It was the smell of curied cauliflower soup left in unwashed pots that permeated the whole of this formerly beautiful Georgian house which had us all gagging and the children convinced that there was a dead body buried under the floor boards.
Luckily it is handily juxtaposed with the Texaco garage "Hello there" it says on the sign. All very laid back, very casual and very Irish.
Listen, for 15 euros per night per person, it was literally as cheap as fish and chips. Kinsale is more expensive than Nice.
Pack your bed socks, an air freshener, ear plugs, don't leave your belongings in the room. And oh, no hot water, so make sure your put plenty deoderant in your bag.
There is a telly, 6 gas rings, no oven a go slow toaster and lots of videos.
Beds and bedding clean though.

better than I expected, after reading the negative reviews. adequate security with front door locked at night with access code, Kinsale is a small quiet town anyway. hostel is a former 2-story house. TV lounge and kitchen were good, but the whole place is unheated in winter, being only 10-15 degF warmer than outside temp. little chilly watching TV, but beds have thick enough comforters. apparently the young live-in manager fella is new in the past year and does make an effort to keep it clean, if quite reserved and not talkative(huge Barry Manilow fan). 15e dorm is a tad much given there's no extras like either b'fast or internet as you might find in other places. shower water heated by wall units, better than some hostels in Ireland, but still has the same lame and useless 2-tap sinks like Ireland insists on using.

I can see why people might complain about this place. It's certainly a bit run down and the owner was not that friendly when i phoned him on arrival.

However I thought it was clean - albeit quite shabby - and very friendly (the other guests and the day time staff were very nice). I was literally looking for a place to lay my head at night and couldn't have done better than the E15 charge for a dorm bed.

Although I didn't spend much time in the common areas - it looked like quite a fun place to hang out - there was a ping pong table in the conservatory.

I would reccommend it if you are looking for a basic budget place and nothing more. Don't forget to bring a towel with you as they aren't provided and get up early if you want a shower!

If the owner installed locks on the doors and was a bit more friendly to customers over the phone, the place would be greatly improved.

Do not stay here. Avoid at all costs. No receptionist, door wide open all day, signs everywhere to watch your valuables, no locks on doors, no locker facilities. One toilet and shower room between about 6 rooms on the first floor incuding dorms. Aggressive owner. Filthy kitchen. Tourist office said they had received so many complaints about it. If you want to have your stuff stolen and feel vulnerable and unsafe, have a fetish for dirty kitchens then this is the place for you!