thoughts on hostels

A friend of mine was thinking about going to Europe and staying in
hostels as opposed to hotels. I've never been in a hostel and had a
few questions about them.

In hotels rooms are generally available after 3pm. If you get there
before 3pm you can generally leave your bags with the concierge. You
can also, so long as you have the next night booked, get up at your
leisure, be it at 9am or 3pm. How does this compare to hostels? I
get the impression with hostels you're sometimes supposed to be out at
a certain time and that you're sometimes expected to help clean or
whatever.

Also, how do showers work? Are the baths likely to be communal?

Additionally, what about the availability of power outlets? I don't
want my cameras battery to die and not be able to charge it.

Internet access of some kind would be nice, as well - is that too much
to hope for with a hostel?

On Wed, 8 Dec 2010 06:49:48 -0800 (PST), yawnmoth wrote:

A friend of mine was thinking about going to Europe and staying in
hostels as opposed to hotels. I've never been in a hostel and had a
few questions about them.

In hotels rooms are generally available after 3pm. If you get there
before 3pm you can generally leave your bags with the concierge. You
can also, so long as you have the next night booked, get up at your
leisure, be it at 9am or 3pm. How does this compare to hostels? I
get the impression with hostels you're sometimes supposed to be out at
a certain time and that you're sometimes expected to help clean or
whatever.

Also, how do showers work? Are the baths likely to be communal?

Additionally, what about the availability of power outlets? I don't
want my cameras battery to die and not be able to charge it.

Internet access of some kind would be nice, as well - is that too much
to hope for with a hostel?

You are asking for what used to be termed 'A suitcase hosteller'
by the rough and ready youth hostellers of yore.

In article
,
yawnmoth wrote:

A friend of mine was thinking about going to Europe and staying in
hostels as opposed to hotels. I've never been in a hostel and had a
few questions about them.

In hotels rooms are generally available after 3pm. If you get there
before 3pm you can generally leave your bags with the concierge. You
can also, so long as you have the next night booked, get up at your
leisure, be it at 9am or 3pm. How does this compare to hostels? I
get the impression with hostels you're sometimes supposed to be out at
a certain time and that you're sometimes expected to help clean or
whatever.

Also, how do showers work? Are the baths likely to be communal?

Additionally, what about the availability of power outlets? I don't
want my cameras battery to die and not be able to charge it.

Internet access of some kind would be nice, as well - is that too much
to hope for with a hostel?

Hostels vary so greatly that there's no such thing as a generic answer.
I've stayed in hostels with many beds in the same room and group
showers(segregated by sex) in the past. I've also stayed in double
rooms but still shared a bath. On the other hand, I've stayed in more
modern ones where I had my own bath, a couple that were better than some
hotels I stayed in on the same trip. In Germany, a "youth guest house"
is going to be more like a hotel than a "youth hostel", but some of the
latter are also much like hotels. I haven't stayed in one recently, so
have no idea what the situation is in regard to wi-fi, but the last time
I included a number of them, 5 or 6 years ago, I was able to make all
my reservations on line, as they all had web sites. And they always
have electricity 8-)

--
Erilar, biblioholic medievalist


http://www.mosaictelecom.com/~erilarlo

On Dec 8, 8:49*am, yawnmoth wrote:
A friend of mine was thinking about going to Europe and staying in
hostels as opposed to hotels. *I've never been in a hostel and had a
few questions about them.

In hotels rooms are generally available after 3pm. *If you get there
before 3pm you can generally leave your bags with the concierge. *You
can also, so long as you have the next night booked, get up at your
leisure, be it at 9am or 3pm. *How does this compare to hostels? *I
get the impression with hostels you're sometimes supposed to be out at
a certain time and that you're sometimes expected to help clean or
whatever.

Also, how do showers work? *Are the baths likely to be communal?

Additionally, what about the availability of power outlets? *I don't
want my cameras battery to die and not be able to charge it.

Internet access of some kind would be nice, as well - is that too much
to hope for with a hostel?

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/04/19...19hostels.html

On 8/12/2010 15:49, yawnmoth wrote:
A friend of mine was thinking about going to Europe and staying in
hostels as opposed to hotels. I've never been in a hostel and had a
few questions about them.

In hotels rooms are generally available after 3pm. If you get there
before 3pm you can generally leave your bags with the concierge. You
can also, so long as you have the next night booked, get up at your
leisure, be it at 9am or 3pm. How does this compare to hostels? I
get the impression with hostels you're sometimes supposed to be out at
a certain time and that you're sometimes expected to help clean or
whatever.

Also, how do showers work? Are the baths likely to be communal?

Additionally, what about the availability of power outlets? I don't
want my cameras battery to die and not be able to charge it.

Internet access of some kind would be nice, as well - is that too much
to hope for with a hostel?
I've stayed in "pensiones" in Italy that are just below the hotel
category. They probably qualify as hostels, if such a definition
actually exists.

It's very much a case-by-case situation, though.

Michel
http://cannes-or-bust.com/

Originally Posted by yawnmoth

A friend of mine was thinking about going to Europe and staying in
hostels as opposed to hotels. I've never been in a hostel and had a
few questions about them.

In hotels rooms are generally available after 3pm. If you get there
before 3pm you can generally leave your bags with the concierge. You
can also, so long as you have the next night booked, get up at your
leisure, be it at 9am or 3pm. How does this compare to hostels? I
get the impression with hostels you're sometimes supposed to be out at
a certain time and that you're sometimes expected to help clean or
whatever.

Also, how do showers work? Are the baths likely to be communal?

Additionally, what about the availability of power outlets? I don't
want my cameras battery to die and not be able to charge it.

Internet access of some kind would be nice, as well - is that too much
to hope for with a hostel?

You can search on google about some information of the place....You can also read some article about the place and look for some feedback if the place is good or not...^_^

On Dec 8, 6:49*am, yawnmoth wrote:
A friend of mine was thinking about going to Europe and staying in
hostels as opposed to hotels. *I've never been in a hostel and had a
few questions about them.




Many hostels in Europe are more like hotels, or some have dorm room
style beds, as well as individual rooms for one or shared, though
usually with common bathrooms or showers. Some of them are on a par
with low budget hotel chains like Formul1 and Etap. The trend is
toward serving the low cost conscious adult guest as well as students.
There is almost always some access of internet availablity, either
wireless or a pay station terminal. Definately electricity. The AO
Hostels chain is making this kind of effort. Some of them are quite
thematic like the East German themed Ostel in Berlin and Globetrotters
Hostels.


http://www.bargaintraveleurope.com/0...tel_Berlin.htm
http://www.bargaintraveleurope.com/0...tels_Paris.htm
http://www.bargaintraveleurope.com/0...tel_Berlin.htm

We've stayed in St Christophers in Bruges, it was around 3 years ago, a
twin room with private shower and breakfast was about 30 euros for 2.

The guests were of various ages from late teens to pensioners. They have
Hostels in UK, Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin; Paris etc

Here's a link .http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/

Jan

Jan wrote:

We've stayed in St Christophers in Bruges, it was around 3 years ago, a
twin room with private shower and breakfast was about 30 euros for 2.

Yes, but it was still f*%$ing Bruges!

--
(*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
www.davidhorne.net (email address on website)
"[Do you think the world learned anything from the first
world war?] No. They never learn." -Harry Patch (1898-2009)

Martin wrote:

On Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:17:21 +0000, (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

Jan wrote:

We've stayed in St Christophers in Bruges, it was around 3 years ago, a
twin room with private shower and breakfast was about 30 euros for 2.

Yes, but it was still f*%$ing Bruges!

Now you have made Magda cry.

But is he dead at the end?

--
(*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
www.davidhorne.net (email address on website)
"[Do you think the world learned anything from the first
world war?] No. They never learn." -Harry Patch (1898-2009)