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Top 10 Hostels Around the World
Our friend Benji over at the Guardian has compiled a list of the top 10 hostels around the world. "When I say I'm staying in a hostel instead of a hotel, they think I'm subtlety telling them I have a drug problem," he writes. "But things have changed, people. Not all hostels are grubby dives run by people called Starchild." It's true; some of the cheapest and most unique places to rest your weary travel legs are hostels, even if you do have a drug problem. Here's Benji's picks:- Villa Saint Exupery, Nice, France
- Hostel Celica, Ljubljana, Slovenia (pictured)
- Casa Caracol, Cadiz, Spain
- Art Hostel, Sofia, Bulgaria
- Backpack Guesthouse, Budapest, Hungary
- Backpackers International, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Long Street Backpackers, Cape Town, South Africa
- Casa Esmeralda, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Sleeping with the Enemy, Sydney, Australia
- The Gershwin, New York, US
Filed under: Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Slovenia, Spain, United States, Australia, Argentina, Hotels and Accommodations, Budget Travel
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Catherine Bodry Sep 11th 2007 4:46PM
I stayed in the Hostel Celica in Ljubljiana, and it was very cool. Every room is different. Only bummer is that they're all a little worn and scuffed -- the effect would be much stronger if they maintained them better. But a great place to stay nonetheless.
And the Gerswhin in NYC is maybe the best "hostel" I've stayed in.
Editors Sep 11th 2007 7:05PM
I've never stayed at any of the hostels that made the top 10 list. However, I'm thinking that quite a few I've stayed in might qualify for the "10 Worst" list, particularly the one in Switzerland where I was assigned the top of a triple-decker bunkbed surrounded on both sides by other triple-decker bunkbeds---sheer torture after a night drinking beer at the in-hostel bar.
Kelly Amabile Sep 11th 2007 9:00PM
Celica in LJ is good - they have a basic breakfast buffet that is fairly unsupervised (meaning = easy to walk away with second helpings.)
If you are not a fan of party hostels, steer clear of Villa Saint Exubrey in summer months -- it was packed with revelers when I was there in early July last year, and one gal, sleeping in the bunk before me, vomited all over the dorm room floor. The place was a bit of a mess, people don't go out since the hostel is far up a hill away from the center of town..they just drink at the hostel all night. But the 5 euro pizzas are tasty.
Oddsocks Sep 28th 2007 1:25AM
How can anyone make a list of the Top hostels in the world? To do it even half objectively, you'd have to stay at every single one. It's like saying "......is the greatest country in the world!" Yeah but how would you know unless you actually left it?
I've stayed at three of the ten listed but wouldn't count 2 of them as favourites. Has the author also stayed at Roar Justad's hostel in the Lofoten islands? It's on a pier out over the sea and he loans boats and fishing gear that you can use to catch your dinner under the midnight sun. What about Krumlov House in Cesky Krumlov, or the Mountain hostel in Gimmelwald. Not sure if it would still be open, but top of my list would have to be Heaven in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe, just below the national park of the same name on the Mozambique border. But then I would never presume to make such a list until I'd actually completed the research....
TerpU82 Oct 10th 2007 10:29AM
I have stayed at a few in my life to say the least. I agree that I would never presume to make a top 10 list, but I do have a favorite of the ones I stayed in.
Boathouse Hostel on the south side of Prague really was a treat. It was so clean, and the staff was SOOO nice. We were their family, it was great. They had a huge room with tons of tables where they would serve us breakfast for 30 cents. They kept a fridge stocked full of Prague Budweiser Beer for 10 cents a pop, and they gave us free t-shirts because we stayed there 10 days.
I really enjoyed my time there, and would visit again anytime.