staff, great food and lovely rooms.

Gorgeous, relaxing and awe-inspiring. Perfect hiking holiday.

Stayed here for one night as preparation for a charity event (K2B). Although the beds look rather small they were very comfortable. The staff were very welcoming and the whole group very much enjoyed their stay and will be back again!

Thanks for looking after us all so well at the weekend and for the lovely continental breakfast at 4.30 am! We had a great Keswick to Barrow Walk, with one of our team winning the ladies' event, third place in the men's and the team came second overall. Being well rested and well fed contributed hugely to a smashing day. Thanks again to all the staff.

Fantastic location. Very friendly staff. Fairly basic amenities but represents excellent value for money. I go back most years.

If you're after somewhere very cheap and basic to crash in Keswick with an ideal location, then this hostel is perfect for you! It is a stones throw from Derwentwater reservoir and some iconic photography locations. It offers a menu, a comfy bed, shared bathrooms and common rooms, lockers, and takeaway lunches, all for a very reasonable price.

Great location for nature lovers! Rooms and beds were comfortable and the service was excellent!

Absolutely beautiful place, in a beautiful area. Staff are so helpful. Perfect!

Now in the hands of private individuals, shocking state of affairs that the 'TRUST' sold so many properties. I hope one day this whole scam is investigated and exposed for what it is… DOWNRIGHT THEFT! Massively overpriced refurbs, and blatant asset stipping… disgraceful. Still… at least the 'TRUST' maintained the YHA's ethos, and commitment to the "YOUNG AND UNDERPRIVILAGED" by installing expensive bars in all hostels! Writings on the wall folks. There is nothing sacrasanct anymore to those in the position of trust: "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

I recommend if you want to Stay on good location, I loved the water fall in back of the hostel with path to go on top hill and ash. Bridge. And in the from is beautiful lake called derwent water in-between two beautiful mountains. Free parking in the front just not happy with cleaning level.

Wonderful location with great views. There's a lovely little waterfall at the back of the hostel and you can carry on a lovely walk from there. The beds are comfy and clean. The showers have hot water. The kitchen is fully equipped and they even provide labels for your food. Wifi is only available at the front of the hostel until 11pm. We went on a day that the hostel was fairly empty so we didn't have any problem with waiting for toilets or showers. I'm not sure it will be the same when is fully booked, as there are only two of each in the left side of the hostel.

Best weekend ever! Great facilities run by really great people. We were a party of 10 blokes in our 40s, 50s and 60s and had a 22 bunk room to ourselves. We dined in the hostel on Friday and the food was excellent and a good portion size. The hostel is very well sited for excellent walking. The only wrinkle in the weekend was that another group in the hostel had found greater need than us of a loaf, a packet of sausages and a tin of beans from our provisions sometime while we were out on Saturday evening. The immediate response from Tim and Nicola when making Sunday breakfast was to replace the stolen items gratis from the hostel's kitchen. A brilliant save from what could have been an irritation. I would recommend this hostel.

Arrived there on a rainy night and could hear rain out of the window all night. Woke up in the morning, could see the sun shining behind the curtains but also water falling. Felt grim until I pulled the curtain and to my surprise a high waterfall. Nice hostel for a short stay.

So glad that this hostel was rescued from closure a few years back. We go there every year for our Year 8 residential. It is a great size for 50+ students and teachers. The staff are friendly and really helpful, plus they all know the area well and can make useful recommendations. Here's to many more years…

One of my favourite places to stay anywhere. Great facilities (not least the fact that Derwentwater is at the bottom of the garden, which for a wild swimmer like me is just heaven) … The staff are BRILLIANT, the beds are comfy, the views are fantastic, the food is scrumptious, the beer is cheap. Lots of social areas to relax in, easy access to bus routes and boat trips, walks, swims, board games for rainy days… and all the most astounding value. 10 stars!

Brilliant location. Friendly staff and great food. Rooms basic as our toilet facilities but not below what you would expect of a hostel and all clean. Mattresses comfy.

Nice view, lots of scenic hikings trails around, good breakfast.

Warm friendly welcome. Rooms basic (it's a hostel! ) but clean and tidy. Fantastic location with great views. Good value. There tends to be a random mix of sporty groups. Some families. Would go again.

The staff at the hostel were incredibly helpful and accommodating both before we arrived and during our stay there. It was a lovely atmosphere with nice food and the only disappointment was that we didn't stay in the area for long.

Very nice, clean hostel. Very friendly and courteous staff. I will definitely be staying here again. The self catering kitchen is very big and well equipped. The breakfast and packed lunches are great (I did not try dinner). The grounds surrounding are absolutely beautiful and there are several walks you can take just from the hostel. It's a very short trip to Keswick and Great Gable. There are several activity centres nearby and lots of pamphlets with information on things to do in the area.

Great service and lovely location.

An ex-YHA property so it has all the expected facilities (plus a couple of extras) * without being booked up weeks in advance — I booked the day before arriving! Fantastic location for cyclists and walkers alike with loads of local trails (Skiddaw, Borrowdale Bash & Honister Pass to name 3) and footpaths on the doorstep. Lovely and warm on a cold November weekend and a comfy & welcoming atmosphere. *kitchen, lounge, pool room, drying room, cycle storage and comfy beds.

It is a really good hostel and the bed is so comftable.