Youth hostel

[PerkyOchrePeer]

I found a thread on this title but it wasn't able to be commented on so I've made a new one

There are many definitions of what a youth hostel actually is. Wasn't that keen on the one we stayed in with DS when younger with the plastic mattresses and by the time we had paid for towels and breakfast was dearer than a cheap B&B.

But DH and I stayed in an amazing one in the Douro valley. We had our own room with shared bathroom, free breakfast with decent filter coffee and a roof top sitting area with honesty bar, oh and great wifi and aircon all for 60 euros a night.

It's a bit like asking why do you stay in 2 star rather than 5 star hotels isn't it? It comes down to budget and preferences.

Hostels are usually clean and comfortable. If all I want is a bed and shower, they're fine. I've stayed in hostels all round the world, and sometimes still do. Other times, I stay in hotels. I've had some great weekends with a group of riends where we booked the whole hostel.

I stay with YHA multiple times per year and love it. Beautiful buildings and locations, great kitchen and lounge facilities, friendly staff and other travellers. I pay for a private room and travel alone, so it’s not cheaper than a budget hotel.

Probably safer though, as they ID EVERY adult in the accommodation. Most hotels just ask you to sign, if they bother at all.

Do you think that people don't want fun experiences once they past 30 lol. My OH is in South America at moment. The hostel he's in that wine and cheese nights, BBQs, pizza and beer, walking tours , table tennis pool table etc. He's enjoying all these things and he's well past his early 20s.

Better than sat watching Netflix in a hotel room

I imagine it’s very similar to a friend of mine who lets his spare bedrooms through AirB&B. His guests are a real mix of people of all ages from all walks of life, and whilst some are travelling on a budget, plenty of them are people who are actively seeking out the experience of staying with a local who’s open to giving local knowledge, company, and sometimes if they get on really well, even an evening at the pub together. He has people travelling on business who don’t want to spend their evenings in a sterile hotel restaurant bar or watching Netflix in their rooms; families who want cosy surroundings and a familiar kitchen; solo travellers who actively want to meet new people and share tall stories as they hop from country to country; recently he had a woman who was in the city to sort affairs out after her father had died: she didn’t want to spend her days doing that and then be left alone with her thoughts in a hotel room; once he had a man in his seventies who wanted to feel young again!

Likewise, he doesn’t really need the money he makes from it - but his life is richer for all the people he gets to meet and experiences he shares with them.

With 4 teenagers and food allergies we often book a family room if we need to stop off. We can cook ourselves and we're only paying for 1 room.

It's much cheaper than hotel due to the catering. 1 night in a travelodge (2 rooms) plus a meal out can easily set us back £300 - £400.

We stay in youth hostels sometimes, but in private rooms. We like them because the locations are often stunning, and sometimes interesting like in a castle or old boathouse, and there's a bit more space to hang out than in a hotel. We like the self catering kitchen as dh has dietary needs, amd the kids like the familiarity and general feel. They tend to be run by young people who love the outdoors and are not for profit. That said I don't like sharing a room with the kids for more than 2-3 nights so would book an apartment if going for longer. But that would be true of any hotel. In a town I tend to choose a premier inn over a youth hostel but in the countryside youth hostels are nice. They often have laundry rooms smd drying rooms and places to put muddy boots. Hotels often aren't cergeared up to outdoors living

CI believe children have to be in a room with an adult not in the 'dorm' style rooms.

I see @Latenightreader answered immediately after you asked this, but yes, she has said what I was going to.

Facilities I've used in Youth Hostels that you don't get in budget hotels include

• lounge area
• (usually) books or games or jigsaws you can do / use / read
• (most importantly) self catering kitchens
• a dining area
• (sometimes) a recreational area, with things like a pool table or table tennis
• other like mined people to chat with if you wish. I've met so many lovely people from around the world, people of all ages
• (often) have a pleasant outside seating area / lovely views / free parking
• Friendly, welcoming staff who actually seem to want to be there
• There was one I stayed at in Australia with a lovely pool area, but I admit there aren't many of them

Still regularly stay in hostels. Usually a private room (when I am traveling with DH), but occassionally a dorm.

Met a guy in a hostel when I was 18, and fell madly, deeply in love. We ended up traveling together for a few months. Also hooked up with a cute American guy I met in a hostel in my 20s - all a bit Summer Lovin, especially when he contacted me a year later as he was in my home town and wanted to see if I was around (unfortunately I wasn't). And I met now-DH in the communal area of a mountain hut.

So a bit of a theme there. Somehow I've never met a cute guy in an Ibis.

Best hostel I stayed in was in Uganda. Our bedroom only had three walls and a door, what should have been the fourth wall was just open to the grounds/gardens with all the monkeys in the trees. You couldn’t leave anything out of your suitcase as the monkeys would have it!