Keynes College - University Of Kent
Location: University Road, Canterbury, England, CT2 7NP, Canterbury, GB
Star Rating: 2 Stars
Property Type: Hostel/Backpacker accommodation
About this Property
Welcome to Keynes College at the University of Kent, where comfort meets convenience in the heart of Canterbury!
Prime Location: Experience the best of Canterbury with our hostel situated just a minute's walk from the University of Kent and a short drive to the iconic Canterbury Cathedral and the charming Westgate Gardens. Immerse yourself in the rich culture and history right at your doorstep.
Excellent Amenities: Our 609 spacious guestrooms offer complimentary wireless internet, ensuring you stay connected. Enjoy a complimentary full breakfast on weekdays and delightful meals at our onsite restaurant and café, perfect for refueling after a day of exploration.
Recreational Facilities: Stay active with our indoor tennis courts and fitness center. Unwind after a busy day in our picnic area or relax at the bar/lounge with a refreshing drink.
Don't miss out on this unique experience—book your stay at Keynes College today!
Important Information
Be sure to enjoy recreational amenities including indoor tennis courts and a fitness center. Additional features at this hostel include complimentary wireless internet access, a picnic area, and a vending machine.
Policies
Check-in: 03:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Amenities & Facilities
- Free breakfast
- Fitness facilities
- Free WiFi
- Garden
- Wheelchair accessible
- Picnic area
- Fitness facilities
- ATM/banking
- Library
- Free breakfast
- Front desk (limited hours)
- Grocery/convenience store
- Conference center
- Snack bar/deli
- Parking (limited spaces)
- Basketball on site
- Free self parking
- Free full breakfast
- Shared microwave
- Shared refrigerator
- Change of towels (on request)
- Upper floors accessible by stairs only
Rooms Available
-
Standard Double Room, Ensuite
1 Double Bed
172 sq feet
Internet - Free WiFi
Food & Drink - Electric kettle
Sleep - Bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower, towels, and a hair dryer (on request)
Practical - Laptop workspace, iron/ironing board (on request), and wardrobe or closet
Comfort - Fresh towels (on request) and heating
Need to Know - Limited housekeeping
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- Shower
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Free WiFi
- Bedsheets provided
- Laptop-friendly workspace
- Change of towels (on request)
-
Single Ensuite Room
1 Twin Bed
139 sq feet
Internet - Free WiFi
Food & Drink - Electric kettle
Sleep - Bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower, towels, and a hair dryer (on request)
Practical - Laptop workspace, iron/ironing board (on request), and wardrobe or closet
Comfort - Fresh towels (on request) and heating
Need to Know - Limited housekeeping
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)
- Shower
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Free WiFi
- Bedsheets provided
- Laptop-friendly workspace
- Change of towels (on request)
Guest Reviews
- Emelyn (8/5): - Breakfast has good selection.
- Dave (10/5): Great find. - Fantastic little find.
Friendly, quiet, clean. Cheaper than most hotels. Breakfast included was an extra surprise and bonus.
If I’m in the area over night again I’m certainly checking here for availability
- Ane (6/5): - Poor standard of amenities- tiny shower, and everything got soaked during shower, toilet was stained and old. Walls falling apart and gaps in grouting and moulding. No ventilation in bathroom and poor ventilation in the room. Windows need opening but located on ground floor so could not open at night. No bedside lamp and room was dark. Bed was great but a little damp. Slept very well as it was quiet and comfortable
- Michelle (10/5): - I just stayed for one night good value for money very friendly
- Janet (10/5): - Veey good basic accommodation. Very comfortable bed and en suite bathroom. The college isn't in the centre of Canturbury; it's a good mile to walk to the centre and it's up a hill on the way back. However there's a regular bus service to/from town.
- Thomas (8/5): - As expected, no thrills but clean and comfortable. Would avoid in hot weather though as the rooms are well insulated.
- Alan (8/5): - Basic, but perfectly adequate. Would book again.
- Jack (2/5): - The mattress was so bad, we had to move out and book a premier inn for the second two days.
- Chris (6/5): - Worst bed I’ve ever slept on. Mattress is completely worn out. The pillows and duvet smell of damp. There in mold on the shower room. The walls are paper thin and you can hear through them.
- Richard (6/5): Awful check in, uncomfortable bed, nice campus - Awful check in experience.
I queued up behind a couple whose electronic key fob to open their room wasn't working. They were given a card to get in instead.
The receptionist gave me an electronic key fob to get into my room. I went to my room to discover it didn't work, so went back to reception.
She then gave me an electronic card instead. I went to my room only to discover that that didn't work either, so went back to reception.
One of the other people on reception said they would come with me to try and diagnose the problem. It wasn't clear what needed diagnosing - I think they may simply have thought I was too dopey to use the key fob and card - but I agreed. We went back to my room where they discovered that the key fob I'd told them didn't work, didn't work, and that the key card I'd told them didn't work, didn't work. So we wandered back to reception.
Now I was given a key fob for a different room. Hurrah, it worked! But it was located in a flat full of Dutch school children on some kind of learning holiday. I'd no sooner got in my room than one of their carers knocked on the door and was quite insistent that I had to leave - understandably they were quite concerned about unknown adults around small children. So I wandered back to reception.
At fifth time of asking, I finally got a working key to a room I could stay in.
There are positives: the campus is nice, the breakfast is good. There's a bus stop very close by to get into town.
But very uncomfortable bed.
- Omar (10/5): - Very nice place confortable and nice staff strong recommend 5 stars.
- Steve (10/5): - Great value
- Alan (8/5): Great location - Great location, few minutes drive from centre. Free parking and very nice breakfast.
Rooms clean but bed was very uncomfortable.
- R (10/5): Comfortable and Good Value - Lovely location in the scenic grounds of Canterbury University. Room was similar in size, facilities, and comfort to a Travelodge, but with breakfast, wifi and room cleaning included, much better value.
Great breakfast.
A great location for a weekend trip to Canterbury.
- Karolina (8/5): Good - Cheapest accommodation in the area. Good price for own bathroom and breakfast included. The room was clean, but the the room and whole building had an unpleasant smell, and windows only open about 10cm, so couldn’t really air it out. Also the amenities weren’t the best with no soap or shower gel, which I didn’t bring and was hoping to be included. Not a major problem but would have been nice to know beforehand. I stayed for 2 nights, and housekeeping came to clean my room on the second day.
- Rebecca (10/5): - Standard university accommodation as expected, room was clean and it was nice to have access to a kitchen for microwave/ oven (note there is no kitchen equipment/ crockery etc). Reception staff were very helpful in finding our room. Breakfast was nice, good continental and cooked options.
- Ivor (8/5): - Reasonable price for a stay in very pleasant surroundings.
- Patricia (10/5): - Easy to find helpful staff great breakfast very good Wi-Fi and TV
- James (2/5): Shocking service. - Shocking service.
I arrived at 8.15 after trying to work out exactly where on earth I was supposed to go. At 8pm the reception apparently closes according to a chap I asked in the car park. After finally getting to reception (another person also waiting) we were directed to phone security to get the room key. 15 minutes later we had a key and directions to our block. Another 20 minutes later we still couldn’t find our block (at night the campus is extremely dark). Why the security guy could not have just shown us I’m not sure.
So I then went to the bar and paid £10 to any student that could get me to my room. Unfortunately they were ‘freshers’ so it took another 15 minutes for them to assist.
Room was fine. Service terrible.
- Terence (10/5): -
- Chris (10/5): Great value nice stay - Very accommodating and friendly
- Simon (8/5): Cheap & Cheerful - For price with parking and breakfast it’s what’s expected a head down night sort of establishment, however basic it is the breakfast was fine, it was clean and secure
- Philip (6/5): - Very dated room. Bed had springs pushing into me all night. Shower pod is wet all of the time. Fan wasn't working!
Not very cheap compared with what you get. A single bed, so don't roll over in the night if you're used to a bigger bed.
- Verified traveler (8/5): Uni visit - Great service in canteen for breakfast... friendly and professional. A bit more information and clearer from reception on the location of my room would have saved me a second journey. What was written as 12-6 (no spaces) was Block I Floor 2 Room 6. Would have been helpful to have that explained first time!
- Wanger (4/5): - My room was dirty; there was a dirty towel on the floor, the duvet tossed at the bottom of the bed and rubbish in the bin. I had to call the security since it was in the night, they came and changed my room.
- Enoma (10/5): Excellent service - Excellent service, very friendly staff. Bed was a tad springy but it is what it is. Great value for money. I will definitely return.
- Lauren (8/5): - Good room but basic - a bit tricky with reception after hours and not knowing about things like breakfast and checkout. Good location to Canterbury High street
- Michael (6/5): 30 minutes to gain access to room - Arrived at 20.10 - reception closed at 20.00 (stated as 22.00 on information. Took 30 minutes to gain access to room
- Stacey (8/5): Fab from arrival to departure, breakfast was fab - Just me and my son , visiting friends so this was perfect
- Sunjay (10/5): Perfect, excellent value and very convenient. - Excellent value and high standard accommodation just outside the centre of the City, there is a bus stop at the campus to the city which only takes 10 mins and to Whitstable which is only 25 mins journey. On the campus there is a very nice restaurant. There is a supermarket as well.
- rosamund (8/5): Recommend - Stayed for 8 nights, breakfast was excellent, so was student bar which also sold pizza and toastier, all the staff on campus were exceptionally helpful and friendly, Room was adequate no frills but you are only sleeping in there, Would use again the price compared with city centre hotels is much much cheaper and we really had no complaints.
- Neil (10/5): - Ensuite bathroom. Nice breakfast. Easy access to Canterbury by regular bus service.
- Nigel (8/5): Pleasant room and campus, great breakfast - Booked Keynes when there was no other reasonably priced accommodation available in Canterbury and were very happy with it. The room was pleasant and very clean, with extra pillows, tea and coffee making facilities, and toiletries provided. Didn't much like the wetroom (toilet, shower and washbasin all in one space), though - the floor was still wet all round the the toilet many hours after using the shower.
The breakfast was excellent and the staff - especially the kitchen staff - were cheerful and helpful. The bar provided a nice area for sitting with a drink, and served good pizza, but it would have been better without the big screens showing constant sport.
- Anne (8/5): Good, honest accommodation - Simple, clean and reasonably priced. Breakfast was good and staff were very friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend for a night or two to visit Canterbury or Whitstable.
- Adam (8/5): Good value, shame about the hard mattress. - Excellent reception / welcome, tasty breakfast, fair sized (student) room, smallish shower. The bed for me was too hard & the mattress too thin. I didn't sleep well. Shame, otherwise it was a good place to stay at a fair price.
- Stephen (10/5): One night stay - Perfect position and we had everything we needed in a great setting. We felt like students again although much more luxurious these days!
- Mark (10/5): Fantastic - Everything was great clean rooms , fantastic breakfast , cant fault the stay
- Verified traveler (8/5): - Exceptionally clean, breakfast excellent and good range to choose from, very helpful staff.
- Michael (4/5): - It would have been nice to have had views of the City and its Cathedral as shown on the pictures. The block provided was on the very back and not easy to find at night.
Some waiters didn't wear a mask.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - Very good! However checkout time was too early and check in is too late
- Neil (8/5): Typical student accommodation - The accommodation was ok though the bed was a little hard. There was no room service so had to request additional paper cups and tea/coffee for a three night stay.
Staff were very friendly and tried their best to help. Breakfast was excellent though not much choice in the evenings.
- Fraser (2/5): A disappointed visitor. - I have stayed in Travlodges that are better appointed. Paper cups for tea and coffee, one teabag each in the room, the one seat in the room had a big stain on it and the tv didn't work. At £120 a night I expected better from my former university and was hugely disappointed. I won't be going back.
- Una (6/5): Good location - Good location
- Verified traveler (10/5): - Great service cleaning everyday with high professionalism
- Helen (8/5): Pleasant cost effective stay - Breakfast could have been better, cold when sat down to eat it due to cold plates.... scrambled eggs too cooked. room comfortable and clean, reception staff pleasant and location well explained.
- Verified traveler (8/5): - Excellent room, excellent price. Really good for a one night stopover, and actually, for longer too. One of the nicest University accommodations I've stayed in. Modern, fresh and clean. Even the kitchen was lovely. My only complaint is the mattress wasn't the greatest, that could be improved. The breakfast was also very tasty. I had a full English, complete with vegetarian sausages. Ample parking too.
- Nick (10/5): - Great value for money, staff were very friendly and helpful and the room was clean and had everything you need.
- Brian (10/5): Excellent as usual - Service from everyone was excellent. Superb breakfast.
- G (6/5): - no air con can not open window more than couple of inches with the current heatwave not good sauna. I got a fan from reception still to hot and then the sea gulls did an early morning wake up call. Sad because the room was spotless nice bed etc etc, breakfast fantastic value. In the winter this accommodation etc etc would be 10/10
- Verified traveler (8/5): A stay at a Kent University and lots mild chat - Reception was great as was the layout of the campus. Rooms secure but basic. No TV and mattress thin / hard. Other than that room was fine.
Breakfast in the morning was very good.
- Verena (10/5): Very good stay - clean room, comfortable bed, excellent breakfast. Reception very friendly and helpful; busstation for city centre nearby.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - My room rate included a bike rental, which I did not realize but it was a pleasant surprise!
- Verified traveler (6/5): - A very nice setting with lovely views. Breakfast good.
The student accomidation was adequate but rather small for two people. The double bed was very small and very uncomfortable to sleep in. Shower facilities rather primitive.
- Rod (10/5): - Quiet, reasonably priced with responsive staff. It is simple student accommodation without frills but all you need for a low key stay.
- Verified traveler (8/5): - Nice restaurant bar within the campus with friendly staff. The overall environment was very clean and tidy. The included breakfast was excellent with a buffet style service and a wide variety of food and drink to choose from.
My only con was that the mattress was not as think/soft as I would have liked.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - Lovely little room, great price and lovely breakfast included!
- Verified traveler (8/5): - The bus service saves this place, though in good weather (when I presume most rooms are available) the city centre is an easy walk away. As you'd expect the rooms felt like stepping back into uni. They were basic, but they were clean, warm, comfortable and most importantly quiet. Having access to a kitchen was a nice touch which would have been of great benefit had I stayed longer. If I had one criticism, the check-in process was a little unsure and whilst there's free parking provided (I think I read before I went that there wasn't) there's no way to get the pass without parking up anywhere you can find to start with (potential issues with an overly zealous parking warden, for example). Overall I was very impressed.
- Verified traveler (8/5): - Being student accommodation, it was never going to be luxury, but very comfortable and clean with a surprisingly good breakfast and good location.
- ELIZABETH (6/5): - Location wise not bad. Buses serving regularly to city centre and Whitstable. However very disappointed with the room: very old and uncomfortable mattress; no hot water in the shower in the evening; defective toilet flushing; no shower gel left in the room on day 2 by the maid.
- Alan (8/5): Basic but doable - Comfortable accommodation. It's student halls so relatively basic. Good location being a 20 minute walk to the city.
- Catalin (6/5): Short stau in Cantenbury - Accomodatin on the university grounds. Good to have the back to school feeling. Better conditions than expected and only some 40 minutes walk to the center of Canterbury. I guess overall good quality for the money especially as many other places were way more expensive on the bank holiday break.
- Steve (10/5): - We found it very clean, staff very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was really good, lots of choice. We only stayed for 1 night but would not mind if we had a longer stay.
- Pierrette (8/5): - Very clean room with good amenities in the bathroom.
- Verified traveler (8/5): - The room was clean and staff were helpful in sorting out issues with keys.
With a car it is close to surrounding areas (Whitstable and the coast), which are lovely.
- Wendy (8/5): Great value - Easy to find. Quick check-in. Comfortable and very clean room. Very good breakfast and amazing value compared to Premier Inn and other hotels
- Tracy (10/5): Very comfortable. - Nice and cosy, clean dorm room. Very clean with tea and coffee facilities. A 30 min walk to the city which was pretty much all down hill on the way there. On the way back it's up hill but buses run every 15mins. Breakfast was great. Value for money it was great and much cheaper to book through Expedia. This will be my first choice for accomodation in the future.
- Verified traveler (8/5): Every thing you need - Came across The University accomadation while looking for somewhere to stay for w short break in Kent,could not fault it,the room was clean and modern,the staff were pleasant and helpful,the breakfast was good quality and plenty of it,we also had a few evening meal in the restaurant,no a huge choice but very nice food,also made use of the on-site bar which had a great atmosphere and wide selection of ales and spirit
We also liked the fact that you could leave your car in the car park which was free and use the Uni buses to get into Canterbury,would definitely recommend this as a place to stay
- Verified traveler (10/5): Canterbury's best value - Nice room and staff. Thank goodness door to reception open when I arrived close to midnight. Used phone on wall to call and nice security guard met me, showed me how to get to room, entries, where breakfast was in another building. (I called from airport to notify of delayed flight but no answer. Hotels.com tried to call also, no answer.) Full English breakfast of mediocre quality but it served its purpose. Only 30-35 minute drive to Dover Castle and White Cliffs. Ask reception for bus to Old Town Canterbury altho I drove and parked near Cathedral so I could leave when I wanted and put shopping bags in car. Entire trip was lovely, nice people everywhere; the college room was best value in all Canterbury. Only complaint was that the Wifi did not work anywhere on property.
- David (6/5): - Halls of residence. Good basic accommodation. Clean & tidy. Good breakfast choices.
- Andy (10/5): Canterbury on budget - We booked this university dorm to go to the Canturbury St Lawrence ground to watch cricket and have a few drinks in the town after. It took about 10 minutes by taxi.
- Gill (8/5): Functional and convenient - The accommodation was comfortable but rather functional as you would expect from a hall of residence - but the environment was pleasant, the staff friendly and the breakfast very good - which at the price was just want we wanted. We wanted to find out more about the accommodation ahead of my son going to Kent this Autumn so it was perfect. WIFI wasn't good though
- Dave (6/5): Guess I booked a student room.... - The booking provided a room at last minute for a fair rate, however the mattress was so hard it would have been as comfy sleeping on the floor and the shower was squeezed into the bathroom so snugly that it was hard to move once the curtain was pulled
- Brenda (8/5): A very useful base for explorers. - As I am a former resident of Canterbury its a bit difficult to look from a stranger's point of view but I think that the university of Kent would be a splendid base from which to explore Canterbury and the surrounding area. The bus service runs until reasonably late if you do not have a car and as everything is automated there is no problem with returning late . The breakfast is so generous that most people would need only a very light lunch. The shop on site is well stocked and open for very convenient hours.
- Verified traveler (8/5): A Morden and spacious kitchen - The location is good and the hotel condition is fabulous. The drawbacks are 1. Rubbish toilet paper. 2. Not enough cooking facilities in the kitchen.
- Stephen (4/5): Budget price gets you a budget room - The room/location was functional and because of that probably better suited to short stays of 1-2 nights. Unfortunately my 1 night there was spoiled by other people who decided to celebrate the end of their stay by having a small party in the courtyard below my room. Sure, this is University accommodation but "out of student season" I'd expect things to be quieter. Something to bear in mind - lots of groups stay there from a variety of countries and for a variety of reasons but not all are respectful of "quiet hours".
One plus was the breakfast which was more than adequate and varied (in terms of items).
Sadly I would not recommend staying somewhere like this unless you are on a budget. I was hopeful of a good experience but I will not stay somewhere like this again.
- Christine (2/5): No recommendation - I want my money back. Your description of the hotel was 3 bars 3 restaurants....didn't say they were not in use. I am so disappointed. No one showed us where our room was. Had to ask 3 people. Gave us a map!!! How could you even rate this as 3 star? The US have actual hotels not use a university for a hotel. That is misrepresentation.
- Millie (8/5): - Well, well, well - pleasantly surprised!
Fab location, fab venue to stay and things to do in the area all great.
Things that made the 1st night, slightly uncomfortable was the fact that there was no fan which = no air coming into the room. I had to literally walk with reception to House-Keeping to make sure I got a fan!
On the note on reception, the receptionist was slightly out of touch with reality, not helpful at all - I got want I wanted simply because I insisted...
Empathy and at least appearing to care would have gone a long way with me!
That said I would definitely go back!
- Verified traveler (8/5): Ideal overnight stay - Needed an overnight stop with no fuss . Registration easy ,facilities and staff very good . Breakfast was also very good . Only issue was advertised free wifi but this came on condition of signing onto a provider who would then use your info and bombard you with stuff you don,t want so did not have wifi during my stay
Photos