For the last three nights, I’ve been staying at Portland, Oregon’s Northwest Hostel, which is one of two Hostelling International hostels in this city. The hostel consists of two historic buildings, one containing the reception, kitchen and rooms, and the other containing a second kitchen and more rooms, often reserved for groups.

This hostel is the only one of the two that is located within easy walking distance of Portland’s main attractions – as its name suggests, it is in Portland’s north-west quarter, and it is only three blocks from the “free rail zone” – the area where all rail-based public transport in Portland is free. Theoretically, it is possible to get from Portland’s Amtrak and Greyhound stations to the hostel for free, only using the MAX light-rail and the streetcar, but it’s not really a direct path, and it’s probably easier just walking for fifteen minutes, unless your luggage is particularly heavy.

The hostel’s website notes that it has dormitories ranging from 4-bed and 6-bed rooms through to 8-bed rooms, however it doesn’t mention that these rooms are not necessarily isolated from one another. In my case, while my room was an 8-bed room, it was separated from another 8-bed room by a couple of curtains, so effectively I was staying in a 16-bed room. Personally, I prefer to stay in 4-bed dorms, but unfortunately, the Hostelling International USA website doesn’t give you any ability to specify this when you book.

The beds – all bunks – were fairly sturdy, and didn’t rock too much when climbing in, so there’s less chance of being woken up when the person above you arrives in the middle of the night. Bedclothes are provided by the hostel – basically a pillowcase and a folded-up YHA-style sleeping sheet – and there were extra blankets available in a trunk in the hallway.

My room had free lockers, with a clip for attaching your own padlock, although the reception also had padlocks available if guests required them. There were also plenty of lockers available outside the rooms, again all free. I can’t understate just how great it is to have free lockers; while obviously it’s no guarantee of security, it’s nice to be able to leave your valuables behind for a little while and not have to lug them around with you all day. Hostels that insist on providing only pay-per-use lockers – or none at all – should really look at this and learn.

Other than that, the rooms were fairly typical for a hostel. One minor annoyance was that towel hooks were located on the bed. Admittedly, it was nice to have hooks (I’ve stayed in some cheap hostels that don’t have any at all), but it would be better for them to be located on the walls, away from where you can smell them.

The bathrooms were fairly drab, as one would expect from such an old building, but they were very clean. The showers were of the bath/shower combination variety, which might present problems for people with mobility issues, and while the water was always hot, the shower-head in one bathroom was missing, and it fired a fairly narrow stream of water at the occupant.

My dormitory had its own ensuite bathroom, and there were two others located out in the hall, one upstairs and one downstairs. I suspect the hostel could probably do with a few more of them, as there were times when they were all occupied.

Each building has a small kitchen, with a refrigerator where guests could store perishable food, however there wasn’t much storage space for non-chilled food. Cooking equipment consisted of an oven, a four-plate stove and a microwave, with a fairly complete set of utensils. Not quite like the industrial kitchens of various hostels in other counties (such as New Zealand, for example) but certainly workable. I’m not sure how well it would cope if the hostel was full, though.

Also, simple things like washing-up brushes were missing, meaning that guests had to clean their dishes with a sponge – this doesn’t strike me as a particularly good way to clean.

The hostel had plenty of common areas, from the dining rooms attached to each of the kitchens to a comfortable, although dark, ground floor lounge in the second building. There didn’t appear to be a TV room anywhere, although given the quality of American TV, this was probably a blessing.

There is free wifi covering every room, and the speeds were good, although it did drop out a few times. There’s also a large selection of board games available, plus a good range of travel books and also a book-swap collection.

Each building has a laundry, with one washing machine and one tumble-drier – I suspect in busy periods, this would be insufficient. Only one of the buildings had a rack where clothes could be hung out to dry.

The staff were all incredibly friendly and helpful, and upon arrival, they would take each guest through the hostel, showing them the various facilities, before taking them to their room. They also provided advice about Portland’s sights and nightlife, and were more than happy to print out my onward Amtrak ticket (naturally, for a fee).

In all, this would have to be one of the most comfortable hostels I’ve stayed in so far, but this is tempered by the fact that it wasn’t high-season and the hostel was half-empty. In more crowded periods, I do wonder if the small kitchens, low number of washing machines and lack of bathrooms might make the place a bit cramped.

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Anyone who’s stayed a few nights in a youth hostel with be familiar with the standard fare: large dormitories and shared facilities. Many of us might not want it any other way – although it looks like times might be changing, at least for many UK youth hostels, who will soon be getting a makeover.

A number of new hostels will be opening, and a few – considered lost causes – will be closed. Some of the bigger changes will be the removal of some dormitories, turning them into private rooms, sometimes even with ensuite bathrooms.

This will certainly be a major shift for many hostels, and it makes me wonder whether it will result in price rises – or even an overall drop in the number of beds available for hostellers. Will this have a negative effect on the social atmosphere within hostels? I’m sure that many of us have met people that we probably wouldn’t have ever spoken to if we hadn’t been sharing a dormitory with them for a number of nights. Will it turn hostels into nothing more than a chain of ultra-economy hotels?

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Travelodge is building a hotel in West London made from 86 modified shipping containers. When completed in June, it is expected that rooms in the hotel will cost around €25 per night, less than a third of the cost of the nearest Travelodge in Slough, and cheaper than the nearest youth hostel.

The rooms are pre-fabbed in China, shipped out to the UK, where they are installed and then will be decorated. It is intended that the rooms are recyclable and although the words eco-friendly have been touted in relation to this building, I have to wonder what the insulation is going to be like. How are shipping containers going to deal with an unusually hot summer?



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Villa Camerata Hostel, Florence, Italy

When arriving in a new city, the sheer volume of accomodation options can be daunting. Where’s the best place to stay? Is it safe? Is it clean? Is it noisy? And then there’s the all important question: how much does it cost? Here’s a quick guide to choosing a hostel to help you along.

  1. Location. In order to reduce costs, many hostels are located on the outskirts of towns, where land is cheaper. Before deciding on a hostel, it’s worth determining how difficult it is going to be for you to get from the hostel to the areas that you’re most interested in seeing. In big cities, this is less likely to be a problem, as they will usually have frequent public transport. On the other hand, if you’re trying to save money, the added expense of a daily transport ticket may just be the difference in price between an inconvenient outer-suburbs hostel, and a well located inner city place.
  2. Facilities. Travel isn’t just about the places you go, it’s about the people that you meet. A hostel with a good social area, where you can relax, read, chat, perhaps play billiards or darts is going to be much more fun than a hostel where the only place you can kick-back is in your dorm-room, with the smell of your room-mates’ dirty towels to accompany you. A kitchen where you can prepare your own meals will go some way to saving you money, and you’ll stay healthy, too.
  3. Meals. Breakfast at a cafe in Melbourne or Sydney will set you back at least AU$10-$12 these days, and in Europe it could easily double that. Staying in hostels that include breakfast in the price of overnight stays can save you a fortune over a number of weeks. Be aware, however, that standards of breakfast vary from country to country; I’ve found breakfasts in Swiss, British and Scandinavian hostels to be excellent – a large variety of food to choose from, and plenty to eat. On the other hand, in almost every Italian hostel that I’ve been to, breakfast has been nothing short of abysmal – little more than a bread roll and a cup of cocoa. Also look out for hostels who provide lunches and dinner – another great way to save money, get a good meal and be able to socialise with your fellow travellers.
  4. Noise. Nothing makes your stay worse than a hostel where you can’t get any sleep. Look out for those located next to busy roads; in some countries – and here, Germany springs very prominently to mind – the traffic never seems to stop. Your fellow hostellers might be part of the problem, too. A hostel full of schoolgroups can be a nightmare, so watch out for these, especially if you’re staying in one of the Hostelling International hostels, as they tend to attract many schools at certain times of year. On the other hand, many low-cost backpacker places will attract the party crowd, and that can be a nightmare scenario too.
  5. Cost. The Hostelling International hostels tend to be at the upper end of the price scale, for dorm-style hotels, whereas many of the independent backpacker places can be cheaper. Nevertheless, you tend to get what you pay for, in terms of cleanliness, as the HI hostels are generally spotless and well kept.
  6. Security. It’s hard to tell in advance, unless you’ve got a good guidebook on hand or have access to the internet while you’re travelling, but try to stay in a hostel that provides secure lockers. While you shouldn’t ever leave anything valuable in your luggage, it does give you that extra peace-of-mind while you’re out for the day, or while you’re sleeping, that your possessions won’t simply disappear, causing you much inconvenience. Rooms that can be locked from the inside are a distinct advantage, too, especially if the hostel has a free-for-all policy on visitors.

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If you’re fortunate enough to be in a position where you can uproot yourself quickly and move to another country to work, finding long term accomodation can often be a real pain. Furnished apartments aren’t always easy to come by, and in some countries, where real estate is highly sought after, the costs can be high and the agency fees astronomical.

One option that might be worth considering is living in a hotel. Admittedly, I’ve tried doing this for a month, once, and it nearly drove me mad – but each to their own. Russell Coker has two good articles on living in hotels – firstly in London and then some more general tips.

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The Times has a guide to some of the many hotels in the historic Croatian city of Dubrovnik.

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Newcomers to London are often shocked at the price of accomodation. A single room in a three-star hotel could easily set you back £100 – or more. The Independent gives a rundown of the five best budget accomodation options’ that London has to offer.

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The Independent lists its top five pod hotels.

What’s a pod hotel? Here’s a couple of examples: The Pod Hotel, Stay Orange.

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The Independent has an article about the UK Youth Hostelling Association closing down a number of hostels in order to fund improvements to others.

Apparently more and more travellers, these days, want private en-suite facilities, It would be a shame, however, if the large bunk rooms and communal eating areas disappeared forever…

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Budget Travel Online has a guide to finding unique hotels and alternative lodging.

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