YHA Helvellyn - Penrith

YHA Helvellyn: A Comprehensive Guide

YHA Helvellyn, located at Greenside Rd, Penrith CA11 0QR, United Kingdom, is a renowned hostel and campground that offers exceptional group accommodation and youth hostel services. Established with the goal of providing affordable and comfortable lodging to travelers, YHA Helvellyn has become a trusted name in the industry.

SPECIALTIES

• Hostel
• Campground
• Charity
• Group accommodation
• Youth hostel

KEY FEATURES AND FACILITIES

• Spacious and well-maintained dormitories and private rooms
• Modern amenities including Wi-Fi, shared kitchens, and laundry facilities
• On-site restaurant and bar serving delicious meals and refreshments
• Engaging social spaces for guests to interact and form new friendships
• Surrounding natural beauty with hiking trails and breathtaking views

REVIEWS AND TESTIMONIALS

YHA Helvellyn has received an impressive average rating of 4.5/5 based on 233 reviews from satisfied guests on Google My Business. Many reviewers commend the hostel's cleanliness, friendly staff, and exceptional value for money. The establishment's commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community, is also noteworthy.

Address: Greenside Rd, Penrith CA11 0QR, United Kingdom
Phone: 3453719742
Website: yha.org.uk

👍 Reviews of YHA Helvellyn

David P.

Cheap and cheerful and very clean. The vibe and ethos are great for walkers up in the mountains. It is a well-considered set up in an exceptional location for walks in the mountains above Glenridding in the Lake District. I didn’t eat there but the food looked good.

Mike G.

Six blokes from Manchester stayed for 1 night on Saturday 23rd June 2018. We climbed Helvelyn and then hiked down Striding Edge into Glenridding. We parked our cars in a car park near Thirlmere water not realising this was the wrong side to tackle Striding Edge the safer way on aswel. It was only when we arrived in Glenridding that we discovered it was a 3.5 hour walk back to the cars on the roads or a 40 minute taxi drive back to Swirls car park. We had already been on the mountains for 6 hours. We spoke to the local farmer who gave us MIKE the local taxi drivers details. He charged the 6 of us £45 to get back to the cars and we then drove back to Glenridding in our own cars. When driving to the hostel we were surprised how far back into the mountain of Helvelyn it was! The idea of walking back and to from the hostel to the pubs was a bit off putting after a major hike, so we paid Mikes the taxi drivers sister in law £10 to pick us up and drop us off in the village. The drive is about 6 minutes and I would guess 35 mins walk.|On arriving in the hostel the computers were down and we couldn't have access to our 2 rooms. I didn't understand the full issues as they had our booking sheets and only have so many rooms. They had to keep calling head office . Anyway after 30 mins or so it was sorted.||The rooms are basic but clean. The bunk beds are really comfy ,but the rooms are really hot to sleep in even with the windows open and a cold stream outside.

Martin S.

5/5

Clean, warm, comfortable and no frills accommodation which is all we needed.
It's located a bit of a walk from Glenridding centre and whilst accessible by car, the road/track to it is unpaved and quite rough in places. However free parking is available here.
Ideally located for a wander up Helvellyn and many other walks..
Food and drink are available in the hostel and the staff were friendly and helpful.
Overall a pleasant place to stay.

Trip.com M.

Great location, will definitely come again for a hule trip. Had to keep the window open as the carpet was a bit smelly, it could definutely use a cleanup. But ocerall a pleasant stay !

Dave M.

Had a really good time here the place is magical the children loved it food was good all staff were very helpful. The only moan I would have is the track to the place is horrible potholes rocks .my car is booked into the garage. The under side damage is really bad so be warned if your car is high off the ground or a 4x4, don't worry . But saying that it's a lovely place to visit

Jakarta

The hostel was clean, remote, very basic. The kitchen was small, very small bar/reception area, rooms small, no sink, mirror, sockets or lights on the bunks, no storage in the room, but they were clean. Staff really nice too. The road has to be the worst point of this hostel, we had to drive at snails pace down quite a long track/road to get to the hostel, (hit our undercarriage a few times with the holes and bricks) people also had punctures whist we were there. Sorry but won’t be returning due to this terrible road.

Eve H.

It pains me to give a poor review for a YHA. We love the charity and hostel a lot (this was our third trip in 2024 already) but unfortunately it didn’t live up to expectations. ||We booked a Landpod. They’re brilliant, we’ve stayed in them many times before. We specifically chose one this time because of a disability in our party which meant we needed proximity to a loo, knowing from previous visits that the small outdoor block was just steps away from the pods. Unfortunately we were told at check in that this block had been out of use all season, something which wasn’t on the website when we booked and wasn’t confirmed to us ahead of time by email or by phone so we could make an informed choice (we would, through necessity, have booked elsewhere). This is very poor. ||The nearest loos which we were told to use were under the mine tunnel, in through the front door (which has an electronic lock at night) along the corridor and down the stairs. There were four, though one didn’t have a lock, a safeguarding risk in a mixed facility and also therefore out of bounds to us. The hostel was full and very busy, as was the bathroom. This made an already challenging situation worse. ||More generally, the self catering kitchen was absolutely filthy, the worst of any hostel we’ve stayed at ever. There were open packets of food and uncovered ingredients (including mouldy things), leftovers, leaking and spilling packages strewn on every surface, making it impossible for others to prepare food. When we mentioned this, large groups were blamed, but it could certainly have been managed more robustly by staff to make the kitchen more pleasant, or frankly just even usable, for other visitors. ||For balance there were some good things … from what we heard, staff seemed to be good at giving advice on walks. The pod beds were comfy, breakfast was good.||Overall though we’re gutted to have booked something in good faith which the YHA, despite having a website and sending me numerous confirmation emails and text messages, knew was not available but failed to tell me in advance.

Jonathon D.

Staff were great and location could be considered good for some as it is located at the base of some of the Helvellyn ascent routes, however, it is also a 25 minute walk from Glenridding, so consequently there are no shops in the immediate vicinity. Staff were great as said, and there is a communal kitchen and drying room, though the WiFi was virtually not working at all, and any little spark of life had to be taken from a very specific part of the ground floor building. Honestly, for the price paid, to not have working WiFi, I would consider it quite the rip-off. The room door was also not functioning properly, and though the bathrooms were clean, and the showers good, it is priced too high for a place without basic 2024 amenities - i.e. WiFi (there is no mobile signal).