Hostels Abroad: Daunting or a Deal?

Buy an ad on DigitalJournal.com

Located on Princes Square in London, England is a small youth motel. This facility provides accommodation for backpackers, students, and those looking for a bargain. Hostel 63, the motel-like facility is merely $20.00 per night. However, when participants check into this hostel, they are uncertain to what they will be exposed to.

From the outside, the white terrace building is identical to the other fifteen on the same street. The reception area is a counter behind glass, in a small room with a staircase. An experience personally accounted, the staff were rather rude, and lacked proper hospitality. Sarah Kentz from Chicago, Illinois recollected on her short lived stay at the foreign hostel.

"I came across Hostel 63 from a website called Hostelworld.com. The photos provided, the tours and prices all were very favorable." Kentz recalled. However, Kentz did not know that the look of the hostel would be worth nothing once her experience began abroad. "I was looking to stay cheap, so the price amazed me the most." Kentz said.

Upon arriving, Kentz, a student at St. Xavier University in Illinois, was appalled by her situation. "Not only was the staff rude, but they had no proper way of organizing and handling billing information, or receipts." Kentz, when asking for a receipt was given a note scratched on scratch paper. "It was very unprofessional."

Misfortune aside, left the rest of the stay to be explored. "I got up to [the] room, and was immediately angered by the fact the door did not lock, the beds were unmade, and the sink was falling off the wall." Kentz said. "I was so shocked, but tired at the same time, it was almost midnight." A dirty room was only a portion of the complaint. "Mousetraps were lined under the bed and window sill, the windows were cracked, and the room was dusty, and if you laid on the floor, you could feel the floor shake" Kentz said.

Despite her ordeal, Kentz decided to stay one night, but planned on checking out the next morning. She was surprised with what she learned. "They were unwilling to allow me a refund." Kentz said. Kentz, like any other tourist was required to pay in cash. No checks, or credit cards were accepted. "The receipt proved useless for nothing could be refunded or returned." Kentz is not the only one who has lost money on hostels abroad. "I want the truth to be known" Kentz said. "Hostels are extremely disgusting...I would much rather pay extra for a decent hotel." Many agree with Kentz. "Cleanliness and reputability is important to me."

Craig Allinten, a graduate student from Los Angeles agrees with Kentz. "I had the most devastating experience with a Hostel." Allinten said. "They truly are worth the amount you spend - nothing!" Allinten had a similar experience at a hostel, to which he was refused a room switch when there was an error in his booking. "It's filthy, ill-managed, and more stressful than it's worth." Allinten commented.

Want a sneak peak into the actual accommodation? "Read the reviews!" Kentz said. "I didn't believe most of them that I read...but I have come to terms in realizing customer reviews is the number one thing when it comes to choosing a place to stay." Customer reviews can be found on a hotel, motel or hostels website, or on sites like Hostelworld.com. "If something sticks out to you, go with your instinct-most of the time it's right" Kentz said. "It's much better to find a replacement and have a plan, than to travel 6,500 miles and realize your hotel room has bugs and dirty sheets."

To find customer reviews on hostels abroad, visit Hostelworld.com and select a location. Better researching your destination will allow you to find the good, the bad, and the ugly. If all fails, it will certainly save you a lot of stress, money...and bugs!



-Jennifer Droese

Source: Hostelworld.com - London, England.

*Please note: The people interviewed in this article were located on Hostel World, yet interviewed via teleconference.