How to choose a hostel – things you need to know before booking a hostel!
Having stayed at hundreds of hostels around the world, let me walk you through how I choose and book hostels. When it comes to booking both hostels and hotels, you can’t just make a decision after looking at a few photos. The fact that the photos look great, doesn’t mean that the hostel is any good. It could even be straight up awful. The most common reason would probably be that the photos are very old and the place hasn’t been maintained since it was build. The pool you might have seen on the photos might not have been in used for years and the place could be falling apart.
Hostels are a great way to save money when traveling, while also giving you the chance to meet new people. In my experience, choosing a good hostel can be the difference between having an awesome or just an average time.
Here I will list things you need to consider when choosing a hostel.
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Filter out the not-so-good ones
Just like with hotels, there are all sorts of hostels out there. Some of them have their shit together, while others don’t. In my experience, hostels with above 80% rating will have their shit together. With that being said – the first thing I do when looking for hostels, is to filter out hostels that have a rating below 80% on booking.com or hostelworld.com. This will help you stay clear of hostels that might or might not have toilet paper, those that haven’t been cleaned for weeks or those that have a broken air conditioning that they’ve been meaning to have fixed but just haven’t gotten around to it. Unless you’re on a very tight budget, don’t choose the cheapest hostel. Spending an extra 1-2 dollar per night can make a HUGE difference in terms of what you get.
Set your priorities straight
Once you have filtered out the not-so-good ones, you can start figuring out what your priorities are and what type of hostel you are looking for. Here I will list a few factors you should consider.
Party hostel or a quiet one
Are you looking for a party hostel or do you prefer a quiet one? Do you mind loud music playing until late or would you rather have the chance to go to sleep before midnight? Party hostels tend to attract younger guests whose sole purpose of the trip may or may not be to see the inside of as many nightclubs as possible, rather than to explore anything else. If you are more interested in chasing waterfalls and going on day trips, you might not find your type of people at a party hostel. You can usually tell from the negative reviews from angry travelers that were not looking for a party hostel but got one, whether or not a hostel is a party hostel.
Air conditioning
Are you from a cold country and traveling to a tropical, hot and humid country? If so, having an air con in you room is definitely an important factor when choosing a hostel. Believe me when I tell you, you do want to spend whatever amount needed to have an a/c in your room. I once ended up spending a night in Nicaragua in a room without an a/c due to series of unfortunate events (mainly, we forgot it was Easters so our only options were to sleep on the street or in this very crappy hostel which sure did not have a/c, nor running water) – it was not a pleasant night 🙂 I spent the entire night awake, not sure if I was about to fall asleep or if I was about to pass out from a heatstroke. You will want to avoid this at all cost 🙂
Plug-ins next to the beds
Things like having plug-ins next to the beds, is something that can be easy not to pay attention to, but once you’re in bed and your phone is at 8%, you will wish that you thought of this sooner. So if you are person with a phone, having a plug-in next to your bed is something you want to keep in mind when choosing a hostel.
If you have a power bank (get one here) this probably won’t affect you that much. The same goes for plug-ins that aren’t working. Once again, you can tell from angry reviews from travelers that woke up to their phone at the same 3% as the night before.
Check-in times
Make sure to look at the check-in times, especially if you will be arriving late. Not all hostels have a reception that’s open 24/7, so always make sure you will be able to check in at the time you arrive. You don’t want to be standing outside with your luggage at 11pm only to find out that you can’t get in.
Lockers
Almost all hostels have lockers of some sort. Make sure to bring your own padlock (get one here) as most hostels don’t provide one. Some hostels only have small lockers that would fit things like your phone, wallet, passport, etc. Depending on how much you value your stuff, you might want to make sure that the hostel has large lockers that will fit all your things.
Common areas
Chances are that you are not looking to spend a whole lot of time in your room – and that you want to meet new people. If that’s important to you, make sure that the hostel has a common area where you can hang out.
Reading the reviews
Once you have narrowed down your choices based on your preferences – you will want to go through the reviews before booking. Reading reviews from people that have stayed in the hostel can give you a lot of valuable information that you can’t find elsewhere. These can be things like if there is a construction going on next door that starts at 6am every morning, are the beds comfortable, is it a party hostel or a quiet one, how the atmosphere is – basically lots of things you will want to know before making a decision. Read the negative reviews and check if the things people are complaining about is something that would be a deal breaker for you.
Here you can search for hostels and read reviews:
I hope this gave you an idea about how to choose a hostel, and perhaps more importantly, will help you to stay clear of the not so good ones.
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If you are planning backpacking trip, you might also want to read these posts:
- Common Mistakes to avoid when backpacking
- How to save money while traveling
- 14 tips for staying safe while traveling
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