Youth hostel

YABU to start a thread in AIBU, without asking a question.

Your perception that staying in an Ibis is preferable to Youth Hostelling is also unreasonable in my opinion, as you have far fewer facilities.

They are one of the few places where you can all stay together in one room if you are a family of six (as we are). It was a godsend when the DC were younger; also when I went away with the DC on my own and didn't have the option of taking two in one room when DH wasn't with us.

Always got an en suite, could sort bedtime milk in the kitchen and possible to do for just one night (week-long stays, we would always opt to self-cater).

We can do Prem Inn/Ibis now our girls are older (17 & 15) as 17YO counts as an adult and they can have their own room while we have a family room with the younger DC.

They are a godsend for larger families.

You sound like you're advertising Ibis

I've just travelled around vietnam for 4 weeks using Hostels. I've turned 60.

Why did I use hostels? Well they are only £4 a night, had swimming pools, bars and lots of company.

I thought I'd be the oldest traveller so was surprised that it was about a 60/40 mix - 60% teens/early 20s and 40% over 50s. Oldest maybe late 60s, early 70s.

So I used hostels because of the cost, very very cheap. I couldn't afford to travel around Vietnam staying in hotels.

If I could have afforded it would I use hotels? Well before this trip i definitely would have, but now? No, I'd use hostels again. Especially now I know I wouldn't be looked upon as an old fogey.

I only used female only dorms and every single one felt safe and everyone from all nations were polite and very courteous towards their fellow room mates.

Have one booked next weekend and that is because we are arriving about 6.30pm, I need a kitchen to cook dinner (DC special food needs), want a family room whereas some hotels don't offer that and will be leaving 8am next morning so cheap is a key criteria. Probably wouldn't book one as a week long holiday destination but neither would I go with a hotel - definitely self catering apartment or camping. They are very varied though from very cheap and possibly a bit nasty/noisy (last one I stayed in in London) to some lovely ones in lakes or Scotland. And when younger and travelling abroad hostels were first choice to meet people and save money

I bet the OP has a basket of slippers by the front door and makes people take their shoes off as they come in. 💣 🔥 😁

I met DH in a hostel.
Travelled the world in my younger years stayed in hundreds of them and met some fantastic people. Many I’m still in touch with. Great places. Much better than an ibis

I’ve been to that hostel. It’s heavenly. Did you get the plane or the boat?!

The Scottish ones are awesome. I stay with groups of friends for outdoor adventure holidays. It’s great because you can use the kitchen and there’s a drying room. Everyone is happy to bunk up in a shared dorm (we book our own 8 bed dorm ) for a couple of nights. Some of my friends have to watch their budget and some are extremely well off but it’s fab as we all bunk up together. We bring nice food. People in the hostels are friendly and you usually meet interesting people.

YHA York,

Beautifully clean. Could have breakfast and dinner cooked for you at reasonable cost. Access to kitchen which was needed for DS medical needs. Adapted room actually a manageable configuration for a family with a disabled child not adult. Ensuite bedroom more like its own little unit. tow path flat easy walk into York so didn't have to drive. And cheap

Planned a touring Cornwall YHA holiday for similar reasons, never got to do it because covid and DS got too sick after.

Wales has some gorgeous ones too

I love a youth hostel. Much cheaper than a hotel and usually spotless and well run. DS11 and I have a private room (he can't go in a dorm due to his age) so it's like a hotel room with an en suite. We don't usually spend long in the room, except to sleep, but it's fine. The last YHA I went to (north yorks) had a restaurant on site, as well as self catering facilities so was perfect.

https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-ilam-hall?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA-ty8BhA_EiwAkyoa3xCLOaViWoEV55Zp3VpSOXr7-QiApLEsroNs41zZg1qVsVq9rMDFERoCfqcQAvD_BwE

just one example of a YHA that is FAR better than any boring hotel !
YHA’s are often beautiful locations !

Are you the person who only likes holidaying in Australia?

I've stayed in several, in the UK and abroad (I can also afford nicer hotels or holiday cottages too so it's not necessarily a budget thing). Always get a private room rather than a dorm.

In rural parts of the UK they fill a really useful niche for those doing outdoor activities or just on a cheap countryside break but not wanting to camp. There usually isn't a Travelodge or other cheap hotel until the nearest town, and often if you're only passing through you don't want to rent a holiday cottage with a 3 or 5 night minimum stay. Rooms above pubs or b&bs are other available options but the YHA is often cheaper and just as comfortable, if not more so because they have facilities like boot rooms, self-catering kitchens, family rooms etc.

In European cities most hostels are more like small inexpensive hotels, yes there are dorms and they're more frequented by the yoof than a generic chain hotel but I find them perfectly comfortable and more individual/characterful than an Ibis or similar. Perfect for if you are just using the hotel as a base and somewhere to sleep. Yes air BnB is often a cost effective competitor these days but the ethics of that can be questionable and hostels are probably a little safer too as there's always staff around and they're often more central than cheap rental flats which may be further out...

Great for holidays with kids, as there is almost always another family with similar age children.

Family rooms, get breakfast in the hostel, but or make something quick and easy for tea - tortellini and garlic bread for example. Sorted.

We hostel. Always have. 35yrs+. Travelled round NZ, one night in a soulless motel where we spoke to nobody then in hostels where we met other travellers and got recommendations of places to visit.

When kids were small
Cost
Drying room/equipment storage
Easier to cater for kid with dietary restrictions

Now with teens
Cost
Drying room/equipment storage
Kids share our room in full sized beds
Self catering is an option which reduces food costs
Meeting other like minded people
Teens get access to games room etc and sometimes other kids. They get more independence than if they're in the room all the time were at the hostel
People can choose to go to bed at different times

Hotels require me and DD in one room and DH and ds in another. Kids won't share without us present to mediate (and teens so not appropriate).

I also hostel with friends, dorm rooms, meet other walkers/climbers. Good food.

It's like camping with heating!

I sometimes prefer hostels and the ones I use have big rooms in excellent locations.

Sometimes camping is best, sometimes hostels, sometimes hotels, sometimes self-catering.

Because you said that you if couldn’t afford a hotel you would rather stay at home and save up money until you could afford a hotel.
Some people might say that they would rather starve and save for an independent farm shop then go to Sainsburys.
It’s not about Sainsbury’s at all, its a great place to shop, it’s about your logic.

Some people have clearly not been to a youth hostel recently.
There are still some very basic ones in remote places but most city or town ones aren't that cheap and have good facilities.
Most have decent restaurants and bars. Most people are sociable. Still have kitchens if you want to cook.
Most have private rooms with ensuites, no need for dorms. Standards can vary but they do state clearly what grade they are.
I used them a lot for a couple of years when my son was younger. The Brighton one is fabulous, we had an amazing room, a minutes walk from the pier. York was nice. Conway had fabulous views.

I often stay in youth hostels when there aren't any affordable hotels eg. last summer in Banff. The youth hostel was expensive at nearly 50 Euro a night but hotels were all over 200 Euros a night.
I've also stayed in them in Norway and on a couple of other occasions in Europe.
If I'm going somewhere where I am out hiking or sight-seeing all day then I personally feel it's a waste of money to pay for an expensive hotel room I'm not even going to be in. Not everywhere has a Premier Inn or Ibis or similar and sometimes I find the Ibis hotels are in impractical locations, further out from the centre.
I also value having a shared kitchen where I can make food and therefore save money on eating out all the time, which soon adds up to a lot of money. If I'm on a hiking trip like the one to Banff, it's really useful to be able to store food for lunch in the shared kitchen and make up a packed lunch in the morning.
I find the shared laundries useful too. Not all hotels offer this and you might have to pay quite a lot to have your clothes laundered rather than shoving it in a machine yourself which works out a lot cheaper.
Then there's meeting people. There's a nice sense of camaraderie in youth hostels. People don't even seem to mind that I'm ancient and I've met interesting people everywhere I've stayed.
In Banff last summer I think the three young people who were in the room with me thought "what the hell" at first, stuck in a room with some "old" woman (nearly 50) but actually once the ice was broken we got on really well and I was able to give two of them career advice as they were looking to get into the same area I am in. It was really interesting to hear their opinions on their country and also to learn about their backgrounds and their schooling.

Youth hostel family rooms are great for young children as there is always a social area plus a kitchen. You can stay in expensive cities for much less than the price of a cheap hotel and the buildings are often quirky and interesting.

I love youth hostels. But they are no longer a cheaper option for a family. Premier inn hotel is often cheaper sadly.

But I've stayed at some stunning locations in hostels and I like meeting other families/people. Totally different experience.

Agree with Second Star and Rooibos, great for travelling alone and self catering if you want. Now Im older, and snore slightly, I go for private rooms. Had an amazing hotel quality room on Papa Westray last year, and met some of the same people as I travelled round the islands.

Op perhaps you could explain what you believe is wrong with a a hostel ?

you are clear you wouldn't stay in one / which seems odd and without a reason it makes you sound "oh it's cheap and I'm a snob "