Safestay London Elephant & Castle
4-star hostel · Walworth, London
Guests rate nearly every hotel highly: half the hotels in London are rated 8.2 out of 10 or more. So our score shows how a hotel compares with the rest, not how luxurious it is.
- Rated higher than 17% of London hotels
- 72% of guest comments are praise
- 73% of guest photos show no damage
How this score is made
- Rated higher than 17% of London hotels. Compared with 5,640 hotels in London. Counts for 50% of the score.
- 72% of guest comments are praise. 344 praise, 137 complain. Counts for 30% of the score.
- 73% of guest photos show no damage. 43 of 59 photos. Counts for 20% of the score.
- Serious reports are never counted in. They are flagged beside the score, because one matters even when everything else is good.
- From $47 a nightdorm beds for two, before tax
- 6 min walkto Elephant & Castle station
- 299 guest reviewsfrom the last 2 years
- 59 guest photostheirs, not the hotel's
At a glance
For
- A station within walking distanceElephant & Castle is 440 m away
- Location86 praise · 2 complain
Against
- On a main road: Walworth Road22 m from the building
- Guest photos show wear and dirt16 of the 59 photos guests took, and 0 of the hotel's 40
- Quiet at night25 complain · 6 praise
- Heating and air conditioning41 of 299 guests
What guests reported
What guests say
299 reviews from the last 2 years. Most praised: staff (125 guests). Weakest: quiet at night, where 25 of the 31 who mention it complain.
Location862Strength
It's in a good location as well.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The place is quite central and welcoming.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
The only downside is that it is a bit far from the city center.
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Value265Mostly good
Cost-effectiveness was great for a family of 5.
Google, August 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
For a very reasonable price, I enjoyed a high-quality stay.
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Staff12528Mostly good
The best: the staff at the reception, they were warm, helpful and accommodating.
Google, July 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
The staff is knowledgeable and very helpful.
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Staff not very friendly, seemed the TV in the lounge area was the priority to them, felt like I was disturbing them when checking in.
Google, July 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
Room size116Mostly good
Big rooms with tons of space, with the added benefit of having some female only dorm rooms!
Google, June 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
staff was super friendly and helpful; rooms were spacious and clean; breakfast was satisfactory.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
No working tables, drinking water, Congested rooms.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Beds117Mostly good
While the beds were decently comfortable, the lack of curtains really brings the score down, the beds even have the bars where curtains would go, but they sadly don't have them, and the room also didn't smell very good.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
The room was clean, bed confortable.
Tripadvisor, June 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
The beds were pretty hard and the pillow was flat however it wasn't terrible.
Tripadvisor, May 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
Cleanliness6141Split
First night i was in a room which had a filthy toilet and bathroom...urine on the floor in toilet.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Bathroom attached to the room was a little unclean and building is loud at night.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
the toilets are quite dirty, the hand wash dispensers are broken, no shower gel, breakfast was not good in general
Booking network, August 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
Breakfast1514Split
the foods for the breakfast is not worth for what we paid for.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The breakfast (advertised as "very good" breakfast) was disappointing – a few pastries, toast, and the most disgusting looking sausages I've ever seen.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
Breakfast was £9 PP and it was the worst I've seen .
Booking network, August 2026, rated 3/10 by this guest
Room condition39Weak spot
Beautiful old building hotel very close to the subway station, with many restaurants and shops nearby, and parking directly in front of the hotel (with a parking ticket).
Google, July 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
It was clean and recently renovated.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
The furniture, overall decor, quality of the renovation, and the spacious, well-ventilated rooms were very good.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Quiet at night625Weak spot
Over all satisfactory and decent for the price but the room was very warm and our roomates repeatedly had loud alarms going off at 3AM (presumably to go to work based on overheard conversations), both factors which made sleeping soundly difficult.
Google, September 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
The neighborhood was very noisy.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The fire alarm went off at 10.30 at night & again at 6 in the morning.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Too few mentions to judge: food and views.
Who stays, and their score out of 10
From every review of the last two years that gives a score and says who travelled, including those with no words.
All 3,266 Google ratings
Problems guests raised
Raised most: heating and air conditioning, in 41 of 299 reviews.
Heating and air conditioning41 of 2991 in 7 reviews
IT'S HOT 🥵 Be aware that in summer the rooms get very hot, although they do offer a fan, it only works for those with a bed on the bottom floor because I had one on the top floor and spent the whole night sweating.
Google, July 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
There is no elevator and it is very confusing the places the four besides being very hot and the only fan does not work, making a pleasant night impossible
Booking network, July 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Problems in the bathroom24 of 2991 in 12 reviews
Leaking showers, bathrooms full of water, charging port next to the bed not working, forgot my bottle in the common area...
Booking network, September 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Nonetheless, we paid for an ensuite room and the bathroom door did not close.
Google, July 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
The lift16 of 2991 in 19 reviews
Lots of staircases to climb to get to level 3 if you have luggage
Booking network, August 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Staff receptionist was helpful
Booking network, June 2026, rated 4/10 by this guest
Something broken in the room15 of 2991 in 20 reviews
The fan in our room isn't working.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
One of the windows was broken and couldn't be opened, which was a problem because the air circulation was really bad and it was really warm inside the room.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Feeling unsafe15 of 2991 in 20 reviews
I personally didn’t feel super safe in this location due to a few interesting guests but felt safe enough in my dorm.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Didn’t feel very safe in the room.
Google, October 2026, rated 2/5 by this guest
Unexpected charges and refunds11 of 2991 in 27 reviews
The price is very high compared to the room heating services.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
refusal to provide full refund
Booking network, September 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Serious reports
4 in 299 reviews, most common first. Shown beside the score, never averaged into it.
A physical hazard3 of 299 reviews
One lamp had no on/off switch and instead a hole leading to exposed wires.
Google, June 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
The second I laid down on the double bed, the entire bed shattered and the iron support rods collapsed beneath me.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 1/10 by this guest
Bed bugs or bites1 of 299 reviews
Was bitten by bed lice 🙂.
Booking network, August 2026, rated 5/10 by this guest
These are guests' own accounts from their reviews. We have not verified them, and the hotel may dispute them. A report is counted only when the guest says it happened at the hotel and holds the hotel responsible.
Photos, checked
16 of the 59 guest photos we checked show damage or dirt (27%).
Guest photos showing damage or dirt16 of 5927%
Of 59 guest photos, 16 show damage or dirt: stains in 8, dirty surfaces in 3, peeling paint or cracks in 3 and litter or dirty water in 3, and some photos show more than one. Of the hotel's own 40, 0 do.
Guests’ photos confirm: restaurant (2), bar (3).
The hotel says it has no swimming pool, spa, gym or hot tub.
Price, place and rooms
Price
Dorm beds for two start at $47 a night, from 304 dates checked in the coming year.
Prices on booking sites, the day we checked
What each seller advertised on the one day we checked.
- Booking.com$80
- api.cloudbeds.com$82
- hostelworld.com$86
- Super.com$141
- Vio.com$155
- deals.goseek.com$155
- deals.etrip.net$155
- amimir.com$158
Lowest advertised nightly rate for two adults; taxes and local fees are not included. Shown in US dollars.
Nearby
Elephant & Castle station is 440 m away by road, about 6 minutes on foot. There are 2 bars or clubs within 200 metres.
- Nearest main road: Walworth Road22 m
- Nearest shop: Co-op Food1 min walk32 m by road
- Nearest station: Elephant & Castle6 min walk440 m by road
- Big Ben2.5 km
- Tower Bridge2.7 km
- Buckingham Palace3.8 km
- The British Museum4.1 km
The lines are 5, 10 and 15 minutes on foot.
Distances follow the streets, not straight lines.
Rooms
22 room types, from 12 to 25 m².
- Bed in 4-Bed Mixed Dorm Shared Bathroom12 m²Sleeps 1Bathtub
- Single Room Ensuite12 m²Sleeps 1
- Triple Room Ensuite15 m²Sleeps 31 Bunk bed
- Twin Room Ensuite15 m²Sleeps 2
- Double Room Ensuite15 m²Sleeps 2
- Bed in 2-Bed Female Dorm Ensuite15 m²Sleeps 1
The other 16 room types
- Bed in 6-Bed Mixed Dorm Ensuite16 m²Sleeps 1
- Bed in 6-Bed Mixed Dorm Shared Bathroom16 m²Sleeps 1Bathtub
- Bed in 6-Bed Male Dorm Ensuite16 m²Sleeps 1
- 6-Bed Private Room Shared Bathroom16 m²Sleeps 6Bathtub
- 6-Bed Private Room Ensuite16 m²Sleeps 6
- Bed in 6-Bed Female Dorm Ensuite16 m²Sleeps 1
- Quadruple Room Ensuite20 m²Sleeps 44 Bunk bed
- Bed in 4-Bed Mixed Dorm Ensuite20 m²Sleeps 1
- Bed in 4-Bed Female Dorm Ensuite20 m²Sleeps 1
- Quadruple Room with Shared Bathroom20 m²Sleeps 44 Bunk bedBathtub
- Bed in 4-Bed Male Dorm Ensuite20 m²Sleeps 1
- Bed in 4-Bed Male Dorm Shared Bathroom20 m²Sleeps 1Bathtub
- 8-Bed Private Room Ensuite22 m²Sleeps 8
- Family Room Ensuite with Air Conditioning25 m²Sleeps 41 Double bed + 1 Sofa bed
- Bed in 8-Bed Mixed Dorm Ensuite25 m²Sleeps 1
- Bed in 8-Bed Female Dorm Ensuite25 m²Sleeps 1
From the hotel's own room descriptions, checked against each room's photos.
How it compares
How it ranks
Guests who booked rate it 7.2 out of 10. Only 17% of the 5,640 hotels in London are rated lower, and a typical one is rated 8.2.
Every review site, out of 100
12 Google reviewers ticked "Quiet", yet 25 guests complain about noise, and Walworth Road runs 22 m away.
Tripadvisor rates it 80 out of 100 and Booking network rates it 72. Booking network only takes reviews from people who booked and stayed, while Tripadvisor takes them from anyone.
More hotels in London
The nearest first, with our score for each.
How we know
299 reviews counted · 99 photos checked · updated 10 October 2026
- We collected this hotel's 893 most recent reviews from Google, Tripadvisor and the Booking network. 299 of them describe a stay in the last 2 years and are the ones counted here; the rest were 149 older, 82 in other languages and 363 with a score but no words.
- The hotel replied to 199 of its 200 newest Google reviews.
- 15 in every 100 reviews thank a staff member by name.
- 2 reviews mention a free upgrade, a cake or a gift.
- We looked at 99 photos: the first 40 of the hotel's own and the 59 newest from guests.
- Every number on this page is counted, not estimated. Anything in quotation marks is a guest's own words.