About youth hostels

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I grew up in one, parents were 'wardens', found it quite hard- little privacy or space (we had some accommodation but meant to be seasonal really) very cold in winter. But it came with the job, and lived in some beautiful locations.

It has meant I never want to go to one now as an adult though. I have too many memories of the bleakness of it and always having others in the house. Made me very glad of the warmth, cosiness and heating. My brother loves it though and takes his family to them.

What do others thing YY to youth hostels or no?

What is your question?

I wouldn’t ever consider a youth hostel now, maybe when I was a teenager.

I get your point. I guess to staying in them for families? I guess it is quite different going there on holiday than actually living there. I also suppose they have changed a bit over the years. I suppose there were some positives such as meeting other children of families. I hear they have got very expensive, it used to be £3.50 a night.

I’m not sure what the question is but, I think YABU, we went on some fantastic YH adventures when DS was young! We had family rooms & they were definitely not £3.50 a night, but still excellent value for money in some great locations & we could tour around.

Good food, decent facilities in some fantastic buildings. These were YHA ones.

Yes ours was SYHA. I think it was maybe out me off being in one all year round. No heating- freezing in winter!

I normally stay in them when I go walking. I try to get a private room now though.

I often see families in them, depending on the location. They're great. Most do meals now. We're staying in the Cambridge one with DS in May.

Castleton YHA for example looks great for children. It's an old country house in grounds that only guests can use. I saw lots of children running around happily.

One thing I do remember is we never ever had any problems with stealing or anything like that. and people just left their bags in these box things or in their rooms. It was always very nice like that. That was in over 15 years.

We stay in them with DS, more so from ages 7-11 than now. We really enjoyed the different places- Eyam (looks like a castle), Hartington Hall (has goats to feed) were a few of our favourites.
They aren’t cheap, usually more expensive than a Travelodge/ premier inn, but often in stunning places and cooking for yourself makes the stay better value. We liked being able to hang around in communal areas with DS- better than being hidden in s room with a wall mounted tv.

I’ve stayed in Exfird a couple of times, Westwood ho! and another in Shropshire as an adult. Varied guests of all ages and nice atmosphere

Have stayed in bunk beds and it wasn’t expensive added you get cooking facilities so have taken my own food to cook which makes a weekend break much cheaper

I've stayed in one with friends when I was 20.

Never again. It's not for me at all.

Hi op! I know where you ar coming from and my max is two nights these days but they are great for groups of pals (walking) or if I'm by myself... Always meet someone interesting. Or a 'character'. Have been away at corrour this year so far and it won't be the last time. Would love to know if you were west coast. I love the idea of youth hostelling but can't imagine growing up in one... I love space to myself and always have. Maybe you should try one night now th y are 'hosteling Scotland' or whatever it's called.

And they vary massively now! Some famtoosh ones with key swipe rooms to ones that still don't have plug sockets in the bedrooms :) (Oban and gariloch)

Have you seen a youth hostel lately? Some of them are more like hotels! You can book private rooms with ensuites in many now too.

Oh! And no chores!

We used to stay in them a lot until Air Bnb came along. Now you can get your own place and catering facilities for the same price as you would pay in a hostel. They are not a cheap option any more.

used to go as a child in the 70's and we stayed in dorms then. it was cheap and no family rooms. still around 15 per night for dorms. family rooms useful now; as a SP meant I could go with my ds when he was too young to sleep in male dorm alone.
my mum used to go as a child and tells me you had to arrive on foot/bike

They aren’t cheap like they used to be but a lot have been done up. The real selling point is the locations. And my dc think all of us sleeping in bunk beds is the absolute best.

We tend to do a couple of nights a year; they are very easy places to stay while the dc are young.

They’re fab now. My ds and I often have a family room to ourselves, en suite. The last one we went to had a bar. Stayed in two in London - really good.

Australian youth hostels were fab when I went 15 years ago, families could of easily stayed in them. I hadn't stayed in any since until last year in Budapest. Friends had stayed in one and said it was great so bit the bullet. It was fine and in a great location,it wasn't a party hostel so no noise, more like a cheap budget hotel tbh. Private rooms and showers seem to be available in a lot these days. I would never rule out hostels although not A first choice they do have a purpose , depends on your expectations I guess.But I'm not a 5 star hotel kinda girl anyway I'd rather have more cash to spend. It's only a bed to sleep in most of the time.

With the internet and review sites/blogs/vlogs etc it's very easy to find out what these places are like before you book.

I was looking at one near whitby £129 per night in low season for 4 bed family ensuite room! York YHA even more expensive. It was for 3 families. Weve ended up glamping instead in fancy ensuite pods. (not much cheaper). I think theyve refurbished lots and just charge cheeky hotel prices now.

We stay in them quite a bit now if we want to go to the lakes. V different to how they used to be. We get a private room. Last time we paid around £60 for 2 people over 2 nights, including dinners and breakfasts. Not £3.50 a night, but still not expensive imo, especially if you compare to other hotels in similar places. And our room looked out over the lake.

Pricing does vary a lot between them though.

Haha, I used to get to give out chores as a child! (and do some)

• washing floors and the like. Yes I got to stay in some really beautiful locations and buildings- the highlands & islands and in some ways an idyllic childhood with plenty of freedom...but did always envy friends having their own front door and not being a bit 'weird' by having an unusual housing situation. (had our own accommodation and bedrrom etc though not a dorm!) It was fun helping in the shop also

They are in some amazing places and beat camping - most have private rooms too these days. I usually choose hotels but we use them if they are the better option, though as they don't allow dogs usually it's a rarity now

They provide a neat solution to the problem of what do you do when your son is wheelchair user and benefits from adapted shower facilities. But you are not so lowered kitchen worktops knacker your back. Nice getting a catered breakfast in the morning but still be able to self cater your other meals. We did a seven day stay quite happily in the york one. Incredible location too. Close enough to the centre ypu could walk in but far enough out that if you wanted to take your car out it wss no problem

I totally get your problem though. The other youth hostel I've stayed at was totally the way you described. The "owners accommodation" was literally 3 small bedrooms, shared the (at that time very basic) cooking and living area. Still has no TV and very very remote. The owners dont live onsite anymore, they from the family rooms (not ensuite) so using the space yourself you get a real sense of the difficulty living there. The location was just beautiful though. i regularly get the urge to go back, then i have to give my head a wobble because it simply isnt practical.

Don't know if it is considered a YH per se but stayed in a Generator hostel in Berlin as a family and was very nervous about it. It was huge and there were a lot of children staying but we got a family room with ensuite and it was really great, I would definitely recommend it. The receptionist explained that they tiered families and students/youth separately so there was no noise at all.