London posh hostel to open in Grade I-listed Jacobean mansion which once …

Hostel chain Safestay is opening a new hostel in the capital’s Holland Park
Set in its own parkland, the ‘poshtel’ short walk from Kensington Palace
But a room can still be got for a fraction of the £127 average hotel cost

Flora Drury For Mailonline

Published:
14:21 GMT, 23 May 2015

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Updated:
16:12 GMT, 23 May 2015

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Think of a hostel, and it conjures up images of grimy bathrooms, smelly bedrooms and furniture long past its best – all set within a crumbling building in one of the less salubrious parts of town.

But a new hostel in London is about to put paid to all those ideas, as one company creates what could be the poshest hostel yet.

Safestay is preparing to open their latest offering in a Grade I-listed Jacobean mansion in the heart of one of the capital’s most expensive boroughs, raising the phenomenon of so-called ‘poshtels’ to a whole new level.

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Raising the bar: The Grade I-listed Jacobean mansion has been transformed into a ‘poshtel’

Beautiful: The hostel is set within gorgeous parkland – and not far from Kensington Gardens

Affordable: But rooms are still remarkably cheap, starting at just £13.90 a night

The Holland Park hostel, just a short walk from Kensington Palace and set in its own glorious parkland, is due to open in August, in a borough where the average house price hovers around the £1,973,796 mark.

The 29 rooms are designed to impress as well, boasting flat screen TVs in its private rooms, and even a your own terrace for those willing to stump up a little more for the privilege.

Not that even that is expensive. Shared rooms start at just £13.90, while the highest price a night is the twin rooms, at just £40 per person a night.

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Compared to the average cost of a night in a London hotel, which now stands at £127, it is a steal.

And it even offers a bit of history: the 1605 mansion was visited by adventurer Sir Walter Scott, poet Lord Byron and even author Charles Dickens during its time.

You rather wonder what they would think of hordes of travellers staying in rooms they were once entertained in.