Bowden Court Hostel

Rooms need a good clean!

One of the cheapest last minute place we could get in London, close to Hyde park, about 15 minutes walk. It's very close to a tube station and plenty of places to eat nearby. The room was very basic, two single beds, 2 wardrobes, 2 bedside cabinets and a sink, but you get what you pay for.

Bowden Court might as well be the new attraction of the London Dungeon, because it will surely give you nightmares. I stayed there for four days and it was a terrible experience. Food was bland and insipid, toilets were always dirty because apparently people don't know how to flush, and during the night my roommates would snore like dragons. Next time I'll look for a single room elsewhere.

Do not go to bowden court. The place itself is well located. However, toilets are most of the time dirty, the food is far from edible, and rooms are not what shown in pictures. What is more, I GOT STOLEN MY ITEMS FROM MY OWN ROOM, possibly by the cleaners, and I saw no refund. They took my things out of my room and they put them in the storage because they thought I was doing my check-out that day… however, I had paid for another two weeks just the day before, showing a huge lack of internal organisation. Besides, I am not the only person who had their things stolen, so I would never recommend anyone to come to this insecure place.

Awful food being served everyday of the week. Sometimes, the housekeepers forget to clean your room and you have to chase to get it done! Excellent location though.

Bowden court and many of the other lha hostels provide affordable beds in central areas. Great if you are visiting London for short periods or don't want to commit to long term accomodation. Bowden has decent private shower rooms as well as baths, 2 meals included, lockable wardrobe, gym, and other facilities to make hostel living more than bearable. 5 stars if you open up more of the outdoor area again guys! Would make socialising much easier and more enjoyable.

Pros: Decent price. 5 minutes from bus stop and underground tube. Good breakfast. Cons: Bathrooms are not cleaned often enough. Breakfast on the weekend is way too late.

I was here for 6 months and within this time my whole stay was awful and terrible. I don’t remember anyday when I was happy with the hostel. The rooms are very smaller than what they show in pictures. The hostel is less maintained. The lift doesn’t work most of the times and even when it works it is scary. You cannot talk here after 10pm as people living here complain to the staff which is why there is no privacy. You can listen people talk through the cheap walls built. Most importantly, the TOILETS are not cleaned, and sometimes doesn’t have toilet papers. One good thing is they provide with breakfast and dinner. But it is awful! They provide with cheap quality food which is why I always ended up buying my own breakfast and dinner from outside. The heaters doesn’t work most of the times when needed. No sense of responsibility. As I was here for quite a few months. And between I was away for a vacation. When I returned my cupboard was wide open and some of my stuff was missing. I complained but it was taken too lightly as a consideration.

Very rude staff. Wasn´t cleary stated when booking that you have to pay a key deposit. Bathroom not very clean and staff informed wrongly about breakfast times, so had to get breakfast elsewhere and pay for it. Go somewhere else unless your really desperate for accomodation.

Had a viewing of the recently refurbished rooms and looks fab. Guide was super friendly and had the answers to all of my questions. Come a long way since I last visited two years ago.

A manager that thinks she can run the place however controls the guest as if they are prisoners. A terrible place it is simple the location that keeps this place going and nothing else.

Great location. Several rude and incompetent (front desk) staff members (but certainly not all… the cleaning ladies were great). Fire alarm routinely goes off at ungodly hours. Food tastes bland with minimal variety. Most gym amenities are broken. TV in the room didn't work properly. Most shower rooms have little/no ventilation, so they can be suffocating if you run hot water for more than 3 minutes. For short periods, these traits are tolerable. If you're staying in London for more than a week, look elsewhere.

One of the cheapest lady minute place we could get in London, close to Hyde park, about 15 minutes walk. It's very close to a tube station and plenty off places to eat nearby. The room was very basic, two single beds, 2 wardrobes, 2 bedside cabinets and a sink, but you get what you pay for.

Worst stay ever. The staff as very rude and not even listening a thing. One of them was literally like "I don't care, I don't want to understand". I mean who would say that when you are there for students and you know they are times when you come late to hostel. Won't recommend this court, but other LHA courts might be better. First time in UK, thank you for such an awful experience.

Uncomfortable bed. People in dining room in pyjamas and bare feet. Cold breakfast. There should be a dress code in the dining room. I will never stay there again. 0 out of 10

Great location and simple accommodation process. But facilities need to be refreshed, poor gym and breakfast (lunch or dinner are pretty good), not all staff friendly. Good for students and travelers without children and pets.

Cleaner than many other LHA hostels. Only issue, the dinning room closes after eating so, they force you out while most people are socializing after a meal.

No frills budget accommodation catering mostly to young student and working people.

Terrible management, easy to appreciate how unhappy they are.
The Hostel is OK, pretty dirty, and stinky, but is the cheaper option in all London. So if you are looking for a cheap place, this is it, but don't wish good
manners from the Managers of the Hostel. The staff is nice but they are treated like slaves.

As basic as it goes. But that what you get in london in this price.

The best thing about this hostel is the location! However, I really cannot stress enough how rude the staff is (with some exceptions). The manager and some other staff in the reception have no idea of what customer service means. They yell at people for no reason and act as if they were doing the residents a favour which is ironic because we pay.

Like an hostel but with a bit of privacy too (your own room)

Bowden Court is rather like a dorm then a hostel, but still okay for that price. It's clear, pretty near to the center and the breakfast was great.

If you fancy discomfort LHA bowden court is by far your best bet! After 11 there's a curfew you can't receive any guests nor visit the other residents. Staff will make their utmost mission to make your life a dreary nightmare. You will be treated as if you were a child under their authority. You will have to make you bed. Eat rationed and distasfully unrecognizable-as-such food like during wars and crisis. And their gross rudeness will become a staple of your daily exhaust. The only casual aspect of this place is their free Wi-Fi. Showers are extremely weak and barely warm.

Broken bed (they do not want to change or offer new room), bad food, bad showers, deal on the part of the frightening manager, unbearable noises in those rooms with fridge.
In short, nothing advisable for long stays as in my case, excessive price for what they offer.

Surprisingly good value for the neighbourhood. Very much a hostel, but clean and bright. Limited heating. No towels.

Good hostel with a friendly environment, little garden. The food is really bad!

Very nice place, clean and comfortable. The breakfast time could last a little longer.

Good place, good food… will definitely stay here when I come again to london.

Twin room comfortable in size and clean, good closet for storage. Breakfast and dinner included in price! Good value acommodation with clean facilities.

Dirty, bad smells, bad food, bad everything in general. But it's worth it if you want a cheap place.

I had a single room. It was decent. The showers were OK, however the toilets could be disgusting if you're unlucky — I avoided using them. Food depends — sometimes it's decent good, but sometimes it's rather inedible. I stayed for 4 weeks. It was a bit noisy. The fire alarm went of three times (once in the evening, once at 6:30am and once at 1:30 am) — annoying. Good location, close to Notting Hill Gate station.
English) Single room was OK, showers as well. Toilets sometimes very disgusting, if you have bad luck, I have not used them anymore. The food is usually quite fine, but sometimes also quite unpalatable. I was here for 4 weeks. Sometimes it was a bit noisy at night, but it went. Annoying disturbing factor: fire alarm went off three times in 4 weeks, early in the morning and once in the middle of the night. Location good, also worked safe.

Although the location isn't bad, the installations are very poorly maintained and very dirty, with the cheapest furniture and bed linen. In the daily rate is included the breakfast and the dinner, but the quality is so bad, with so few options that don't worth count these free meal as positive item. Many of the toilet flush was with problem, the shower is very small and made of plastic (like the airplane toilet) and the room was so tight (we stayed in a 2 beds room) that although there was a table and two chairs, we couldn't sit because there was no space. It's very hot and no ventilator or AC. The service is so poor that when you arrive at your room, you find the sheets on the bed and you have to make your bed. And to conclude, the front service staff are very rude. We went there to stay two week, but stayed just one night and rented an entire house with the same price. For sure, don't recommend it. You can see on people's face that they are sad there.

Will definitely stay here again, was very impressed :)

Bowden Court is a nice place to stay in a perfect location. Direct proximity to Portobello Road market and all supermarkets, underground station Notting Hill Gate.
The gym, which is included in some room rates is great, open 24h and has all the common equipment.
Washroom etc is also available, but the most important thing is the microwave/kettle room.
Because the food is in the price. But not edible. For allergy sufferers or special diets (vegetarian, gluten-free, Muslim-friendly etc. ) There are no alternatives, fresh fruit/vegetables at most once a week.
The 24h security is good, but the constant control also sucks sometime… sanitary facilities as usual in UK.