These considerations were: cost, location, wifi accessibility and availability to transit and the major attractions. We also wanted a room that included breakfast, an ensuite bathroom, if possible, and a room with same sex occupancy but not a dorm. Because there were three of us this sometimes presented a problem and we had to sacrifice some of our desired requirements. One of these was ensuite bathroom which proved not to be particularly bad, and in some cases preferable, because often the separate bathrooms were larger than the ones in the room. Breakfast was the next thing on our list that we were willing to give up. Availability to transit was the most important even though we walked many miles each day while touring the cities we visited.
We began our search through hostels.com about five months before our planned departure. This was necessary because of our specific requirements and even then, in some cases, were unable to find what we wanted. Specifically, there were not many rooms for a group of three, same gender. While we were in Interlacken, Switzerland, we had a room for four and on our first night there were just the three of us. But on our second evening we returned to the hostel to find a partially clad man shaving at the sink in the room. Initially we thought we had the wrong room and, apologizing left, only to discover that he was to be our new room mate. My companions and I felt somewhat uncomfortable with this new development, particularly since we, by unspoken consideration for each other, confined ourselves and our things to our own bed areas. In the obviously short time the new arrival had been an occupant in our room, he had managed to disburse himself freely throughout the entire small room. Fortunately, there was another room available to him and we paid for the fourth occupancy to our room. In hindsight it was all quite humorous but I'm sure somewhat embarrassing for the poor man.
When doing our search for hostels, we read visitor reviews for each one but often these were more confusing than helpful because of the extremely diverse opinions of those who had stayed. Often reviews ran from extremely favourable to highly negative. As a result, a lot of our decisions were based on what seemed to be a dominant impression of the reviews. But like most things, reviews are subjective in most cases rather than objective.
Our hostel in the colourful Montmartre district of Paris was conveniently located to Metro and a short ride to the Champs-Elysses where many of the major attractions are located. It did have an ensuite bathroom and although very small, was convenient. Breakfasts consisted of cereal, croissants, fruit, coffee and juiice which was quite sufficient to jump-start our energy levels for our busy days. The age of the majority of visitors was in the twenties to early thirties range with few being older. We found this to be the case in most places we stayed except in Italy where there were more older visitors in the hostels. But everyone was always friendly regardless of age or language spoken.
In Lucerne we stayed at a lovely clean hostel for three with a separate bathroom across the hall. It didn't include breakfast but met all of our other requirements. Being close to transit in this case was not a requirement because the town was quite small and everything was within walking distance, the trains, ferry and most attractions. In Interlacken, although the city was much larger, the trains and ferry were very close and although they did not serve breakfast, they did have convenient kitchen facilities.
In Venice, Italy, because my daughter-in-law is Korean, she made arrangements for us to stay at a Korean hostel which was on one of the canals. Transportation was not a consideration in Venice because the main way of getting around is by walking. They did serve a breakfast which was a rather large feast, Korean style. The hostel in Florence was a room for four which we shared with an older lady from England who said she had travelled considerably, always staying in hostels. She said she quite enjoyed her experiences with hostel stays. Breakfast and dinner was served for a nominal fee, bathrooms were down the hall and it met all of our other requirements.
Our hostel in Rome was probably the best. Although they did serve a very basic breakfast, we were gone by then but they did have kitchen facilities where we could prepare anything we wanted for ourselves. We were within walking distance from Metro and within walking distance of some of the attractions, i.e.: the Colosseum, Paladine Hill and Trevi Fountain, although admittedly, they were extremely long walks.
When booking stays at hostels, it is important to note whether linen and towels are included. In some places they are and in others, rental is required. I brought my own towel but in most of the places these things were either included or were a very nominal charge to rent. Some places require that payment for rooms must be cash and other places will accept credit cards. We also did a thorough online search of the areas we were looking in to see what was available regarding restaurants and, was there a curfew, was it a noisy neighbourhood and was there a staff member on site at all times.
We were very fortunate with the hostels we chose, finding them all to be clean, comfortable and for the most part, meeting our requirements. It is certainly an inexpensive option when travelling not only for the young but for older travellers and families as well. I would certainly choose a hostel adventure again in the future.
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