Clink Hostels 6

Over ten years ago, Anne and Shelly, two sisters from Dublin, went backpacking and loved it so much they decided to start their own hostel. Ashlee House at 261 Grays Inn Road, London was born. With a team of loyal staff, hard work and dedication, Ashlee House soon became an well-known and popular backpacker hostel.

With a sound knowledge of the industry and always up for a challenge, when the old Clerkenwell Magistrates Court on 78 King's Cross Road became available it was an opportunity too good to be missed. It was refurbished as a hostel with a quirky, stylish, bold décor to compliment its striking exterior, and the new-born hostel was called ‘Clink’. Why ‘Clink’? Clink is an English slang word for a prison, and with its old prison cells and courtrooms the name seemed apt!

Though Ashlee House and Clink were very different hostels in size and style, they shared the same character, the careful management, the development of staff and the sense of understanding of our guests, so it was decided to bring them together as Clink Hostels, renaming them Clink261 and Clink78.

We're glad to say that Clink has gone from strength to strength by giving guests a friendly, fun, relaxed and comfortable hostel experience in stylish surroundings that are a bit more daring than the norm.

Our Guests

It's impossible to generalise, but... to generalise... our guests are generally aged between 18 – 40, open minded, chilled out and respectful travellers who want to be involved in and experience the city they stay in. It is our aim to ensure each guest has a truly memorable trip.

Our Staff

Clink staff are integral to the business. We look for smart, savvy, creative, interesting, witty, happy and different people. And luckily we find lots of them, and they find us!

There are plenty of opportunities for career development at Clink. We believe in building from within and offer training and development to all our staff, so they can progress through the company. We employ many different nationalities (at least 20 at the moment) and value the insights this gives us. We also have social events throughout the year, which probably contributes to the great team atmosphere. At Clink we're proud of who we are and what we do. We're keen to ensure that each hostel retains its own character and unique colourful style whilst still being part of the Clink family, and we're very aware that our staff and guests are the greatest ambassadors for Clink Hostels, so we know that looking after them is central to our success.