5 ms·

What?! Hostels suck. In principle, hostels have everything. A fridge, a kitchen and so on. In practice, though, you have to label all your food because there i

by exergy 7y ago

What?! Hostels suck. In principle, hostels have everything. A fridge, a kitchen and so on. In practice, though, you have to label all your food because there is one fridge for 50 people. You need to share the kitchen with everyone else too. Privacy is limited. Noise is biblical. Fucking party dickhead bros everywhere ruining everything. Creaky floorboards and noisy doors. I've done hostels all over Europe, and while there are exceptions, the exceptions tend to cost a bit more too. Hostels are OK when you're young and broke and very adaptable. I used them a lot, and am grateful they exist. But they do NOT fulfill what the GP is asking about.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
I made an edit in my comment. Must be a US/Europe term difference. I don't know what the horror show you described is called in my part of Europe, but over here, hostels have nothing to do with shared fridge for 50 people, or limited privacy. They're just cheaper hotels. Kind of like a motel, except not optimized for cars, and usually in an apartment building.
- exergy 7y ago
  Ohh! Yep, communication breakdown. What you describe certainly sounds much better than the hostels I'm familiar with.
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    Yeah, I started reading the comments in surprise, and immediately headed to English Wikipedia, which revealed the depth of the mistake I made.
    - mbel 7y ago
      Well, according to Wikipedia it's the same in polish: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel ;)
      - TeMPOraL 7y ago
        In a state of even greater surprise, I accept that the word "hostel" may in general mean something else than what I came to expect from staying in places calling themselves "hostels". (Curiously, the Talk page of that article suggests that Polish law doesn't even recognize the term "hostel", so all those places - both defined here and the kinds I stayed in - must really be something else.)
- alistairSH 7y ago
  Hmmm, unless things have changed since I backpacked western Europe, hostels in London|Barcelona|Florence|Paris are dorm-style with shared bathrooms and other facilities. So, it's not a "Europe" thing either. As a 40-something professional, I would never stay in a hostel - I'm too old for that crap. I want a nice bed, a small living room, and a small kitchen.
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    If it says "we have a lounge where you can meet people, and info on trips" it's a backpacker hostel. If it says "we have a great atmosphere, and go clubbing every night" it's a party hostel. If it says "we have family and dorm rooms, kitchens and car parking" it's probably for families or school trips. There are also hostels used by people who are essentially homeless, though I've never seen one advertised. I knew someone who volunteered at one. On hotels.com, what you're looking for is described as an "apart-hotel".
    - alistairSH 7y ago
      "apart-hotel" isn't really something that exists in the US. And I had no idea it was a searchable term in some online booking tools. Somebody mentioned extended-stay hotels elsewhere as the closest analog in the US, but they tend to be focused on business travelers, and not always located in tourist areas. For example, there are a ton of extended-stay hotels near my office, but that's 30 miles outside Washington DC in the heart of the northern VA internet/tech zone (AWS, Google, the remnants of AOL, etc). Edit - I'm looking at Hotels.com now, searching Inverness UK from the US site. "apart-hotel" is not an option under "Accommodation Type". Apartment is a distinct type from hotel, and it appears to be a mix of what you describe (bocks of apartments managed for vacation lets) and individual apartments (Airbnb-style).
      - ghaff 7y ago
        Sometimes I stay at "apart'hotels" in Europe. At least at the chain I've used a number of times, it's really just a hotel with 1.) Some cooking facilities like an extended stay place in the US and 2.) Cleaning is just weekly. They also tend not to have features like bars and gyms that many hotels do. But, really, at least for my uses it's pretty much a hotel with a 24-hour front desk.

by exergy 7y ago

TeMPOraL 7y ago

I made an edit in my comment. Must be a US/Europe term difference. I don't know what the horror show you described is called in my part of Europe, but over here, hostels have nothing to do with shared fridge for 50 people, or limited privacy. They're just cheaper hotels. Kind of like a motel, except not optimized for cars, and usually in an apartment building.

exergy 7y ago
Ohh! Yep, communication breakdown. What you describe certainly sounds much better than the hostels I'm familiar with.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  Yeah, I started reading the comments in surprise, and immediately headed to English Wikipedia, which revealed the depth of the mistake I made.
  - mbel 7y ago
    Well, according to Wikipedia it's the same in polish: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel ;)
    - TeMPOraL 7y ago
      In a state of even greater surprise, I accept that the word "hostel" may in general mean something else than what I came to expect from staying in places calling themselves "hostels". (Curiously, the Talk page of that article suggests that Polish law doesn't even recognize the term "hostel", so all those places - both defined here and the kinds I stayed in - must really be something else.)
alistairSH 7y ago
Hmmm, unless things have changed since I backpacked western Europe, hostels in London|Barcelona|Florence|Paris are dorm-style with shared bathrooms and other facilities. So, it's not a "Europe" thing either. As a 40-something professional, I would never stay in a hostel - I'm too old for that crap. I want a nice bed, a small living room, and a small kitchen.
- Symbiote 7y ago
  If it says "we have a lounge where you can meet people, and info on trips" it's a backpacker hostel. If it says "we have a great atmosphere, and go clubbing every night" it's a party hostel. If it says "we have family and dorm rooms, kitchens and car parking" it's probably for families or school trips. There are also hostels used by people who are essentially homeless, though I've never seen one advertised. I knew someone who volunteered at one. On hotels.com, what you're looking for is described as an "apart-hotel".
  - alistairSH 7y ago
    "apart-hotel" isn't really something that exists in the US. And I had no idea it was a searchable term in some online booking tools. Somebody mentioned extended-stay hotels elsewhere as the closest analog in the US, but they tend to be focused on business travelers, and not always located in tourist areas. For example, there are a ton of extended-stay hotels near my office, but that's 30 miles outside Washington DC in the heart of the northern VA internet/tech zone (AWS, Google, the remnants of AOL, etc). Edit - I'm looking at Hotels.com now, searching Inverness UK from the US site. "apart-hotel" is not an option under "Accommodation Type". Apartment is a distinct type from hotel, and it appears to be a mix of what you describe (bocks of apartments managed for vacation lets) and individual apartments (Airbnb-style).
    - ghaff 7y ago
      Sometimes I stay at "apart'hotels" in Europe. At least at the chain I've used a number of times, it's really just a hotel with 1.) Some cooking facilities like an extended stay place in the US and 2.) Cleaning is just weekly. They also tend not to have features like bars and gyms that many hotels do. But, really, at least for my uses it's pretty much a hotel with a 24-hour front desk.