r/hostels

This older Russian woman maybe like late 30s comes back at like 8:30 and turns on the main light. Shes left it on btw until now and we have curtains so I just assume she’s chilling in bed. It comes to around 9pm and my bf called me. I have him in my headphones and I’m responding at low volume. For context there’s someone taking a loud call/watching movies in the common room outside and he’s talking so loud you can hear him very loudly.

Personally, I don’t care… it’s only 9pm and usually people are told to be quiet around 10/10:30pm. She told me yesterday shes doing a class at 9pm and was talking loud in her bed past 11pm. Speaking at normal volume the whole time. She’s just told me can I be quiet she’s trying to sleep. I told her are you gonna ask the guy outside to shut up because he’s being loud. You’ve also left the main light on and was being loud until 11pm yesterday, I think asking someone who’s talking quietly at 9pm is unreasonable. She also shouted the second time I just laughed because it’s actually crazy hypocrisy in a shared space.

Is this normal?? people are so weird. I understand if it was past 10pm but the hypocrisy is insane.

Edit: it’s past 10pm and I can hear this btch playing videos on her phone low volume 💀💀 no difference to my FT. People are WEIRDDD

I'm a 37 yo male who is just now in a place to be able to travel internationally. I'm watching and reading quite a bit on the do"s and dont's, but the one thing that everyone seems divided on are hostels, with a lot of people saying that they're "for the young". I come from a big family and can deal with a lot of noise and little personal space, if that's the only issues with them.

So, do I save money and hang with fellow travelers or do I increase my travel budget and stay in hotels?

What keeps you going? is it what you expected? do you regret it? what was your best day and what was your worst day so far?

i’m totally freaking out right now, i booked a stay at golden stork in the hague through hostelworld, paid the deposit, would arrive tomorrow. the hotel just chatged me what would equal to about the booking plus deposit (which i already paid to hostelworld). i freaked out and cancelled the booking accidentally, rebooked immediately (for like 10 euro more) all while hyperventilating and nearly crying and completely losing it. the site says the rest is supposed to be paid on site, tomorrow. i don’t have the money to lose. i’m seriously freaking out. please tell me someone has already dealt with this, that i’ll get my money back, anything.

I am 17, travelling with my 18 year old cousin. We are starting to book our hostels for June but everyone of them says that no under 18 year olds are allowed. Do you guys know any hostels that are looser on their policies or do you just have any tips that I could use to book my stuff.

Here’s my hot takes regarding hostels, this is from years of traveling and working at hostels.

If you are over 50 years old, get a HOTEL or PRIVATE ROOM. Sorry, I just have to say it. There are too many 50+ people that book hostels and try to never leave. Hostels are not long term accommodations, they are not a substitute for an apartment. If you are over 50yo and moving to a new city, use furnished finder, don’t be a creep staying at a hostel and rooming with 18 year old backpackers and think that is normal behavior. I always appreciate hostels with an age limit in the dorms.

Most people can’t help snoring, and most travelers expect to experience it when booking a dorm. But if you snore like a gorilla? BOOK A PRIVATE ROOM. The amount of times in a dorm I have seen one person passed out snoring like an animal, while the rest of the room doesn’t get a moment of rest is disturbing. It also tends to be those 50yo plus who snore the loudest. Way to ruin a hostel experience for everyone else. Same with a CPAP machine. One woman brought her CPAP machine to the hostel, slept in the common area while twenty something travelers played beer pong right next to her. That was certainly a sight to see and we did not rebook her stay with us the following night.

Take a freaking shower. Hostels have showers, why would you not use it? I get it, backpackers can be smelly if they’re hiking, taking public transit, etc. But seriously, if you cannot respect your roommates enough to get rid of that nasty stench, you should not be in a hostel.

I’m sure people gonna hate, but after years of doing the hostel thing, I will never not stand by these hot takes. People like the above ruin the experience for all other travelers, killing business for the hostel at the end of the day.

Hello I have a question about the HI Hostels in the USA.

So I stayed at HI hostel New Orleans a couple month's back and 90% of the guests there were part of some large church group, not many actual solo travelers there, I met a couple of solo travelers though. Toward the end of my stay, that group left, then some other Christian group came in and basically took over the hostel again

I have not experienced that at any other hostel I have stayed in in the USA. Just that one hostel.

I am about to stay in HI Boston and I am wondering if it will likely be a similar experience?

Thanks

Hi all, I’m planning to do a trip around America around August this year (Denver, Austin, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, DC, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago).

Has anyone stayed in a hostel in those cities? Options are very limited and at the moment I’m leaning towards hotels but also want to minimise the cost where I can, plus an opportunity to meet other travellers.

M32, first time hostel. Now that I’m thinking about it I’m kinda fearful sleeping and people just messing with me sleeping or worse murdering me.

Cause these are strangers…

Or what happens if they s*xually assault me in my sleep. Should I sleep with pocket kn*fe hand to protect myself.

Only blocking me between others is a curtain lol. If I’m awake, then it’s whatever. It’s just the idea of sleeping next to complete strangers.

So I'm doing a multi state trip, I'm planning on using hostels (on booking dot com) due to budget but i don't have a debit or credit card. I can get a cash withdrawal but 1. not sure how much cash I'd need and 2. don't know if it's even worth it? One place in NYC didn't ask for a card but i checked in at midnight and it was only for the one night so I don't know if multi-night might be different. I'm kinda stuck. If anyone's got experience, I'd appreciate advice <3

edit for clarity: I'm on a student visa and I literally never carry a physical card in my home country so I forgot to bring the physical card with me. I can get cash at the start of the trip but won't be able to get more. I also have contactless payments (obviously) but for some reason having a contactless card isn't acceptable. I'm looking for advice/ alternatives not a lecture, thank you! 🙏

This July I plan on traveling around Eastern Europe and go to Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Warsaw(in that order). Main focus of the trip is just to meet people and party for as long as my body can handle it. I wanted to see what hostels are considered the top party hostels in those cities. From my research it looks like in Bratislava the Wild elephant is the unanimous winner, but all the other cities are kinda mixed. Also interested in what are some good bars or clubs to visit while I’m those cities too. Thanks!!

21yo American taking my first flight, I'm going to Edinburgh Scotland and staying in my first hostel as well, I like to travel light so the only thing I'm bringing is my backpack. My question, considering I'm there for multiple days, is it safe to leave anything in a hostel or should I take it with me every time Ileave? Also any other advice for a first timer is welcome!

I have tinnitus and generally go to sleep every night with white noise to mask it. How acceptable is playing it out my phone speaker at night in a shared room? Or is it a no?

I booked a week in the OneFam Hostel in Madrid today and now im getting a bit worried. Id like to socialize, meet people and also like to go out for a drink. But im not really into clubbing. Now that i checked a bit more about the Hostel I feel like it's more for clubbing oriented people from 18 to 23.

I'm 28. Do you think i would still enjoy and find people that are like me? It's also the first to being in a Hostel for me so I'm nervous about it anyway.

Let me know your opinion.

I’m trying to understand how common review incentives are in the hostel industry, especially in Latin America.

Has anyone personally been offered a discount, free drink, free breakfast, upgrade, late check-out, or any other benefit in exchange for leaving a positive or maximum-score review at a hostel?

I’m looking for first-hand experiences only.

If this happened to you, could you share:

• Which city / hostel it happened in
• Approximate date
• What benefit was offered
• What review platform they asked for: Google, Hostelworld, Booking, Tripadvisor, etc.
• Whether they asked for a positive review, 5 stars, 10/10, or to mention a staff member by name
• Whether you had to show the review before receiving the benefit
• Whether it was offered in person, by WhatsApp, QR code, sign, email, or another channel

Please don’t post staff names, phone numbers, private details, or screenshots containing personal information.

Spanish replies are welcome too.

I am solo traveling/ backpacking for the first time this summer and have read mixed opinions on this! I'm staying in several hostels this summer and want to know- do I keep my important documents (passport, identification, etc) locked up in the hostel or carry them on my person? I lean towards favoring the locker because of street theft but am not sure how common locker theft is in hostels either. Can anyone weigh in?

Hello. As the title suggests, I'm going on my first solo trip in July (9-23th) and will be staying in a hostel for the first time. I'm torn between Budapest and Prague and would love some advice from anyone who's already been to one of these two destinations.

For Budapest, I was thinking of the Onefam Hostel, and for Prague, the Roadhouse or Madhouse Hostel. Can anyone who's stayed in these hostels give me any advice? What's the atmosphere like in these hostels? Are they social, and do they organize evenings out for everyone? How was the overall experience? Also, which destination would be best for me, given that it's my first solo trip between the two cities?

Thanks in advance, and if you're planning on traveling to one of these two destinations on the same dates as me and staying in one of the hostels I mentioned above, please let me know. I'd be happy to hear that other people planning same destination and same accomodation as me

i am flying ryanair to portugal next week amd currently only have the underseat tiny bag but i have a suitcase the specific dimensions. i cannot fit all i want to in it 😭😭😭. would be an extra 45 pounds all together for a cabin bag as well. i would probs use my little suitcasd as that cabin bag then another ryanair diension duffel i have as the underseat. but practicality wise is this too many bags for a hostel? is there actually storage room? will i annoy people? overthinking

EDIT: to clarify it would be 2 pieces of luggage both ryanair under the seat personal item sized

Planning on staying at Sunflower Berlin in a few days but I’m not sure if it’s not social and considering switching to circus, can anyone let me know their experiences at sunflower?

what are some key things to know before staying in a hostel? i’ve never stayed in one before and honestly didn’t even know it was a thing until a few months ago. i plan on staying in the OneFam Nottinghill hostel which seems to have good reviews but i’m still scared. if anyone has experience with that hostel i’d love some feedback but any feedback please in general is greatly appreciated.

if i plan on bringing a suitcase is there a secure place to leave that? for sleeping what do people recommend, especially for getting over the paranoia of being in a room with people you do not know. how do hostels even work exactly? where do you change ur clothing or do your makeup? where are the appropriate spots to open ur suitcase lol (to my understanding the rooms are super narrow with the beds)? what is already provided and what should i be conscious about packing? what is worth trusting to leave out vs what should i really care about locking up? literally any advice ever will mean so much to me im super super nervous.