Here at Ashlee House Hostel we love our city, in every season.
This summer we loved spending time in the nearby parks, enjoying the sun and the joyful atmosphere… and now that winter is up to come, we are all looking forward to the Holiday season… Christmas, of course, but first of all…

HALLOWEEN!

Halloween in London is always something special.

Not only all the pubs and shops are completely decorated, offering you themed food and drinks, but there are also many events, all around the city, ready to give you the most exciting and spooky time of your life.

Here is our personal list of…
10 THINGS TO DO IN LONDON AT HALLOWEEN

1 – The Blood And Tears Walking Tour – Special Halloween Edition!
Declan and his amazing rave-reviewed spooky tour were sold out two weeks in advance, last Halloween!! Be quick and book your place, if you don’t want to lose the chance to experience one of the very best walking tour in London. More info and details on the official website.
As a cherry on top, if you stay with us in Ashlee House, you will get discounted tickets!

2 – The London Dungeon
One of the most famous attractions in London, with people queuing for it day and night all year long, will be at its best on the Halloween days, with a special world-record program taking place from 18th October to 2nd November!
More info on the official website.
Book your ticket at Ashlee House reception desk: it will be not only discounted, but you will also jump the looong queue!

3 -  The British Library
Halloween is coming and the greatest library in London is ready to celebrate it.
Focusing on the period between the 1860s and 1930s, you can attend an illustrated talk examining the fascination that images of spirits, ghosts and ectoplasm held in the minds of the public, as well as high profile figures like Arthur Conan Doyle. This event is called ”Imagining The Impossible” and will be held by Gordon Rutter, head of the Charles Fort Institute and expert on strange phenomena. A good chance to talk to an expert about that shadow you saw last night… More info on the official website.
And the British Library is only 5 minutes by walk from Ashlee House Hostel!

4 – The Ministry of Sound
The Ministry of Sound, one of the most famous London nightclubs, plays host to another night of quality Halloween madness, with everything to keep your Halloween night pumping! Check the official website for more details and ask our Reception staff… if you give us candies, we might be able to get you on the Guest List!

5 – Fancy Dress Boat Party
If you feel creative and you want to show off your great costume, this is the party for you! A 4 hours cruise on the Thames on the London Belle, departing from Westminster Pier: great food, two fully stocked bars, large dance floor and a variety of great music, what better way to spend Halloween this year?
A mystery prize will be also presented to the best dressed!
Click here for more info.

6 – Madame Tussauds and the Chamber of Horrors
The most famous London day-out will be at its best also in the Halloween days!  Make all your Screams come true with a travel trough the most famous chamber of Horrors in London! Will you be able to escape?? Check the official website for more info… an if you buy the tickets at Ashlee House Reception, your screams will be discounted!!

7 – London Bridge Experience
This year, the London Bridge Experience brings you face to face with your deepest, darkest fears. Focusing on the fear of fear itself, the Phobophobia Halloween show will take you past walls that are dripping in blood, squeeze you through confined spaces and make you gasp in terror as you’re met with spiders, snakes, cackling witches and creepy clowns.
Need to know more? Check the official website! No worries, though… Ashlee House Reception is open 24h: if you’ll have nightmares, you can come and talk to us!

8 – Ripleys
One of the oddest museums in London will be ready to scare your socks off on Halloween days! Crammed with witchy artefacts and spooky objects, Ripleys Believe it or Not Museum is the perfect place for a little Halloween fun. Check out the shrunken heads, spell books, wands, and vampire killing kits… who knows, you might need one, sooner or later!
Go to the official website for more info.

9 – Chills in the Chapel: Horror Movie Nights!
What about four nights of terrifying horror films, with a backdrop just as spooky as the films you will be treated to, and all FOR FREE? The gothic Union Chapel – just a few minutes by tube from Ashlee House Hostel – with candles and atmospheric lighting, will be home to the screams of the terrified for four nights, including Halloween itself.
Check the official website for info and to pre-book your free place.

10 – Wicked!
Enjoy the most… wicked London musical, the untold story of the evil witches of Oz! This is the perfect time of the year to applaude this amazing west end show, running since more than 3 years and yet sold out every night!
More info on the official website.

AND… of course… the most important point is…

11 – Come and stay with us in Ashlee House! We offer you 10 % DISCOUNT ON YOUR STAY if you decide to come to London for the Halloween Celebrations!!

This year, London is definitely the best place where to be at Halloween, with your friends or your family!

Come and join us in the Halloween Fun! We will be waiting for you! : )

{Thank you very much to Paul Thomas, Marc Barker, Chris, Angelo Noziglia and Brian for the great photos attached to this post!}

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We also had a short movie filmed in our reception and rooms (click here to read about!) and there is a Vue Cinema just 10 minutes by walk from the Hostel, in the Angel area, with many screens with all the latest releases.
(Click here to check if your favourite movie is already on screen!)

With so many great Festival all around Europe, travelling for film-lovers has never been so appealing!

Cannes, Venice, Rome, New York… so many great cities are hosting directors and actors, and of course London is right on the top of the list!!

The Times BFI 53rd LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2009 will take place from Wednesday 14 October through Thursday 29 October 2009.

This amazing event attracts every year many international filmmakers, promising to show you the best of the best in contemporary world cinema.

Last year the Festival opened with the World Premiere of Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon and closed with the European Premiere of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, and this year the program is not less exciting.

As the Film Festival Artistic Director Sandra Hebron says, “What is the cinema, if not dreams?”
This year’s Festival you will find plenty of films that work on many levels, enough for every taste and expectation.

Anyone looking for work by some of the world’s most significant filmmakers can enjoy new films from Claire Denis, Joel and Ethan Coen, Manoel de Oliveira, Frederick Wiseman, Bong Joon-ho, Steven Soderbergh, Jim Jarmusch, Shyam Benegal and many more.
They will be represented alongside a wealth of newer talents including Warwick Thornton, Jordan Scott and Mia Hansen-Løve, with also the welcome return of such maverick voices as Eugène Green, Andrew Kötting and Harmony Korine.

The opening and closing night films, both presented as World Premieres, will be Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson, and Nowhere Boy, by Sam Taylor-Wood, where John Lennon’s early life is told as a love story.

In between these two, alongside the new fiction features and documentaries from around the world, there will be a lively programme of short films, animation, avant-garde and experimental work.

And if all this is not enough, what if we tell you about the FREE SCREENINGS in Trafalgar Square, taking place on the 22nd October?

Under the granite eyes of Horatio Nelson, in the most famous and central of London squares, you will be able to enjoy a selection of short films from the BFI National Archive and London’s Screen Archives.

All the films will be screened in various venues all around the city, so you will be able to see some of the most beautiful London landmarks as long as your favourite flicks.

For all the details about the Festival and its prestigious participants, just check the BFI official website.

If you love cinema, why not coming to London, this October?

Here at Ashlee House Hostel we offer you 10% DISCOUNT on your stay, if you book with us to attend to the Film Festival!

And if you did not have enough of seeing movies all day, you can keep doing it in Ashlee House!
Every night is a movie night, in our Hostel, thanks to the big screen in our lounge and our wide collection of DVDs.

What are you waiting for?
The best of the world cinema and the best Hostel in London are here waiting for you!!

WHERE: Many cinemas all around London, and also Trafalgar Square!
WHEN: From 14/10/09 to 29/10/09
WHY: Because it’s a great chance to see the preview of some of the best world movies and meet your favourite filmmakers and actors!

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEE YOU THEN!
(But hey… don’t forget the pop corn!)

{Thank you very much to Steve Rhodes, Richard White and Simon Pearson for the beautiful photos attached to this post!}

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What we like the most of our job is the possibility to cross the lives and stories of so many different people from all around the world.
We have been travellers ourselves, so we know how it feels to be on the other side of the desk, no matter if your journey is a holiday, a break or a path of self discovery.
Every day is different and we are happy to say that our job is never dull or boring, and we are pretty much prepared for any situation…

We must say, though, that we would have never imagined that our Hostel could become the set for a film!! And yet, this is exactly what happened last week!

When Darren Sharland, the director, contacted our manager Kristine about the possibility to film some scenes of his short-film in our reception area, we have been all very thrilled by this idea.

He chose our Hostel because his background is Interior Design and Architecture and our Hostel’s spaces had all the elements needed as it was written in the script.
He thought – in his own words – that “choosing Ashlee House was the right choice because of the great light coming in the window and designed interior and space for movement.”

Of course we have been very happy to accept, so we arranged to have them invading our reception on a sunny Sunday morning.

This short film is called The Traveller (check it out on the official website) and it’s a story about an encounter.
A mysterious guy arrives in a new city and into the lives of a couple of fellows travellers, and join them on their exploration of London.
But something happens and a possible revelation threatens the very base of the couple’s relationship. Who is this guy? And what did he see?

There is only a way to discover it… watching The Traveller, that soon will be ready for screening. Keep an eye on the official website to know more about it.

The day of the filming has been fun and busy at the same time.
Lucie has been working wonderfully as usual to welcome all our Guests at her best, despite not being able to use the reception desk, completely surrounded by cameras and with real actors playing our role!
At the end of the day, though, she got some ice cream from the filming crew as a thank you for her patience.

Emily, the production assistant, has been very kind and nice, as everyone else. The crew and actors used our kitchen to cook their lunch and they have been around our Hostel for more than 10 hours of filming!

It has been truly an interesting and particular day and we are very glad they decided to choose us as a set for this great story.
Meeting all the crew and actors has been a real pleasure. We look forward to be in a cinema to see the première of this short film.

If you have been travelling in your life, you know that “travelling for a long stretch becomes less about the places you visit and things you see and far more about the experiences you have and people you meet.”

We look forward to discover which story will bring us the next ring of our entrance bell.
Maybe will be you, coming to stay with us?

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