Somewhere Different · Blackpool
in England, UK 🇬🇧 and 1 more location
→ somewheredifferent.com
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A substantial Victorian house, historically a hotel for families working in the mills during the industrial revolution, just five minutes from the beach in the oldest working-class resort town in the world. Now transformed into a coworking/coliving space in the north of England with all the required facilities.
The UK is expensive, not Blackpool. You will have peer pressure to work in the week, not zone out and lose your way. We are here to provide you first and foremost a good productive work environment for you to get your online work done so you can experience non-touristy England at the weekends without a care in the world.
We do full moonwalks on the beach dunes if the weather allows. Horse riding, longboarding, walks in the English countryside. Day trips to Liverpool and Manchester…
Reviews please interpret other's opinions per your own needs and values
I stayed at this co-living for two months, from September to the end of October 2025, and will share both the positive and negative aspects of living here because, to be honest, the host's attitude would make me avoid returning in the future.
Let’s start with the positive:
Alex, the cleaner, really keeps the house in shape. She does a weekly cleaning and also helps organize activities and Sunday dinners. During my time here, we had many Sunday dinners (Mexican, Ukrainian, Japanese), which were lovely.
The fridge and pantry system is also nice and organized, so you have space for your things and don’t lose track of your shopping among everyone else's.
The co-working room is also great. Loved the second monitor, and the desk and chair I had were cozy.
Also, the people (at the time of my stay) were amazing. We made good friendships, joked, and went out together. Definitely connections I will keep in my life.
We stayed in the double room, which was a good size.
Now, let me get into some negatives, which unfortunately involve more stories around the host.
Because while the smaller rooms are quite small and the shower is a bit small, that’s fine to deal with
Let me start by saying he was gone for most of the time I was there (from like mid-Sept), so I only spent about 2 weeks around him. He lives in the basement when he is back at the co-living.
Some things that left a really negative impression of him on me:
1. The first morning I was there, he asked me if I had heard about the story that there was a mental health crisis there long before (my partner was there when it happened, hence the connection to bring it up). I’ll just leave it this way, his views of depression and mental health seemed very unempathetic to me.
2. I had an issue with the downstairs dryer. There are set times and require money for every 45 minutes of use. In an hour and a half, the clothes barely driend. With the cold outside, hang-drying wasn’t convenient.
I asked if I could use the dryer that Alex used for the bedding, and he insisted, “It’s the same dryer,” but he was still okay with me trying it, which I appreciated. Well, it was not the same dryer, and took about an hour, which was great. It’s just weird to say “it’s the same” when it clearly wasn’t.
3. When it started to get cold and the heating kicked on, the rooms barely warmed, and the bedrooms were often freezing (as someone who gets cold easily, and the insulation is not great). After 20 C, the heating turned off. That’s fair except the rooms felt closer to 16 or 17 sometimes. When I asked about what the temperature was set to, he replied 20 C.
When I asked the room it was measured from, instead of replying in the group, he directly messaged me and told me I could leave if I wasn’t happy. The message was unnecessarily condescending, defensive and long in my opinion, especially as I was just asking simple questions. He also said (see screenshot) "I'm not putting the heat to 24" which is not even something I asked.
As a guest, having a host that treats me like over simple concerns is a red flag.
Anyways, I noticed the thermostat was in the coworking room and assumed that the temperature was being taken from there. Mind you, the co-working room was one of the warmer rooms in the house so it’s no wonder the bedrooms felt much colder.
In some of the issues above where it seemed the right thing to do was say something, I even got the sense others didn’t complain because they didn’t feel comfortable to speak up. After my experiences speaking up, it's understandable.
All in all, some people were fine with him, but I know he didn’t like me, cause I complained about what I saw as reasonable things or would challenge his ideas.
I won't say people shouldn’t stay, but I’d say if the host sounds like someone you wouldn’t want to spend a month or longer around, then maybe check to see if he’ll be there as he does travel away at times. The house can have incredible people and I don’t regret a thing, but I wouldn’t come back as the host was not a positive community builder in my opinion.
The accommodation is exactly as described on the website—simple, and equipped with everything needed for a comfortable stay. Duncan was very responsive to questions and take proactive steps to ensure the safety of everyone entering the house, including a pre-vetting process and requiring passport verification as part of the security check.
Activities are regularly and mostly supported by Alex, who also greets guests in person and clearly explains the house rules upon check-in. Alex ensures the rules are informative and consistently upheld, helping to keep the space running smoothly.
Coliving spaces are the coolest - I loved getting to make new friends, met some truly awesome folk, and it was lovely to have 'family dinners' and card game nights regularly.
Alex is a great manager, cleaner, and organiser. She lives in the house with everyone and is always 'on call' - she manages the social calendar, she attends everything, she manages noise concerns at all hours, she does a weekly big clean, she cleans in between, she monitors all spaces and managed any guest issues directly. Total star.
I never met the owner during my stay. I did have a problem with a leak in my room - he invited me to leave with a refund, and then he moved me to another room (big recommendation for Room 2).
I have nothing but good and positive comments to make about my stay at Somewhere Different but my highest praise goes to Alexandra, our spectacular housekeeper. Alex is the hardest working, most patient and extraordinarily kind and compassionate human there is. She always gives all her tasks 100% in effort, efficiency and professionalism. She is definitely the best part of Somewhere Different!
This is my third time here and it was fabulous again! The coworking space is so comfortable and it’s nice that there are others working and traveling. There’s always so much to learn when staying with people from all over the world. The bedrooms are so comfortable and plenty of bathrooms for everyone. Kitchen was fabulous with everything you could ask for and more. It’s also walkable to great supermarket. The owner, Duncan does a fabulous job running the place. I will be back!.
I’ve been staying at this place for a while now, and it’s been a fantastic experience. It’s much more than just a room—it’s a welcoming, communal space with a great vibe. There’s a big, well-equipped kitchen where guests often cook and hang out together, which makes it feel more like a home than a hotel.
Jana, the housekeeper, does a brilliant job keeping the place clean and running smoothly. She’s friendly, helpful, and always around if you need anything.
I’ve met several solo female travellers during my time here who’ve stayed long-term and really loved the place—they felt safe, comfortable, and very at home. So I’d definitely recommend it to women travelling alone as well as anyone looking for a friendly, community-oriented stay.
Duncan, the host, creates a friendly, laid-back atmosphere and often takes guests out for walks and day trips. If you’re looking for a place with character, community, and a great location near the beach—this is it!
It's not a coliving space.
The owner has opened up his home to complete strangers. The house smells of mould and food which is cooked in the doorless kitchen. The rooms aren't soundproof.
There was a water leak in a room. Some of the hot water taps don't work. There are no washhand basins in the toilets.
It's not set up for adults.
The house was kept clean when the live-in housekeeper was around but standards dropped when she left and wasn't replaced.
The owner puts his bottom-line ahead of the comfort of his so-called "guests". He switched the heating on "as late as possible" and used culture as an excuse. He didn't provide clean bedding without being prompted even though it's included in the price.
You have to pay extra in order to use the washing machine and tumble dryer in he basement.
The neighbourhood is a wreck.
You can smell cannabis as soon as you set foot outside. It isn't an environment that's conducive to being productive.
You're not allowed to receive mail at his address, even though you might be staying for months rather than days, nor are you allowed to bring guests over.
Apart from the kitchen, there are no communal spaces fit for socialising.
I didn't sign up to become a lodger with a live-in landlord, who likes to hit on single female guests.
I couldn't work from the "co-working office" because it smelled so badly of mould, which I'm sensitive to, because I suffer from asthma.
I struggled to work in my room, which had a desk but was too small to accommodate a chair. It became impossible to work in the room because the neighbours erected a scaffold outside my window, just before a Teams call.
I doubt that it's legal to make people stay in a basement room without windows, in the United Kingdom.
The only saving grace was the proximity to the beach and the lovely people I met in the house.
I cannot recommend this place to any of my female friends.
I cleaned my room and the shared shower before using it on several occasions.
I am giving an honest review because I booked through coliving.com and not via another platform. This is my second time here and it was a wonderful stay again! The coworking space is so comfortable and I love that others with the same mindset are there working and traveling. There’s always so much to learn when staying with people from all over the world. Often, there will be family dinners with someone sharing food from their country. The bedrooms are so comfortable and you will Never find a cleaner place, meticulous cleaning from the present manager, Rica.Kitchens and bathrooms were always spotless. Kitchen was fabulous with everything you could ask for and small appliances you wouldn’t think to ask for. It’s also walkable to great supermarket. The owner, Duncan does a fabulous job running the place. I hope to get back again next year.
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