THE TRAVEL EDIT - GENERATOR HOSTELS - LONDON

I have to admit that I'm a hostel newbie, having only stayed in a YMCA during the Girls on Tour trip to Bath with the Shoreditch Sisters. So when Generator Hostels invited me to a blogger's sleepover event to celebrate Pancake and #PublicSleepingDay, I was really curious as Generator London looked totally different to my YMCA experience and it really was.

If you're visiting London, the Generator Hostel is in a perfect location. You just step out of the front door and you're smack bang in central London minus the noise and chaos. The hostel is only a short walk away from Russell Square with, Kings Cross, Covent Garden, Regents Park and the British Museum all being within easy walking reach too. If you're new to London, you can join the complimentary London tour, Generator offer to help you get your bearings and make new travel buddies. 

Generator Hostels couldn't be further from the typical image that comes to mind when you think of a traditional hostel. Generator combines design led interiors with a luxurious and social feel to provide super affordable, high quality accommodation. Prices start at £20 a night which is amazing for an expensive city like London. 

What started as a family run business in Berlin in 1995, has quickly seen expansion with Generator hostels now offering unique and fun accommodation all over Europe such as in Barcelona, Copenhagen, Paris, Rome, Venice, Stockholm and Amsterdam. There are plans underway to open a hostel in Madrid and Miami later this year too.

Generator London used to be an old Police station and has been redesigned by Generator to reflect the city’s street life. Local reclaimed timber, exposed brickwork and hot-rolled black steel give the hostel an industrial feel. There are bold graphics and vibrant patterns mixed in with famous British cultural icons. There's even a classic London Red Bus parked next to the bar’s dance floor! 

Generator hostels are more than just a place to lay your head after a busy day of exploring, as they also run a number of events for guests and locals in each of their city bases, with many of the events being free! All events are inspired by what's going on locally and have been carefully curated to provide a fun and social experience. A really great concept for sole travellers too as the events are designed to get you out of your room and instead have you making friends and fun memories, not to mention......trying out delicious food and drink.

There are a range of rooms and dorms on offer, so there really is something to suit all needs and budgets. You can choose from shared dorms, to female only shared rooms set up with hairdryers and dressing tables to twin rooms with or without an en suite which are perfect for those travelling solo and wanting a bit more privacy and couples. We were in a large shared dorm with shared bathroom facilities and I was really impressed with the standard of the rooms and importantly the bathrooms. Everything was super clean and tidy. The rooms are bright with pops of colour, the bed was surprisingly comfy (I usually find it hard to sleep in a single bed) and there were plenty of plug sockets available for us to charge our phones and cameras in our room and in the social areas.

I had such a fun night at the blogger's sleepover at Generator London! It was so lovely to meet and catch up with other bloggers for the evening, making cocktails with the help of the resident Mixologists before cooking pancakes on camping stoves!! I managed to flip mine without any disasters and boy did the pancakes taste good, so good in fact they were eaten without me even taking a photo!

After the pancakes, there was the option of heading out on a Camden Pub Crawl, but a group of us bloggers decided to stay and explore the hostel bar and the food on offer, while we chatted away on all things blogging, beauty, fashion and travel. Then it was time for pjs and Julie and I to pour over Lucy's newly purchased Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette (and yes I was totally enabled and ordered the palette the very next day! Oops!). All in all my perfect kinda evening! 

You can book you stay at Generator London here.

Jx