run-through:
- HOSTEL OR HOTEL?
- ARE THE HOSTELS A GOOD WAY TO MEET INTERESTING PEOPLE?!
- HOSTEL CULTURE OR JUST A MESS?
- THE WORST THING IN HOSTELS? THE IMPOSSIBILITY TO GET A GOOD SLEEP!
- HOSTEL IN ALICE SPRINGS – THE CAPITAL OF THE RED CENTRE
- THERE IS NO LOCAL CULTURE IN THE HOSTELS
- SHARED KITCHEN? NO THANK YOU!
- SAVE MONEY BUT NOT THIS WAY
- HOSTEL WITH A POOL? IS IT A GOOD IDEA?
Why are hostels bad? I know that many people like the hostel culture and prefer to stay in hostels when travelling. I understand that many of them do so to save money.
But also that for many others, especially when travelling solo, it is an easier way to meet other travellers. However, I am one of those who does not like hostels and even hates them. Even when I stay in a room alone, the hostel is still a place that prevents me from sleeping because of the noise.
The other thing I hate in hostels is the lack of privacy. It is something I need every day as I’m a typical introvert. I’d be glad if you share your hostel experiences. Are you one of those who likes them or you hate them like me? And why? Give examples and share stories from your travel life showing the good or the bad aspects of the hostel in the comments under the article.
This is only the second time I stay at a hostel. The first time was in Plovdiv, a hostel that is voted as one of the best in the world.
HOSTEL OR HOTEL?
I enter the room and see three bunk beds surrounded by piles of belongings, among which I recognize shampoo bottles aligned like soldiers, lots of plastic bags with unknown contents,shoes, suitcases, rucksacks, even messy underwear …
By presumption, people who stay at hostels are treated as “poor students,” though this is far from the truth. People of different ages take advantage of the rooms and rates at the hostel. In my case, I was automatically charged as a student at the airport of Alice Springs for the bus transfer.
The strangest thing in the room, however, is laying on the beds. It’s in the middle of the afternoon but the girls are lying as opium-dependent in absolute silence, spending their time in a drowsy state, staring their laptops screens. But the laptops are just some of the things that occupy the space in their beds. There are also cosmetic products, phones, clothes, notebooks or books, probably documents and wallets are also safely hiding in the folds of the blankets.
ARE THE HOSTELS A GOOD WAY TO MEET INTERESTING PEOPLE?!
I will be sharing the room with five other strangers, but we have not even said “Good day.” to each other. Good that it’s girls-only room. I can not imagine if I had to support the smell of men’s shoes as well.
I’m back in early evening; the “opium” girls are gone. Their lives just begin now when the dark is coming outside. We obviously have different lifestyles and most likely this is due to the age difference, I believe.
HOSTEL CULTURE OR JUST A MESS?
I enter the bathroom I share with these girls. Between the many small and larger bottles that lie on the wall dividing the toilet from the shower, I find two razors that are almost falling off the wall. It’s as if someone has thrown them there without any respect for their important purpose. Between them, I see also a hair strap, and other little things that I’d rather not pay attention to. It seems to me dirty, though it is not, and messy, what it is indeed.
I’m going to bed not too early. And by 12 pm we’re all in our beds, ready to sleep, I believe. The night before, because of the early flight, I only slept for about three hours.
My hopes were empty. By 5 a.m. someone knocks vigorously on the door, and the girl sleeping underneath me bounces like a rabbit. There is a short conversation and my bed neighbour starts to pack her bags. I have no idea how long did this lasts, but there must have been an hour. A rustling of plastic bags, running water, toilet flush, dragging slippers … I guess I slept, but not quite.
THE WORST THING IN HOSTELS? THE IMPOSSIBILITY TO GET A GOOD SLEEP!
In about two hours, another girl gets up and the process repeats. And I keep trying to sleep hoping that the earplugs will help.
I wake up the next day and to tell you right, I have no idea how the girls in my room look like. I feel like I’m back in time, on a school camp, but I don’t know my “classmates”. And there is something else. At that time, the camp rooms were more spacious and lighter. Maybe it was the Socialist Time, but we had light and a lot of laughter during these camps. This camp is not like that.
True, the place is very special. “Red Center,” in the middle of nowhere, “In the middle of everything,” call it whatever you want. It’s Alice Springs, the town where you can see Aboriginal people on the streets, the most red-dirt settlement I’ve ever seen; the place that takes you to the Outback. The most Australian of all places you will visit on the continent.
HOSTEL IN ALICE SPRINGS – THE CAPITAL OF THE RED CENTRE
Big cities like Sydney are “western”, have similar features like the ones anywhere else in the world, despite cultural differences that make them different from other countries. But in Alice Springs, things are not so determined by the Man but by Nature. Here people have done as much as they could to have some comfort and convenience, but the peculiarities and the remoteness are the ones that determine the way of life, the meaning of the days and the pace of the passing hours.
THERE IS NO LOCAL CULTURE IN THE HOSTELS
Well, I should not be quick to judge. They may have been here for a long time and are bored. Because except walking around the city once and going to the tours to Uluru and Kata-Tjuta outside the town, there is nothing else to do if you don’t have a vehicle.
I’m going to the shared kitchen. The “dining room” are tables arranged under the shade around a pool, full of fallen leaves. I make my coffee and sit down to work on the next article about Australia. The yard begins to fill up with other “early birds”. The smell of ketchup and other ingredients of other “homemade” fast food meals reaches my nostrils.
SHARED KITCHEN? NO THANK YOU!
Then I feel that the sticking wood under my elbows. I’m looking around and wonder if I will be able for 3 days to sleep with strangers, in a bed that despite being clean is quite uncomfortable; in a room whose floor is occupied by someone else’s belongings; with people who are obviously not from my “tribe” and to whom I’m not even interested to talk when I see their empty eyes and matted hair that seem to have not seen water and a comb for at least three months.
Is it worth saving money to put yourself in a situation that is totally foreign to you and even unpleasant? Well, yes, the bed in my room is worth at least five times less than a motel room. And I will continue my little “experiment” because I like a challenge and to put myself in situations that teach me something new and help me grow.
SAVE MONEY BUT NOT THIS WAY
But I have always believed and will continue to think that hostels are a repulsive way to spend your time. I am aware that many people like the social side of this type of accommodation. But to be honest, I would say I expected much more from the hostel social life here in Australia; a country that has developed hostel hospitality to great heights, especially in the way of service and the extra facilities available to the guests.
HOSTEL WITH A POOL? IS IT A GOOD IDEA?
The heat glues like a second skin. Today it will be only 32 degrees in Alice Springs. A cool day, they say. I look towards the extra feature of this hostel – the pool, with a sense of regret. If it didn’t cause a sense of disgust, I would go there with pleasure. Instead, I’d prefer to apply the essential sunscreen, put on the funny hat that protects me from the sun and go wander through the streets of Alice Springs, where I can meet local aboriginal people and watch the local life passing by.
What do you think about the hostels? Do you love them or hate them? Do you think they are a good idea and why?
ADD TO PINTEREST
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7 comments
Hi! I really enjoy hostelling. However I must recognize my hostel experience has been in the United States. I’m 46, and my last stay was 2 years ago in New York and Washington DC, and looking forward for this year stay. It is an opportunity to meet people from different cultures and share travel experiences. At least in these hostels they do day outings as well as evening. Back in 2012 was the best group, some of us were professionals already, some a lot younger, but we got along pretty well. During the day in that stay I used to go on my own and in the evenings as a group.
In relation to the noise, that I solve with my earplugs, however sometimes I am so tired that I barely notice. I really haven’t had any major complaints, and even when I have the opportunity to a get a cheaper place (when I am traveling with someone else, I choose to stay in the hostel. Actually I am introducing my nieces to this concept.
Hi Marylin,
that’s the beauty of travelling – we all enjoy different things! It is nice you introduce your nieces to the hostel culture, as young people they will probably love its social and exploratory side. As we all have different backgrounds and inner worlds to deal with, we have different needs too. For some noise and lack of privacy are problems. For others, hostels are a great way of saving money while socialising and discovering the world around.
Keep travelling,
Geri
Hostel going is gambling with extreme risk.
That said, a few cautionary pointers.
Belongings:
Invest in a small can of Lysol, and cleaning wipes and alcohol wipes. Take control of your immediate environment.
Clearly marking belongings with a sharpie or woven name tags precludes controversy. Your microfiber towel looks like many others; your tee shirt does as well.
A padlock to stow things in the hostel’s locker. This is essential for securing belongings when beach going or club crawling.
Setting out necessities and clothes changes for the evening or following morning will ensure efficiency without disturbing sleeping beauties.
Carry a small bag for documents (and phone) with you at all times. Crossbody is good.
For the beach, do not carry documents, cellphone or camera.
Keep camera needs to minimum—anti theft—and stow securely.
Keep your belongings safe—especially meds— and keep track of them. If left lying around, cleaners may remove accidentally—and staff may turn a deaf ear.
Buy a local SIM card as WiFi can be iffy and the GPS can be essential.
Learn the local number for emergencies (911 US; 112 EU) and for local queries (311).
For the beach, do not carry documents or camera.
Buy a Sharpie to mark your food and sundries.
Keep copies, both hard copy and electronic, of all documents, identification, passports, computer and smartphone and other valuables
Get electronic and hard copy receipts of EVERYTHING
Consider that at many hostels there is:
Little or no security. Management? Huh?!
Guest services?! Nada. Niente. Rien.
.
You’re own your own: No one appears to be in charge; clerks and cleaners, unqualified for their jobs. To witness interlocutory exchanges is mind boggling, an example of the absurd; to witness a haphazard swabbing of a surface with a dirty rag, stomach turning. (Equally egregious observed examples at Starbucks seem par for the course). Soiled underpants hang for days in bathroom. These employees seem likable and willing: they’ve not been trained.
During floor cleaning, a cleaner heaved rugs onto communal kitchen cabinet counters. Ugh!
Hi Gillian. It looks like this is the case in many hostels around the world. However, a friend of mine recently told me that the German hostel are very very good! I cannot speak from experience, but it seems the hostels in Germany are clean, well organized and rooms are sounproof! How good is that?! 🙂
ThrummIng of electronic beats may leave you senseless and deaf; structures, death traps with few exits and fewer fire extinguishers; marked secondary exits are locked. Paradoxically, entry is not secure: doors to dorms left unlocked and unsecured.
Run down rotting wood decks and entry stairs are both safety hazard and filthy. Improper storage of flammable materials such as paint and cleaning supplies are fire hazards.
Smokers are located in fire hazard areas.
Health and hygiene concerns, unaddressed. Use of odor maskers prevails rather than scrupulous cleaning.
People doing what they wouldn’t at home, starting with h putting others at risk…can’t reach bathroom without passing a prowling lurching hulk whose privates are exposed, staggering in the hallways late at night. Next night? A pasta throwing episode in hallway. In the dorm: guest who has already left room door unlocked arrives late with strong drink, shimmies down from upper bunk, nearly dropping heavy suitcase on person in lower bunk. Person in upper bunk vomits all over—mattress, walls and bunks still plastered with vomit 3 days later. Standard MO for people to be sneaked in to spend night—1, an oops, many, a widespread pattern? Little or no security. Front desk clerk reviewing rooms with Lysol in hand-which is not used in rooms. Management? Huh?!
Dirty underpants hang in communal bathroom
for days.
Hi Geri,
I’m sure every backpacker has felt this way at some point in their travels. I know I have. But it seems to me you are looking at the situation from an extremely negative perspective. I have met some of my closest friends in hostels. Instead of judging, and referring to them as “opium girls” why not get to know them? A lot of travelers are staying in hostels while they complete their rural work (working in rural hours in order to receive a second year visa.) and they are most likely exhausted from it. Or maybe they are sick, and need to sleep during the day. Everyone needs downtime and deserves to not be judged. To the people reading this, please don’t let this article turn you off of hostels. They can be an amazing experience. They get you out of your comfort zone. Don’t be so quick to judge. If privacy if such a huge issue, opt for a private room. That being said, force yourself to socialize in the common room, or shared kitchen. Travelling is all about new experiences, meeting and learning from other people and hostels are a huge part of that. Dont hide in a hotel room the whole time!
Happy travels 🙂
Hi Cole,
and thank you for taking the time to comment. You are absolutely right, these girls probably had their reasons. And yes, I think they were working (some of them, not all). But still, it felt strange to me, as a traveller. Thank you also for so gently pointing out the positives of staying at a hostel. But I wanted to give voice and express the position of people like me. And it is not about the socializing – it is great! I met some new friends there. The problem is with the sleeping – even in a private room, a hostel is still too noisy for me. I appreciate what you say and hope there are more people like you than like me, who like and can sleep in hostels without. Because this will give them the opportunity to see more from this beautiful world.
Happy travel to you too!