I have stayed at many a hostel, on every continent, both HI-affiliated and independent.

Although there are benefits to being an HI member, there are some real dogs in the system and there are several locales where the smaller independent places beat the larger HI places hands down. Always do some due diligence with the user reviews at hostelworld.com and hostels.com.

I have stayed at some hostels in South Africa and Australia that were more comfortable, boasted a higher quality staff and had more character than any hotel in town.