Budget Travel - beware NYC youth hostel

lost our booking..
took 1.5 hours to get our beds...
5 crazy europeans and australians think drinking in the middle of nite in a 12 bed coed is okay :rolleyes:

Which hostel in New York City?

if crazy aussies were drinking :)

if crazy aussies were drinking :)

bullseye!

5 crazy europeans and australians think drinking in the middle of nite in a 12 bed coed is okay :rolleyes:
I don't see the problem :p

I don't see the problem :p
eh.. yeah sometimes, it's ok.. but not after a long flight across the country/world...

I stayed in a number of hostels when I was in my early 20's. If you're young and want to have fun, they're great. Otherwise, I wouldn't count on them for much in the way of comfort or quiet.

Once in my 30's, I stayed at one with my wife and daughter in Paris (a private room), and that's the last time I've been allowed to book them!

It really does depend when and where you're going. I'm well past 30 and still stay in hostels. On recent trips to Madrid, Barcelona, and the west of Ireland, I slept just fine in small dorm rooms, many with empty beds. Now, try this in the summer, and it might just be a challenge finding a bed.

I don't see the problem :p

Neither do I! Isn't this the whole point of staying in hostels? ;)

Had it been me, I would have been drinking with them. But of course that could be due to the fact that I'm European... :D

lost our booking..
took 1.5 hours to get our beds...
5 crazy europeans and australians think drinking in the middle of nite in a 12 bed coed is okay :rolleyes:
What you pay for is what you get. Hostels are full of crazy people.

It's all dependant on *which* hostel and what time of year.

I'm 40-somthing, and a few years ago while working on a grad degree, stayed in the London youth hostel across from the British Library while doing research there....which for less than 20 pounds a night was the cheapest accomindations I could find... And much better than the the 2 star nightmare I booked on PL, miles away, for more money.

Sure, I was sharing a 4 person dorm with one other person. But he was another student who was quiet, considerate, and generally good folk. The kitchen downstairs was handy, and the free breakfast while typical dorm food, was better than most American motel's "continental breakfast" (bagels, stale dounuts, coffee & juice).

It's all dependant on *which* hostel and what time of year.

I'm 40-somthing, and a few years ago while working on a grad degree, stayed in the London youth hostel across from the British Library while doing research there....which for less than 20 pounds a night was the cheapest accomindations I could find... And much better than the the 2 star nightmare I booked on PL, miles away, for more money.

Sure, I was sharing a 4 person dorm with one other person. But he was another student who was quiet, considerate, and generally good folk. The kitchen downstairs was handy, and the free breakfast while typical dorm food, was better than most American motel's "continental breakfast" (bagels, stale dounuts, coffee & juice).

That must be the St. Pancras YHA hostel. What was the 2* Priceline nightmare?

There are cheaper hostels than 20 pounds per night in London - I've seen as cheap as 8 or 10 pounds. But perhaps if the facilities are very good and you were sharing with only one person and you had a good breakfast, it was worth the extra cost.

That must be the St. Pancras YHA hostel. What was the 2* Priceline nightmare?

Yup, that's the one.
I've blocked the name of the PL nightmare, but I remember it was about a block from the Earl's Court tube stop... Small, musty room which was barely larger than the bed. The loo was one of those one piece fiberglass types the size of the sort installed in a motor home....if you took a shower, the floor of the whole closet-sized room got wet. Their "free breakfast" was a choice of oatmeal or cold cereal. (Ick!)

There are cheaper hostels than 20 pounds per night in London - I've seen as cheap as 8 or 10 pounds. But perhaps if the facilities are very good and you were sharing with only one person and you had a good breakfast, it was worth the extra cost.

I actually don't remember what I paid, just that it was less than 20. While I expect that there are cheeper hostels, I was not serching too hard, as having found a decent place across the street from where I was doing research, I was not about to quibble. :cool:

Might that hotel have been the Ramsees?
I guess that is one good reason to avoid 2* London bidding on Priceline, unless desperate. (I had a good Priceline experience with the 2* Comfort Inn Vauxhall, though, which was a nice, new hotel.)

Nothing better than Hostel Sex :) I love hostels!!! Anyone who thinks they will get propper sleep in a hostel is mistaken! Especially if I am there!