Right in the centre of Cork, this bright and lively hostel offers 24-hour reception, light Continental-style breakfasts, and free WiFi. You can make use of free luggage storage at Kinlay House Hostel, as well as free bed linen and a self-catering kitchen.
Both private rooms and dormitory beds are on offer, and Kinlay House also has a TV lounge and several common areas.
Located in the Shandon quarter of the city, the famous Cork English Market is less than 15 minutes’ walk away. Cork Opera House and 3 shopping centres are less than 10 minutes away on foot.
Day tours of the surrounding area including Blarney, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Ring of Kerry can be arranged at reception.
Internet access from computers is available at the hostel, and a chargeable laundry and drying service can also be used. Guests can lock-up valuables at the 24-hour reception or hire towels.
Score from 839 reviews
Excellent
7.2/10
Rooms: 40
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Address: Bob & Joan's Walk, Shandon, , Cork 
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Kinlay House Hostel Cork - Photos
What people say
Kinlay House is a travellers' hostel, so it's a lively place with lots of young backpackers passing through. It's practically next door to the Bells of Shandon (which you can ring, if you like). We were housed in a private room next door to the main facility, so maybe our room was quieter than the norm for the dorms, but we found the place completely comfortable, even if we could have been everyone else's grandparents. And Hamid Oucherfi, the manager, is genial and funny, genuinely engaged in g. all reviews »
Staff was very friendly, gave recommandations what to visit and where to go. We got a luxury room while we didn't asked for it, just because it was available. Very clean and cosy.
The television room was really comfortable and homely.
Staff were friendly.
Price was good.
Location good (next to the Maldron Hotel).
friendly and always helpful staf
nice company
budget offer
quiet room
great location
lovely Shandon
best hostel in Cork.
- clean and spacious room
- friendly staff
- very close to the city center
- low price with breakfast included.
Stayed in a single room, which has a bunk bed in the room. Everything was clean with a sink in the room.
The owner gives great tips about what to do and where to go and we had an excellent breakfast here.
We loved the close location and the super-friendly staff. I would definitely stay here again!.
facilities are well provided. I love the computer room and TV room.
everything I needed was in walking distance.
and friendly people.
beds really comfy
got what you paid for
staff were quirky :).
Close to where we needed to go in Cork City.
little outdoor setting to catch some sunshine.
price, helpful staff, interesting clientele.
Included small breakfast, wifi, tv.
Friendly Staff and location.
Hot showers, helpful staff.
Good location, good value.
Everything brilliant.
the hostel is clean.
My room,although 16 beds in it was good because there were smaller sections within the room walled-off that made it a bit more private. The cost of this room was perfect if you were on a budget. The kitchen was very large with lots of table space and cooking facilities.it was kept nice and tidy and there was a light breakfast in the morning of tea and toast.The sitting room is spacious and comfortable with a lovely walled flatscreen tv, a nice place to chill in the evening.there is free interne.
We are a couple and I stayed in a double private room. Small, but it was clean and nice, and it was not in the main building so it was quite private.
- close to the center
- reasonably quiet
- possibility to use the kitchen
- staff was friendly and welcoming.
Free wifi, good location, comfortable enough beds.
Good location, friendly and helpful staff.
Quiet
Lovely embroidery on the bedcovers.
It has a shared kitchen.
the view from our room.
location and stuff.
location.
Even when I found a spider in my room, the furniture was reasonibly clean and the room tidy. Clean sheets, and towel, and sink inside the room was a point.
Atmosphere was good. Close to the city center. For hostel standards
shared bathroom was clean. Light breakfast was ok. Stable WiFi.
Good location - close to the city centre.
Friendly staff.
the friendly staff.
Location.
What's not to like?.
The toilet seat was loose, but I am sure they will fix this in a second.
The television room closing at 1am.
Dorm door didn't close on its own, it needed to be shut..So sometimes when others left the room, they accidentally left the door open.
cold diningroom.
Shower on the first floor was broken with only cold water, fortunately there wasn't a lot of people staying at the same time so we didn't have to fight for shower, but I wish they would fix it soon.
Nothing at all!.
door was hard to close.
I found out afterwards that we could have stayed in a B&B for 25 euro and had comfortable beds and a breakfast! So, it cost us 23 euro and we slept in bunk beds. Should be at least cheaper than a B&B.
kitchen a bit outdated. Some backpackers might have trouble with the many steps.
early closure of hostel kitchen after breakfast.
Corridors a bit dark, could do with a spring clean.
None.
it's located in a place that you can't easily reach.
My bed was overused and all night long the springs dug into my back. The toilet for my room was for both men and women, showers could of been cleaner and at least 2 of the toilets didn't close properly. For a 16 bed room there was 3plug sockets,one of which was broken. There was no lockers to safely store luggage in the room and the lock to the bedroom door was stiff to open. Tv room opens at 11 in the morning and there isn't anywhere to comfortably wait if you have to.
The breakfast is terrible: Only toasts and tea/coffee.
- could be cleaner
- the showers call for some renovation
- stuffed sink in the room
- compared to other places, it could be a few euros cheaper, although the fact that a basic breakfast is included in the price makes it more reasonable (depending on what kind of breakfast you want).
Have to press the tap every 5 seconds to have a cold shower.
The toilets and showers could be cleaner and more tidy.
Curtain let too much light come into the room.
The way to the top floor with lots of luggage can be pretty tough and there is no free internet acess.
toilet is a bit of small..
shower tiny - I don't know if the other rooms were ensuite but one measly small shower... a bit more attention there I feel. It was clean though.
The main thing was it was clean and handy. I think the standard could improve. It would really make a difference. Things like bed side lights are important.
No Internet in the room, I had to go to the TV room, or Media room. Poor breakfast.
Room (twin without bathroom) was very dirty and I felt that the bed was
buggy (woke up with awful bites on my forearms and feet - they looked
like bedbug bites, really). Staff wasn't so friendly and helpful.
Definitely not worth 50 euro for twin room per one night.
Walls were paper thin so could hear everything around us at all times. Kept awake at night by noise - nobody being particularly loud but old building. Room was old fashioned and bathroom had holes in the walls and no extractor fan.
There was a lot of noice. The whole night long with drunken people standing outside the front door.
There was a group of spanjard people in the TV-room that were screaming and so nobody could enjoy the peacefull surrounding anymore. There was nobody of the staff that sad anything, unfortunally.
Wi-fi coverage and quality are very poor - you need to go to special
room to use it. In-room heating was centrally turned off all day long
and almost all night.
I was unknowningly checked into the wrong room on the first night of my stay. I returned late on the second night to find new occupants of my dorm room and bed without any kind of notification. My bag had been packed and moved without my permission and items I had left in the bathroom had been discarded. It was embarrassing to barge in on people on the second night and I felt it was kind of inappropriate to pack up someones luggage without any attempt of contact.
The beds are very uncomfortable and dirty. The staff is rather unfriendly. The showers are really basic and dirty. There are no powerplugs in the rooms. No lockers. Even the rather low price is too much. I would recommend going somewhere else in the city or the surroundings. I have stayed in dozens of hostels around the world and can say that this hostel is the worst.
