When was the last time you stayed in a youth hostel, or even a senior hostel?
On my last trip to Dublin about 5 years ago, I stayed in a hostel. While I had a private room and bath, most of the rooms consisted of numerous bunks, crazy loud music, and the smell of a certain weed. Breakfast was a rather haphazard affair, with guests grabbing food, and plopping down anywhere in the dining area and lobby.
I was shocked, upon seeing each day’s guests waiting for the bus outside. I would say the average age was definitely over 30!! But the place was clean, and safe, with a great location, walking distance to the Templebar area.
Prior to that, Mike and I stayed in some rather spartan hotels and motels on our journey through Chile. We could certainly afford better lodging, but when we arrived late at night, we just took what we could find. And yes, I had to prop a chair against the doorknob to “lock” my room at night!!! This happened several times on our trip, in the Atacama Desert (San Pedro), as well as in Ushuaia (southernmost city in the world). When it is so darn cold outside, we were just happy to have a warm place to sleep!
The most fun I ever had in a hostel was in Amsterdam, back in the 70s. Upon returning from the famous Milky Way kasbah, we all had the munchies. What did we buy? Grapes, of course.
Picture each of us on the top bunk in a room with about 10 bunks. We tried spitting the seeds into a trash can that we placed in the center of the room. And as you can guess, the laughter and noise erupted whenever we hit the basket. Our poor roomies!
Regarding sex in hostels, it was quite prevalent back in the day. Not sure about now.
In my skiing days, I often bunked in unusual places. My buddy and I found a ski hostel not far from Sugar Bowl in the Sierras. We had a room with about six or eight cots, a large communal shower, with group meals at dinner and breakfast. I eventually took other groups up there, both friends and family. Alas, it burned down a few years later.
But my latest trip to Athens resulted in a two-star hotel, about a half step above a youth hostel. It was clean, quiet, and safe. But the stairs had not railings, and I had only one electrical outlet in my room for computer, phone, and anything else needing a charge. Breakfast was served in a cardboard box that had to be taken back to my room. The elevator had an accordion door that was quite cute, but also quite old. And it talked to me in both Greek and English! But really, who can complain at about $350 for the week, with air conditioning?
So, in my view of the world, one can never be too told for a hostel. Just be ready to see sex, drugs, rock n roll!!!!
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