Loch Ness Backpackers Lodge

We stayed here in a larger family room. It was clean, quiet, convenient and had what we needed. Staff was very friendly and helpful. I would say the only quirky thing is the showers…the oscillating water temperature (from boiling hot to ice cold) even when set to “hot” was a bummer. We’re used to the water mixer type showers here so it’s not that… When you are out all day and wet, a hot shower is a must (or at least highly desirable!). Would stay here again, as the price is appropriate!

Great backpackers, wonderful staff, extremely clean environment. Kitchen is well set up, fully stocked bar if you wish to partake and a games box for those quiet nights. Lovely mix of people booked in who all intermingle. There is a supermarket (co-op) 10 mins walk, some take aways and restaurants close by. We kayaked here after fully completing the Great Glen (I would be cautious recommending arriving by kayak, there are not racks as advertised on the GG map and no true access points) Would happily recommend this place to anyone, the people really make it a pleasure

My wife,myself our2 boys and mother in law! stayed for 1 night on our way thru to Inverness. We had a 6 bunk room for the 5 of us which was clean & comfortable we had the use of the toilet/shower block which was clean and good hot shower. The kitchen area was clean & tidy and nice touch free tea & coffee. The only downside was when we'd pre booked the website said a continental breakfast was available onsite which unfortunately now isnt catered for and also that towel hire was £1 but is now £2. We had a lovely walk to the nearby waterfall and also down the lane thru the woods to the Loch. That said great location & facilities and we would definitely recommend if in the area.

My brother, my sister and myself had booked a night in a different hostel nearby on our road trip around Scotland. However, I missed the fact that the other hostel's reception was closing at 23:00 (completely my fault) so when we arrived at 23:15, there was no one there to open our room for us. We spent half an hour walking around and phoning trying to see if anyone was there, with no luck. We then thought we need to find another accommodation for the night, unless we wanted to sleep in the car. I phoned the Loch Ness Backpackers at around 23:45 and to my surprise someone picked up (I think this was Patrick, the owner). I explained our situation and Patrick showed a lot of understanding and compassion, however he advised me that all the staff are already in their beds and as much as he would love to help, there is no one there to open the room for us so he couldn't help us. We spent the next 15 minutes trying to phone other hostels and hotels around, including some in Inverness, with no luck (in fact one person kinda shouted at me and hung up). At this point, especially as this was all my fault, I felt terrible, tired, angry at myself and just overall terrible, like I had ruined the whole trip for my siblings. As I was running out of ideas of who to call next, my phone rang and it was Patrick! He was so kind that he had contacted his staff (at midnight!) and one of them, Liam, was still awake so he very kindly agreed to get out of his warm bed for us and show us to the room. Liam and Patrick literally saved us. Patrick asked me what kind of room I wanted over the phone, and I told him very honestly that anything he can offer will be wonderful. He could have taken advantage and overcharged us, and we would have still been very grateful, however he was very fair and charged us £24 per person. Both Liam and Patrick also very kindly said not to worry about paying in the evening and that we can pay for our stay in the morning once we have had a good sleep. The room was small, with 7 beds, and I can see how it might get crowded if the room was full, however if was just 3 of us in the room so it was perfect. The room was warm and had a window, everything seemed very clean and we had a good sleep. We had our showers in the morning as the showers in that area of the hostel don't have hot water so late at night, which was clearly outlined on the signs in the bathroom. We cannot express our gratitude enough to both Patrick and Liam for their kindness. Thank you for giving us a warm bed for the night.

We stayed 2 nights at Loch Ness Backpackers, 1 at the start of our NC500 trip and 1 at the end, we were a large group of 19 mixed families and were accommodated very well in various rooms and bunks. Both nights we pre-arranged food and enjoyed an amazing American BBQ feast firstly and a great curry night to end the trip - all very tasty, varied and plentiful and great value for money. It took the hassle out of having to cook or look for somewhere to eat and meant we could relax in the lovely lounge/bar or outside on the patio. We loved the relaxed and friendly nature of this hostel, the building and rooms are well cared for by Nikki & Patrick with a well equipped kitchen and clean bathrooms. The kids enjoyed the freedom of the patio area which led to a field where they could play football. We also enjoyed walks down to the river and on to the shore of Loch Ness (when the river went down sufficiently to hop across the stones!) Many thanks to Nikki & Patrick and their lovely children and great team of staff - a great start & finish to our holiday.

Good points... Friendly staff, kept our bags until check in, good communication and help re buses etc Bad points.... The top bunk squeaked, a lot. Also has no side to stop you falling out so every time my daughter moved I was awake and had to hold my hand up to see if she was near the edge. Yes I could have made her sleep on the bottom but she wanted to sleep on the top and to be honest I'd have been worried about rolling out too as often do out of single beds. The guy on reception did offer to move us but they were busy and I didn't want to be a nuisance. One toilet was out off order and the other one blocked, neither had toilet roll. I had to wander into the other block looking for a working loo with paper. The lack of carpet on the stairs made it very noisy. All in all.... The facilities seemed good but I wouldn't stay here again

I would advise anyone passing to stay! After having a bad experience with another accommodation, me and my partner booked this hostel last minute. We checked in and met the owner Patrick, who could not do enough for us. The facilities are super clean, Patrick is extremely knowledgable, welcoming and friendly and was a brilliant host. He upgraded us to a family room free of charge. We shared a few drinks on the evening and had a really long conversation before heading to bed. Thank you Patrick.