Has anyone ever stayed in a hostel?

40 Comments

My friends and I are planning a road trip up to Portland and then taking PCH all the way back home. I've been looking at some hostels around the area. They're a lot cheaper than booking a room at a motel. I just wanted to know if anyone had any recommendations, especially if they're along the coast of California, or just any general experience staying in a hostel. I know they're popular in Europe so any stories are good.

Yes, I have stayed in a hostel in California 3
Yes, I have stayed in a hostel but in another area 17
No, I've never stayed in a hostel 41
Help us keep this site organized and clean. Thanks!
[ Report Post ]
Comments ( 40 )
  • VioletTrees
    11 years ago | pl

    No, but I've seen Hostel.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    7
    7
      -
    • [Old Memory]
      11 years ago

      M'nyes. The payment has been sent. >:)

      Comment Hidden ( show )
      0
      0
    • NothingxCrazy
      11 years ago

      And how do you feel about hostels now?

      Comment Hidden ( show )
      0
      0
  • dappled
    11 years ago

    I've stayed in plenty of hostels. The best advice I can give you is not to have any expectations. Some are just wonderful, some are middling, and some are horrific. On top of that, a lot depends on the people you end up sharing with.

    If you're doing it with friends, though, you may find it's one of the best trips of your life. Even if it's terrible you get a shared experience that you wouldn't have in something as impersonal as a hotel. Particular personal highlights include the girl who kept shouting "Fuck all over you" in her sleep, the man who wore socks on his hands when he was in bed (we never found out why), a group who tried to start a barbeque *inside* the room, and various people who were several sandwiches short of a full picnic. I met some very interesting people, though, including a man who lost his wife to cancer in her late twenties, sold his house and decided he was never going to put down roots again but simply to live "in the world". He lives a life of permanent escape and I bumped into him three times in hostels on separate occasions and each time he had the most positive aura of anyone I think I've ever met. A bit of a hero.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    5
    5
  • squeallikeasacofpigs
    11 years ago

    Fuck hostals, I've stayed in them and it's really not worth it. Do you really want to be sleep in a room with a bunch of strangers, who might steal some of your shit at any time? No. Just pay a little extra for the motel, they're cheap as piss anyway. That way you actually get a lock on your door, private space and peace and quiet (not everyone will want to go to bed at the same time as you in the hostel so there might be drunk mother fuckers making noise at 2AM or something). Alternatively, be a baus and go camping.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    3
    3
  • NoraBaker
    11 years ago

    Yes, but only a few. In London, Nice and Kraków.

    The bedroom of the one in London smelled slightly like the inside of an adolescent's shoe, but otherwise was very good, they had a very rich breakfast and the location was great. Half the guests were students and the other half an older crowd who did not seem to be traveling or fit in the hostel scene at all, eating their way out of the breakfast buffet. Quite puzzling.

    In Nice, I shared a room with a French girl I made friends with and 3 or 4 Japanase girls, each with very particular habits. A porcelain doll looking one who would apply make up and do her hair in a little makeshift beauty station in her bottom bed of the bunks for about an hour and then try on all of her clothes; another who would do all her laundry by hand in the shower, including her jeans, and hang it all to dry on the ends of the bunks; and one who seemingly was not interested in visiting Nice and spent all day in bed reading. Very friendly staff, including a deaf young man who wrote me a note in French saying I was beautiful inside and out and that he would like to hug my body and kiss me. Or it. I can't remember exactly.

    In Kraków, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking when, unlike the other 2 times, I wasn't alone and took my dad to one that was so crowded that he went crazy the first night and we left for a B&B. (Some hostels also have private rooms, I wouldn't go as far as putting the man through sharing a room with 5 to 8 guys in their late teens/early 20s.)

    One major annoyance of hostels for me is the fact that there usually is a curfew. If you are going with your friends and get a chance to stay all in the same room, perhaps avoiding staying with strangers, I think your trip would be safer and more fun.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    2
    2
      -
    • Avant-Garde
      11 years ago

      Sounds like you had quite an adventure! I'm probably going far off subject with this but.... Did you know that Japanese tourists are the most susceptible to Paris Syndrome?

      Comment Hidden ( show )
      0
      0
        -
      • NoraBaker
        11 years ago

        I remember reading about that. It's quite sad that such a nice city would have that effect on people. So much for creating such high expectations, huh? Much like everything else in life, I suppose.

        Comment Hidden ( show )
        1
        1
          -
        • Avant-Garde
          11 years ago

          'Tis a shame, but it does make me wonder if that was what I had when I went to Paris.

          Comment Hidden ( show )
          0
          0
            -
          • NoraBaker
            11 years ago

            Oh! Why? Did you have a bad experience in Paris?! I thought I'd been great for you!

            Comment Hidden ( show )
            1
            1
              -
            • Avant-Garde
              11 years ago

              Holy shit, it was fucking horrible!!! It all started a few days after I came to England. There was this strange pain in my leg so I went to bed thinking it would go away but it didn't. It intensified by the next day and later on I ended up having to go to the hospital for blood work. I thought that I had developed a blood clot in my leg from the 7hr flight. Where in which, I made the mistake of not getting up or stretching at all. Thankfully, the blood test came out negative.

              When I got to France, things got much worse. My health took a strange nosedive and I felt like I was dying. I was having intense and disturbing hallucinations. Once, I was crossing a bridge and I started hearing a young woman singing in my head accompanied by music. I can't remember how many times I had visual hallucinations, but three incidences stand out the most. 1. I was getting in bed and there was this cute white glowing orb at the foot of it. It was moving rather fast and then it went over the end of the bed. I looked down there and it had disappeared. 2. I had just gotten out of the bath and I was looking in the mirror when I got the overwhelming sensation that I was being watched. I looked up at the ceiling to my horror there was a male head right where the smoke alarm should have been. It had a hairstyle that was close to a afro and it's skin was blackish-grey and it had crooked fangs and it was staring at me! I was too scared to move and eventually it disappeared. 3. I could've sworn I saw the Grim Reaper in the bathroom mirror. O_0

              Other symptoms I remember having were: black waste, disorientation, balance issues, I felt like the ground underneath me was constantly moving and I could feel every single vibration, the ground felt extremely soft when I stepped on it, much like a sponge or a mushroom, Extreme amounts of fatigue, etc. I remember going to the Louvre with the tour group and we were walking up a staircase. When, I got up the top I lost my balance. The Polish couple were the only people I remember who ran towards me to try catch me. Thankfully, I didn't fall over though. I somehow regain my balance but almost fell on my face in the process.

              The other problem with Paris was my grandmother. On the first night. we got into a very odd argument and for the rest of the trip, the things she had started doing in Britain became a behavioral pattern that she continued all throughout our stay in France, where as in Rome it lessened... She kept following me around and staring at me. She was extremely obsessive and abusive. We had to sit together on the bus. We had to get off the bus together and at the same pace. She refused to let any get ahead of her while we were getting off the bus. Getting on or off the bus she would literally attempt to press her whole body into mine. Which of course freaked me out and there were many occasions where I had to get physical like jabbing her with my elbow to get her stop. We had had to walk at the same pace. She had a problem if I walked behind her or many miles ahead of her.

              If the situation wasn't worse enough, things got so intense that I became extremely suicidal. I was constantly contemplating and fantasizing about how I would do it. For instance, let's say I was on a bridge, I'd think about jumping off of it. Problem is I can't swim and I'm afraid of water so, what if when before I hit the water I changed my mind? I'd be screwed. Then, I thought about the Eiffel Tower. It's one of the tallest buildings in the world so if I jumped the chances of me surviving would be extremely slim, but there is my fear of heights. On another occasion, I considered stabbing myself but there were more complications. I guess you could say that I was too scared to step into the unknown and too scared of what would happen if I survived. All of this does make me wonder, if I could've mustered the courage to carry out my plans considering the state I was in, but alas, there would've been no note which if successful, would make people forever question my reasons....

              I apologize if you find this a tad depressing, but it needed to be addressed! All that aside, there were some lovely aspects of the city. There's something very dreamlike and surreal about Paris. It's not just the botany that creates this effect or the buildings. It's the city the as a whole. The way the light reflects on the water at night to how the wind rustles the leaves to the detail that went into the pavement and so on. It's all connected. Have you been to the Moulin Rouge? Ah! Such a lovely place. Nice food, but the entertainment... I tried not to express much emotion because I didn't want people to how much I was enjoying it. But every time the guys came on, for some reason, I found it absolutely hilarious! I don't know what it was about them that set me off. Maybe, it was their dance routine or maybe I didn't see where they fit in with the ladies.

              I think perhaps, the thing I was most surprised about was the Mona Lisa. When you go into that room there's a huge crowd on one side around the painting. Unlike the other paintings, you can't get up close to hers and she's encased in glass. Apparently, her painting is air conditioned within that case. But, it's her size that got me. You'd think that it would be a big painting but it's extremely small! The same experience can be said for Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory. I remember seeing that in MOMA and while it didn't get the same fanfare as the Mona Lisa, the two are very similar. With both you'd expect them to be large, I suppose this may be due to their fame, and the artist's outstanding attention to detail. (I apologize for the length of this)

              Comment Hidden ( show )
              1
              1
  • kylecation
    11 years ago

    Not after the movie... scary.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    1
    1
  • JustDave
    11 years ago

    I hope the sounds of power tools & screaming don't keep you awake.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    1
    1
  • Riddler
    10 years ago

    If its cheaper than a motel and hotel I could see why you would choose to go their. I have only been to a motel or hotels. Motels are usually cheaper than a hotel room.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • Sunshine:)
    10 years ago

    Okay...So what exactly is a hostel??? I looked it up online and I just got what looked like a movie. I'm guessing it's crossed between a hotel and a motel?!?

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • handsignals
    10 years ago

    I had sex with a Japanese girl in a hostel.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • chloebabe
    10 years ago

    Not worth it for me. I stayed at one in Germany. I had to put the sheets on my own bed, provide my own towel and food and everything. I had to share a single bathroom with a dozen men and women. I couldn't really figure out what I was paying for besides the unmade bunk bed.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • Terence_the_viking
    11 years ago

    Welcome to the hotel of califorina.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
      -
    • myboyfriendsbitch
      11 years ago

      such a lovely place.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
      0
      0
  • Avant-Garde
    11 years ago

    No, and I don't have any plans to do so either. So far, I've only stayed in hotels but in Paris, while everyone else went on a river tour, I got to know our tour guide for a bit. I remember we were making our way up a flight of stairs and she was telling me about her husband and how the two of them ran this "hostel". Apparently, it was mainly for college students and they would learn about France (I guess, my memory has become rather vague on this conversation), growing vegetables and helping to run it,etc. It was interesting, but I didn't question her that far into the matter because I really didn't want her to get the impression that I wanted to come there for my college years.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • howaminotmyself
    11 years ago

    The Hawthorne Hostel is great!!! The building is amazing, in an awesome neighborhood, great location, and some of the best people watching you could ask for. I went there once for an event and all the people were delightful, staff and guests. There is another hostel in the NW region of town but it's a bit isolated and a bitch of a neighborhood to drive in.

    Feel free to message me if you want any tips about the city.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • disthing
    11 years ago

    Yeah in London. It was fun. We had free cereal and/or toast in the morning (success).

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • BlueJeansWhiteShirt
    11 years ago

    A few of my friends stayed in a hostel in Krakow, Poland.
    There were blood and poo stains on the sheets. Next door to their room a group of very randy German men were staying. One of my friends then was sexually assaulted. And then apparently they all cried because they didn't want to sleep in the dirty beds.
    I had a friend who stayed in a hostel in Rome. She said it wasn't so bad. She had no complaints.
    If you stay in a hostel, just pick one carefully. Do your research. If you can afford a hotel room, then do so!

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • Darkoil
    11 years ago

    The last hostel I stayed in was only 4 euros a night and we had the entire place to ourselves. Honestly it was better than any hotel Ive ever stayed in.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • pussinboots
    11 years ago

    Yeah, I did. It Sucks.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • [Old Memory]
    11 years ago

    yes in rome , venice , florence , london , paris and a couple in australia , it is so much cheaper , some you have to help with chores ,b ut its worth it

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0