Basecamp Wales – My 1st Hostel Experience (A Motorcyclist’s Review)

During my epic road-trip to Wales which you can read about here: Part 1 and Part 2, my friend and I stayed at Basecamp located in Llanllyfni a small village on the outskirts of Snowdonia National Park.

To be fair I was very dubious as it was a hostel, something I had yet to experience. But for £24 for the night, for two of us sharing a private room, you couldn’t go much wrong, could you? However we had booked through Booking.com, a site I have always used and trusted and the reviews looked pretty good.

But this was still a hostel and I had built up in my head fears of bed bugs and stained mattresses which thankfully did not come true. For my 1st ever stay in a hostel I was actually pleasantly surprised and impressed.

The hosts, brothers Tim and Tom were extremely very friendly and helpful and instantly put me at ease (even if they did think I was a bloke as I pulled up on my motorbike after my friend!).

The location was ideal for exploring North Wales and we could even see the peak of Snowdon (although covered in cloud).

There was ample parking for the bike and the ground was nice and even. Ideal if a group of bikers wanted to stay. It was also well lit at night time.

Unfortunately we did not get a chance to explore the local delights which consisted of a pub, some shops and a few takeaways so can’t comment on those. But it had plenty of amenities to choose from.

Our room was a triple bedded room with a nice view out to the countryside and consisted of a small sink and a large cupboard to put our things in. Ideal for bike gear. Not that we needed to unpack as we were only staying for the 1 night.

Although basic, the room was immaculately clean.

The shared bathroom and showers were just down the hall and were separated into men’s and women’s. They too were very basic but again exceptionally clean.

As well as information on places to eat and local amenities the hostel also had it’s own self-catering kitchen. I tend to cringe at the thought of sharing a kitchen with other people. Probably because I have worked in catering all my life and know what habits and ideas of hygiene people have. But once again Basecamp would prove me wrong. It was a well organised clean space, with bins for recycling, a dishwasher, microwave, stove and all the crockery and utensils you could ask for. My favourite part of the kitchen was the honesty box system they ran. They had teabags, milk, sugar, coffee and an array of basic essentials which they had price tags on and you would just put the money for each item in a pot. I think it worked out about £1 for a cup of tea. A brilliant idea if you were only staying a short stay and didn’t want to fork out for a pint of milk or bag of sugar, every time you wanted a cuppa. 10/10 Basecamp!

Just off to the left of the kitchen was a communal area where you could eat, play pool, watch TV or just read a book. It was separated into little areas depending on what you wanted to do. A lovely little space if you just wanted to chill.

The outside was kept just as well and they even had their own animals onsite.

Overall a great little find and somewhere I would recommend when visiting North Wales. A basic, clean and budget friendly hostel. Ideal for:

• Budget travelling
• Motorcyclists
• Solo travellers
• Hikers
• Value for money
• Clean, honest accommodation with no frills
• Comfortable stay with private room
• Exploring North Wales

If you are interested in booking Basecamp for your next trip, you can do so by clicking my link here. Happy travelling and safe riding!