What is a Youth Hostel, and how is it different from american hotels??

[aphex]

Anyone know?

 

[StageLeft]

Probably no diff. I hate them personally.

 

[bizmark]

1) cheap

2) badly furnished

3) bring a sleeping bag, or possibly rent clean sheets there for an extra charge

4) can get single rooms in some, but mostly it's a shared space -- like 4-5 bunk beds in a room

5) bathroom's down the hall

6) frequented by American college kids

edit: in some places, the building is of historical significance (I think that one in Nürnberg was originally part of the royal stables or something, way back in the day)

 

[monk3y]

Everything wbwither said. It's really not that bad a situation. I spent a while in New York at a youth hostel. It's especially good if you really don't know anyone at the place you are going and you would like to meet some people to help you get adjusted and stuff. It's quite significantly cheaper than a hotel.

 

[aphex]

Thanks... Im gonna be put up in one for 2 weeks before my room is available this coming fall...

I could deal with that i guess

I was quoted at $8 a night

 

[blues008]

Keep a constant eye on your belongings, and don't bring anything valuable.

 

[pyonir]

the ones in the US are a lot better than the ones in Europe though. and be forwarned, a lot of them don't put locks on the doors and make you pay extra to lock things in lockers. some of the bathrooms can be grimey and you might end up sharing a room with a complete stranger if you can't get a single. i hated them personally...but to each his own.

 

[aphex]

<< Keep a constant eye on your belongings, and don't bring anything valuable. >>



The only thing never leaving my side is my new laptop

 

[Nitemare]

Don't you share a big room with cots and a communal public bathroom? Or am I thinking something else

 

[pyonir]

<< Don't you share a big room with cots and a communal public bathroom? Or am I thinking something else >>


some of them are like that. some have single rooms. you always have a communal bathroom though...from all the ones i've seen.

 

[luv2chill]

They vary a lot (especially non-US hostels). You can get guidebooks (or I'm sure there are online sites) that review various hostels.

I stayed in them pretty much exclusively during my trip to Europe a couple of years ago and though they aren't nice and plush like a hotel, they can't be beat for meeting people and of course the price is cheap. Plus, a lot of them have "character".

l2c

 

[b0mbrman]

<< Don't you share a big room with cots and a communal public bathroom? Or am I thinking something else >>


The cheaper ones I went to in Europe had bunk beds. The silghtly more expensive ones gave us our own room (a double for me and one friend) or a triple (for all three of us) w/bathroom included...there's many of them in all the cities of moderate size...ask around at the infodesk of whatever train station/airport you come into

 

[aphex]

I dont mind communial bathrooms, as long as their not like San Francisco bath houses :Q

 

[b0mbrman]

<< They vary a lot (especially non-US hostels). You can get guidebooks (or I'm sure there are online sites) that review various hostels.

I stayed in them pretty much exclusively during my trip to Europe a couple of years ago and though they aren't nice and plush like a hotel, they can't be beat for meeting people and of course the price is cheap. Plus, a lot of them have "character". >>


Yep...everyone's about your age and from different parts of Europe and America...very cool

 

[trmiv]

Some are nice, and some SUCK! When I was in New Zealand I stayed at four different ones, which ranged from pretty nice, to pretty crappy. One I stayed at, they didn't bother to clean the damn room before we got in there, and it was really dirty. The bathroom was nasty, there were old apple cores and chip bags on the floor, and other misc garbage. I finally told them I wanted a new room the second night, because the first one was foul.

This other one I stayed at was nice, but it was like someones house. I think it was at one time, but the owners made it into a hostel to make some cash. It was pretty cozy, and had a nice living room area. The weird thing was, the bathroom was one big shower. One person at a time of course, but you go in and the whole damn thing was tiled, and had a drain in the middle. It was like a massive shower with a toilet and a sink. You just stood there in this big room with the sink and toilet, and it had a shower head coming out of the wall. Weird.

 

[pyonir]

<< The weird thing was, the bathroom was one big shower. One person at a time of course, but you go in and the whole damn thing was tiled, and had a drain in the middle. It was like a massive shower with a toilet and a sink. Weird. >>


i saw that A LOT in England. in both college dorms and hostels.

 

[aphex]

<<

<< The weird thing was, the bathroom was one big shower. One person at a time of course, but you go in and the whole damn thing was tiled, and had a drain in the middle. It was like a massive shower with a toilet and a sink. Weird. >>


i saw that A LOT in England. in both college dorms and hostels. >>



Weird.. As long as its 'one at a time' im cool with that

 

[pyonir]

<<

<<

<< The weird thing was, the bathroom was one big shower. One person at a time of course, but you go in and the whole damn thing was tiled, and had a drain in the middle. It was like a massive shower with a toilet and a sink. Weird. >>


i saw that A LOT in England. in both college dorms and hostels. >>



Weird.. As long as its 'one at a time' im cool with that >>


actually it is kinda nice. if you have to, ahem, do some business in the middle of your shower, you don't have to get water all over...it is already there.

 

[aphex]

hahaha, cool