Oxford Backpackers Hostel
9a Hythe Bridge Street
Oxford OX1 2EW
Phone: (0044) (01865) 721 761
If you're the partying type, this place may be great for you. Personally, I find it irritating to have loud punk music playing in the smoky commons room around the clock, and a local pop station playing in the halls (audible clearly in the rooms) from about 8am to about 11pm. I like to have a little life in a hostel, but it's also nice to be able to have a quiet place to go, which you definitely do NOT have in this place.
Despite the #5 deposit and the threat that if you don't clean your dishes immediately you'll lose your deposit, the kitchen is not very clean. It's moderately well-stocked, but very small. The showers were hot when I arrived yesterday afternoon, but this morning at 9:30am they were tepid at best. Unless you're extremely gregarious and good at injecting yourself into groups, this is not a good place to socialize, as most of the people here seem to have already formed social cliques, and in fact most of them seem to live at the hostel. (My room actually has a suit rack in it, which has a number of dress shirts and slacks hanging from it.)
The hostel does have a bike storage spot, but it's so jammed full that I'm a little worried about my bike getting banged around as other people take theirs out. They also have "lockers" to store your valuables (#1 key deposit, 50p/day), but I couldn't find a single one that worked, so they finally just gave me a key to one of the "staff" lockers. The lock could be easily broken off, but I'm counting on nobody taking the risk of getting caught while they do it.
One thing I find particularly entertaining at this hostel is the vending machine. This one vending machine has everything you could possibly need: Chips (called "crisps" here), candy bars, headcold relief medication, packs of Kleenex, and condoms. Oh, wait, there's also the Coke machine right next to it, so I guess your Life Support has to come from two machines. What more could you ask? Drinks, munchies, sex and hangover meds and something to clean up with, all at your fingertips. The only things it doesn't sell are alcohol (they're in the process of putting in a bar) and your bed buddy. Hey, you gotta do SOME of the work yourself!
This place is a bit expensive at #10 (no discounts), but the YHA is the same price (but they give a #1 student discount). Personally, I think I'd rather be at the YHA, but they're totally booked at the moment.