Palmer’s Lodge Swiss Cottage, London (Hostel Review)

I recently stayed for three nights at a hostel in London called Palmer’s Lodge Swiss Cottage. This post is an overview of what it was like to stay there, plus info and advice for anybody else thinking of staying at this hostel.

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Getting to Palmer’s Lodge Swiss Cottage

The hostel is very near a bus line and two tube stations, about 5 minutes from the bus and maybe 7 minutes walking to the closest tube station.

For buses, the closest northbound stop is College Crescent (Stop F), which covers routes 46, 268, and 603.

If you’re taking the underground, then the next closest stop is Swiss Cottage Station, which runs on the Jubilee Line.

The next closest station is Finchley Road which runs on the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines; it’s a bit more of a hike to get to the hostel from there, but it has slightly better connections from elsewhere in the city.

Read more: How to Get Into Central London from Heathrow Airport (Guide)

Check-in and Front Desk

Checking in was super easy; there’s always staff at the front desk and I just had to show my passport to get set up. If you want to rent a towel (or buy earplugs, etc.) the front desk is where you’d do that as well. The staff were upbeat and friendly, as well, and knew a lot about the local area and could answer questions.

Note: There’s some steps up to the front entrance. I didn’t see any obvious ramps or other options to get in without having to use the steps. The door is also non-powered.

My Room

I booked an 8 bed female dorm, and snagged a bottom bunk! The dorm rooms are grouped in blocks, with one door leading to a small entrance way which then has the doors to the room itself. It’s a little annoying to navigate through the door system with a suitcase, but it can be done.

Inside the room is typical dorm set-up: bunk beds with roll-out locked storage underneath, a radiator, a window and an overhead light. My dorm was particularly small, as is usual in UK hostels (to be honest, haha!), and a bit dark, which made for bad or impossible photos. But it was perfectly comfortable for a few nights in town.

Bed

The bunks have curtains, a standard wall plug, a small personal light, and bedding (bottom sheet, duvet and pillow). I didn’t find the mattress uncomfortable, but it was fairly hard and very narrow. The bottom sheet kept coming untucked overnight which was annoying.

There weren’t any shelves to put my phone/glasses on and the narrow mattress meant I basically slept on top of them, which is always annoying. Having a small hook to hang a small bag off the side of the bed would be very useful, just fyi!

In general, I do recommend keeping a small tote bag on the bed with you where you can put your stuff– so you don’t have to worry about it falling through the crack between the bed and the wall.

Related: Sleep Better While Traveling: Nighttime Tips for Stress-Free Rest

Bathroom

There’s a mix of gender-specific bathrooms and unisex, with more unisex stalls available.

The one on my floor had 3 toilets, 3 showers, and 2 sinks. They were all fairly clean, and in fact seemed to be cleaned thoroughly at least twice a day. I actually preferred the unisex bathroom as it was a bit bigger, but the stalls in the female bathroom were slightly larger, so…

I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary– normal water pressure, normal toilets, etc. It does get a bit crowded when more than 3 people are trying to get ready, but there are vanity mirrors in the hallway outside of the bathroom that you can use to do your hair/makeup if needed.

View

My room was partially underground so my “view” was the parking lot. ;D

Shared Spaces

It’s a huge hostel with some great shared spaces!

The first thing to keep in mind is there’s a whole row of lockers available in the main hallway on the bottom floor. You do have to pay to use them, but they’re available if you need more room to store your stuff.

Besides that, there’s also several communal space:

Kitchen

Well, okay, this is the tiniest shared space in the hostel and tbh it’s the smallest kitchen I’ve ever seen in a hostel so far. It’s basically a butler’s pantry with a stove, sink, fridge and microwave. There’s a huge wall of baskets where guests can store food, though they were all full when I was there.

You can only fit one person in there at a time, really, so I recommend not making extensive meals that need a lot of prep and cooking time. I found it was easiest to just get a selection of cold things from local shops and make a sort of charcuterie board dinner each night.

Read more: Hostel Guide: How to Use a Shared Kitchen Without Being a Jerk

Dining Area

This is a combo space: it’s the bar/restaurant and also the guest dining area. If you buy the breakfast package, this is where you’ll come get it in the mornings– guests who don’t buy breakfast can still use the space (and get coffee/tea), so no worries.

Lots of great places to sit in here, though it’s all bench seating with no backs. And it does get a bit loud in the evening when the bar part turns on music.

Common Area

There’s a large room near the front desk where guests can hang out. It has armchairs, a small laptop area, and plenty of room to spread out.

There’s also some small sitting areas on each floor, and in the stairwell.

Laundry Room

It’s tiny, but it’s there! Washers and dryers, though prices I think were £1.20 for wash and a staggering £5 for dry.

Nearby Amenities

In a 5-10 minute walking radius from the hostel is the following:

• Grocery Stores: Waitrose, M&S Simply Food, Tesco Express, Co-op Wellcome, plus a Korean grocery store
• Farmer’s Market (Wednesdays only)
• Fast Food: McDonald’s, KFC and Subway for fast food
• Cafes: Tania’s Of Hampstead, Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero and Garden Breakfast Cafe

Final Thoughts

I overall enjoyed my stay at Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage, though to be honest the bed wasn’t the most comfortable. I liked the location, the staff, and the overall design of the hostel itself. I’d come back and stay again– maybe upgrading to a private room!

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Other London hotel/hostel reviews:

• The Gateway Hotel, Clapham, London (Review)
• The Clarendon Hotel, Blackheath, London (Review)
• Also: How to Get Into Central London from Heathrow Airport (Guide)

London Activities (Recommended)

• Big Bus London Tour ticket
• Buckingham Palace Entrance Ticket & Changing of the Guard Tour
• Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Bath with Pub Lunch in Lacock
• Oxford and Traditional Cotswolds Villages Small-Group Day Tour from London