From England to Ecuador and beyond

From England to Ecuador and beyond

Wednesday 21 May 2014

In the defence of hostels

The first time I got given bedding when checking in at a hostel my reaction was confusion and then disbelief - I had to make my OWN bed? Was this some sort of joke? Now, after a couple of months on the road, I'm pleasantly surprised - feel spoilt even - if a bed has been made up for me.

Perhaps it's the practical, DIY approach they tend to take, or maybe it's the outdated notion that they're riddled with germs, but there are still people who think hostels are the arse end of the earth. Even I was careful at the posh NYC rooftop bar to talk about our 'hotel' rather than the hostel/budget inn we were actually staying at for the week. A couple of drinks later and I stopped caring what people thought - which is how it should be, hostels are amazing places to stay!

The amount of people I've met who 'don't stay in hostels' is stacking up fast, but why the stigma? I'm not saying it's not nice to have a doorman with a smart hat let you into the building or have a double bed, private bathroom and room service at the touch of a button. Everyone likes to err on the side of luxury sometimes, but for travelling hostels do the job just fine.

I've actually been pretty impressed with the standard so far. I'm currently staying in Banana Bungalow in Hollywood and while Tinseltown itself is a bit of a dump, the hostel has a pretty cool vibe. Our 6 bed dorm is warm, spacious and comfortable and comes with its own kitchen! The private bathroom is huge and even has a tub, and there are shelves and lockers in the room too. In the Milhouse hostel in Cusco there were cubby holes for each bed with a light and plug sockets - so in general they're pretty well equipped. Full length mirrors are few and far between but this is easily overcome by balancing precariously on beds or using windows as temporary replacements and hoping no one walks by as you primp and preen!

BB has laundry facilities (including free powder), free computers/internet/printing, free breakfast, free tacos on Wednesdays, free beer and they refund your shuttle from the airport if you stay 3 nights or more. Plus there's ping pong, billiards, karaoke and organised daytime/evening activities if they take your fancy. There also appears to be free tea on tap, rejoice!

The hostel in NYC was the absolute best though, hands down. I have to be honest, on the basis that it's called the New York Budget Inn I didn't let myself get my hopes up but in hindsight I shouldn't have boxed up my expectations. At check in I got shampoo, conditioner, a towel and even a complimentary pair of slippers! Beds made up, room sparkling clean and spotted a fridge and microwave in the room - epic! Free PCs, printing, water machine and breakfast (not that I ever made it down on time!). All the people were rad too - the reception dudes were hilarious (big up the dream team Daniel, Ronnie and Chris) and so incredibly helpful - and this is also where I met my lovely roomie Sarah who I might meet in Canada after I finish up in the States. People put up posters if they're planning a night out which is how we ended up at Pacha with some cool Argentinians. Hostels are totally centred around meeting new people and you end up making friends from all corners of the globe - it's brilliant meeting such a diverse mix of people. Entertaining in some cases too - someone asked me yesterday what star sign I was and when I pinged the question back at him he casually informed me he was a Scorpion...lol! Almost didn't have the heart to correct him but I was laughing so hard my inner proofreader was forced to make an appearance.

Inevitably there are some downsides to staying in a hostel. Sometimes room sharing just isn't cool when you need your own space, they can be incredibly noisy until midnight which isn't ideal if you want an early night (someone is attempting Evanescense at karaoke as we speak...why would you do that to yourself?) and you might find yourself sharing 4 bathrooms between an entire floor of people. Generally though they're the biz and a godsend for globetrotters - whether on a budget or not.