Hopes hostel to be a home from home
A BRAND new hostel with prices as low as £20 a night is set to open in Swansea city centre this month.
Called Cwtsh Hostel, it will overlook Castle Square and will be a combination of pod and private accommodation. Work began on the new venture in January and it is expected to open on November 1.
There will be nine rooms in total – four of which will be private with double beds, whilst the other five will be dorm rooms, three 12-bed and one four-bed, and the last dorm will become a 10-bed. A single pod bed will be £20 a night, £25 a night for the four-bed dorm. The private rooms will start at £50 a night.
It will also have a small coffee shop, while there are also plans for Welsh classes and electric bike hire.
Managing director, Llyr Roberts, said: “My whole thought is, you have never been able to stay in Swansea for less than £60 or £70 a night. We’re trying to capture that budget end of the market.
“Swansea has got plenty to offer, it has a new arena with 3,500 capacity, and I’m sure when that’s full with events happening we can be there to accommodate those people who want to stay instead of going home.
“Cwtsh is a Cwtsh, it’s home, so that’s where the idea for the name came from and trying to play the Welsh theme. We’re looking at some other things like having introductory Welsh classes, a few things in terms of Welsh tourism. We are trying to get backpackers there, students, families, everyone and anyone really.
“There will be a communal kitchen and communal area with kitchen facilities, projectors, cinema and plenty of games in there. We’re going to have a small coffee shop operation with more takeout coffee and crepes and cakes being sold on sight.”
Mr Roberts explained he had been trying to find the right building for the venture for the last five or six years.
“It’s all come together recently. It’s my first venture into a hostel business,” he said.
“The other venture I have got in Swansea is Breakout Live Swansea on The Kingsway which opened in 2016. That’s my first business in Swansea and I’m doing my best to help the regeneration of the city.
“Swansea has got a special place in my heart because I went to university here. Some grant funding from the Welsh Assembly tourism industry has helped us get started.”