Located in a listed ex-courthouse, the Clink set the bar high for party-style hosteldom when it opened a few years back. There was the setting: the hostel retains the superb original wood-panelled lobby and courtroom where the Clash once stood before the beak. Then there’s the urban-chic ethos that permeates the whole enterprise, from the streamlined red reception counter to the Japanese-style ‘pod’ beds.
A thorough redesign of the public areas and licensed café/bar downstairs (no alcohol is allowed to be brought into the hostel), with computer screens for internet access (£2/hr), has given things a new rock ’n’ roll fillip, with street-art decor and more comfortable furniture to enhance the place’s good-time vibe. Clink261, nearby, might be a better choice for older and calmer hostellers.