I promised a few people that if I got the chance when I got back, I would post reviews of some of the things I saw and places I stayed. Tonight is (obviously) a slow night for me, and taking a break from overhauling mom's website means I have nothing but time.
I figured I would start with hostel reviews, and hopefully I can help some future traveller out with their accomodation decisions.
London: Ashlee House 261-265 Grays Inn Road (King's Cross)The french girl running the front desk ignored me a lot, but all in all it wasn't a terrible hostel. No A/C which isn't normally an issue in London, except that I was there during the (famous, completely unexpected) heatwave this year, and I just about melted. Try to request a room facing the back of the building -- you lack the view (whatever view you get on a side street in King's Cross) but you miss the traffic noise and the sun shining in during the day.
The bathrooms were decent, although sort of a strange setup since the ladies' is on one floor, and the men's on another. If you're lucky, you'll be staying on the right floor for your loo.
Doors are all coded (and codes are changed frequently) which is great for security. A small social room with a TV, and computers (£1.50 per hour, I believe) provide some opportunities to meet your fellow travellers.
Free breakfast of a few different cereals, bread, tea, coffee and juice. The guy who owns the place is boisterous and good for a laugh, which makes breakfast with strangers a lot less awkward.
The exchange rate is going to suck for any North American or Aussie traveller, but otherwise, it's pretty decent for the price (around £17 per night when I booked).
3 out of 5Paris: Square Caulaincourt 2 Square Caulaincourt 75018When I met fellow Canuck, Nathan, in Rome and he told me he was unimpressed with his stay at the Square, I was quite frankly a little surprised. Granted, part of my great experience at this hostel had to do with awesome roommates and a hot french front desk guy, but still.. this is a seriously cute hostel.
The directions for it given on Hostelworld suck (you come off the metro, go up the stairs and.. Keep Walking - 2 Blocks), it's not really central to anything (except the
Sacré Cœur , but I'll get to that), but that's part of the joy. It's situated on this quiet little street, and is totally away from all the Parisian hustle and bustle.
The rooms were very sweet and the place had a ton of character (no lift though, just a winding staircase up and down), although the bathroom setup is kind of strange (you walk through the loo to get into the room).
The breakfast was awesome (croissants, brioche, 4 different cereals, hot chocolate, tea, coffee, orange juice, etc), the staff were very accomodating, there are 3 computers with 1/2 an hour free access per day and the only pitfall was the 1am curfew, which didn't affect me in the least since I was in bed already. It is worth a mention however, that the Montmartre and neighbouring Pigalle districts do become red light districts after dark -- Pigalle being mainly straight prostitutes while trannies work the church scene near the Sacré Cœur, so the curfew isn't arbitrary.
It's located about 5 minutes from the Sacré Cœur which is a Cathedral on the butte Montmartre or the highest point on land in Paris (distinguishing itself from the Eiffel Tower's highest
point status). I've also read (since staying at the Square) that the famous
Moulin Rouge cabaret is located in nearby Pigalle and would be worth a look.
4 out of 5Lisbon: Lisbon Easy Hostel Rua de São Nicolau, 13, 2EOne of the best hostels I stayed in my entire trip. The staff, the owner and his wife were all wonderful. They offer a free pub crawl (starting with complimentary homemade sangria) if there's enough call for it, which was a great time. Big living room area with movies, satellite and games made it really easy to meet people. Free laundry service (the only drawback is that you have to find your clothing in the pile, since it's communal laundry), free breakfast (typical hostel breakfast of bread, juice, coffee and tea) and free internet. The rooms were nice, airy and had free lockers, and the bathrooms were some of the nicest I saw, although are co-ed.
5 out of 5Lisbon (third and fourth nights, the Easy was booked solid): Golden Residence Rua de Santa Marta, n.º 45, 4.º DtoCute hostel, and the girl working the front desk was just about the nicest person on the planet. The rooms aren't very secure though (small lockers available for valuables), and it's sort of a strange setup. If you ask at the ground floor, they adamantly tell you it's an illegal setup (I didn't ask for specifics), and you don't get a front door key (you knock, or ring the bell when you want in). Free internet (although only one computer), satellite television, and the kitchen is spacious with 2 large fridges and all the kitchenware you could possibly need. Really clean, too!
I think there was a breakfast offered, but I didn't wake up in time either morning.
It is kind of hard to find though. The directions on Hostelworld sort of allude to it being close to the metro stop, but it's actually several blocks down, and the building is not marked at all. I walked past it 5 or 6 times and finally just broke down and found an internet cafe to double check the address before I went inside.
3.5 out of 5Madrid: Albergue Juvenil Madrid C/ Mejía Lequerica, 21
It's a large youth hostel (under 25), so it's efficient but kind of sterile and impersonal. No kitchen area.. you can use the microwave, but there's nothing else to offer in there. Free internet, but Facebook seemed to blocked on most of them, and the ones that did offer it were almost never free. The laundry facilities were awful -- 2 washers and 2 dryers (in poor repair) and you have to wait forever for the key, and then discover that someone else is still using all the machines. I was up until almost 2 am doing laundry and missed out on sightseeing since I was waiting for the laundry room to free up. There is a common room with DVDs and a pool table, but it's small and there always seemed to be groups of people who already knew each other in there. Also a few stationary bikes if you're into fitness. Ensuite bathrooms in all the rooms were a definite plus, with seperate shower and toilet stalls, so people could use the loo while someone else was showering while someone else was putting on their makeup. They require deposits for EVERYTHING there -- room keys, kitchen keys, common area keys, even locker keys.
2 out of 5Seville: Friends Backpackers C/ Sanchez Bedoya 13
The front desk girl came across as a bit surly, but I think that's just because english isn't her first (or even second, possibly third) language, so there is a lot of miscommunication.
A really cute hostel with pretty tapestries, curtains and wall hangings -- very Bohemian. It's on the smaller end of the scale, but it's very clean and the rooms are nice and cool. There are lockers for both your luggage, as well as small lockers for passports, cash and jewelry which I thought was a great idea. Very nice bathrooms.
The breakfast was a little sparce with some bread, milk, juice and sometimes ham on offer, but get there quick because about 1/2 an hour before breakfast ends, if the food is gone (and it probably will be) you're shit out of luck because they won't restock any of it.
The biggest drawback was that although there was a computer on every floor, only one was actually working and online, so the wait time for that got to be a bit much. It wasn't unusual to come home from the clubs at 3 am and still have people waiting to check their emails or book their next hostel.
Cool roof terrace, and I met some great people at this hostel.
3 out of 5Granada: Rambutan Guesthouse Verea Enmedio Baja 28Y'know I hate to write a bad review about this place because it has a ton of potential -- I just had a crappy experience. It's very personal and very close knit, but if you don't jive with the rest of the guests well your stay will be hell because there's nowhere to escape to. The room I was staying in was enroute to another room, the kitchen, the bathroom and the laundry, so I always had people going through there. Plus the common area was right outside my door so in order to leave you have to step over and around everyone sitting outside mingling. Awesome view of the Alhambra though.. you couldn't ask for better. Beer and wine on offer for a nominal price, cheap breakfast and dinner, free internet (only one PC though). All I saw were 2 bathrooms, and although I had no problem, that's not to say that there wouldn't be long lineups in the morning or after a day of sightseeing.
I really don't feel comfortable giving this hostel a rating though. Give it a try if you'd like.
Granada: Oasis Backpacker's Hostel Placeta Correo Viejo, 3Oasis is a chain of 3 hostels (Lisbon, Seville and Granada) and they do hostels well! There is a large kitchen, several common areas (roof terrace, ground floor terrace with ping pong table, dining room area, sitting room and bar) and the rooms were great! They all had little mini fridges, counter areas, windows with window seats and ensuite bathrooms. There are 3 computers for guest use, a great little bar where you claim your free welcome drink and all the information on Granada you could ask for.
It's a little difficult to find though, since it's literally up a tiny Arabic tea street (essentially a small uphill alley with vendors and tea shops on either side). There's signage but be alert! I walked past the signs a few times without even being aware and probably missed my chance to stay there instead of the Rambutan my first night in Granada.
It's nice and central to the Plaza Nueva, shopping areas and about 15 minutes on foot to the Alhambra.
Just a quick note that evidently the Oasis in Sevilla even has a pool! Wish I'd known about that, although I would have missed meeting some great people at Friends.
4 out of 5Almeria: Instalacion Juvenil Almeria C/ Isla De Fuerteventura S/N
I bought a
Hostelling International membership before my trip because I knew that I would gain the purchase price of it back just booking my Greyhound trip to Calgary (the big Grey dog offers hostelling discounts), and this was the first time I really used it for it's purpose. Needless to say, you either need to have an HI membership, or they charge you a fee (If I remember correctly, it was in the area of €4).
I do NOT recommend this hostel. I'm sure there are others in Almeria, but unfortunately Johann (my South African compadre) and I did this trip completely spur of the moment, and I just managed to grab the address and phone number of this hostel on my way out the door in Granada.
There were little bugs (I think they were ants) in our bathroom, the AC was on the fritz (which made the room unbearably hot), weird people (some guy walked around moaning in the lobby almost everytime we were there), and the grouchy front desk guy actually told us they were booked initially until we managed to break out the small bit of Spanish we had between the 2 of us. No pity for the poor, tired, sweaty travellers.
It's not a social hostel(there was a small social area with one tiny TV and some uncomfortable looking couches) and was very sterile and lacking character.
The only saving grace was the big complimentary continental breakfast. It went above and beyond typical hostel fare, although not by enough to rescue it completely.
If you're going to Almeria and can't find another hostel besides this one, I'd suggest splurging on a hotel room instead.
1 out of 5Barcelona: Alberg Pere Tarres Numancia 149-151Another
HI hostel, although strangely not really, since they don't seem to offer a discount with the card. That being said, though, I sort of get the impression that all HI hostels are on the large and impersonal side, since this was very much that.
It's clean (although admittedly the shower took on a funny smell after use) and offers a lovely open air terrace and free internet, but it wasn't quite enough to sell me on it.
Ensuite bathrooms, personal lockers and good central air, although the rooms are sort of dark and gloomy. No knives in the kitchen unless you brought your own (luckily the lovely Maeve was more prepared than I) and just 2 burners makes it difficult to prepare a meal. There is a restaurant inside the hostel, but I didn't take the opportunity to try it, so I can't comment.
Free breakfast is offered, with 2 types of cereal, bread, lots of drink options, some sandwich meat and your choice of either a croissant or a brioche (not both!).
I can't say I was terribly impressed, but I wasn't UNimpressed either. It's decent and only about a 15 minute walk from
Sants station, so is a good option if you have a train to catch out of BCN from there, with connections to all the metro lines.
3 out of 5Biassa, Italy (Cinque Terre):
Ostello Tramonti Via Fabio Filzi 110
First and foremost, the biggest pain in the ass about this hostel is the fact that it's way up in the mountains in Biassa overlooking the La Spezia townsite. You HAVE to take a bus going up to Biassa (or taxi if you're feeling affluent) because the walk might kill you. This is not a pleasant little trek, it's seriously all the way uphill with switchbacks and crazy Italians in Peugots and on Vespas whipping by at death defying speeds. You can buy tickets at the tobacco shop in the train station. Do it.. Don't be a hero.
Secondly, don't stay in Biassa. I was told not to stay at the hostel in Cinque Terre listed on Hostelworld (that would be the Ostello Cinque Terre in Manarola, which I can't vouch for at all) for various reasons, and this hostel was given as another choice by someone who stayed there.
The hostel itself isn't bad. It's quiet, clean, the bathrooms only had lines first thing in the morning and the owner, although surly to me at first, can be quite warm and helpful.
Remember the old adage, "Location, Location, Location"? It's never been more true than with Ostello Tramonti. Biassa is a cute picturesque Italian village. Biassa also has the world's most annoying clock tower which chimes to indicate the time (thus 7 chimes for 7 and so on) and then proceeds to chime every 15 minutes to indicate quarter and half hours. This is fine in the evening, it's actually almost sort of romantic, but at 6, 7, 8 in the morning... given a gun, I would have killed that clock.
Biassa is also a sleepy little town. All day Sunday you will find exactly 2 businesses open -- rival pizzerias. If I was still a smoker, I would have cried since my nearest source of tobacco on a Sunday is a €1.20 bus ticket away in La Spezia.
The buses from the villages of Cinque Terre only run to Biassa until 10:30pm, and the bus from La Spezia to Biassa stops at 8:30pm, so you're stranded in those places after those times. Make sure you get back before 1, because that's the curfew and you'll be locked out if you arrive after that.
You'll also find that the lockout period, which runs from 11 to 3, means you will be stuck in Biassa for an hour until the next bus comes if you leave right as it begins.
My recommendation would be to find accomodation in one of the 5 villages via an online search, or to get into La Spezia at a decent time of day, and to take the train to one of the 5 villages and look for accomodation there if you're not arriving right in the middle of high season.
2 out of 5Florence: Florence Youth Hostel Via XXVII Aprile 4
Magdalena, the Polish front desk girl, was awesome here. She's so friendly and so helpful that I would recommend this hostel based on her alone. When you claim your free drink upon arrival, sit and chat with her for a few to get some ideas about what to see and do in Florence.
The hostel itself is located about a 15 minute walk from the SMN station in Florence, and close to a wide array of restaurants, cybercafes, shops and espresso places. It's located in an apartment building, but all the residents seemed quite nice and didn't mind all the crazy young people running in and out at all hours of the night.
The rooms are simple (and no central air unfortunately), but sufficient and the view is quite nice from the window.
The bathrooms are a little small and there's no breakfast on offer (free tea or coffee though). No computer terminal either, although there is WiFi throughout. No real common area, which kind of sucks, but Magdalena was again very helpful to solo travellers looking to make connections.
There is a lockout period from 10:30 to 2.
3 out 5Rome: Freestyle Hostel Via Principe Amadeo 132
Freestyle... In my Pants. Sorry, temporary lapse.
When I read the reviews for this hostel on Hostelworld, I got the impression it wasn't a party hostel at all. I was fine with that, because often you don't feel like joining the hedonism crowd EVERY night anyway, so I booked it. Oh dear.
To be fair, I totally initiated the craziness the first night. After 3 nights of almost no sleep in Florence, I suggested to my new roommates at Freestyle that we join the
Spanish Steps Pub Crawl. After drinking contests with Irishmen, playing in fountains and losing my pants and following the air traffic controller from Fort Nelson around Rome in my t-shirt and panties, I needed some rest the following night.
No dice. One night we came home to 30 people playing drinking games in our room, and every night beyond that ended in people taking cheap wine to this plaza or that plaza.
As for the hostel itself.. great air-conditioning, free internet (2 terminals), very cozy and easy to meet people, but 2 bathrooms for 25+ people is a bit overkill. The lineup can take FOREVER, and you MUST request hot water ahead of time for a shower, otherwise be prepared to feel like a polar bear.
It's less than 10 minutes from Termini, which means you're in sort of a dodgy neighbourhood, but are uber close to the train station for connections, or just to catch the Metro around Rome.
The owner Kumar is hilarious and will totally crack you up when he comes in around dinnertime. Tito, the night guy, is super sweet and puts up with far too much. He's a great guy though, so if you stay here, try to cut him some slack.
Free breakfast (toast, cereal, drinks, etc) and FREE pasta, salad and wine for dinner which is great for the budget, especially since everyone always drinks and spends far too much in Roma.
Just a word to the wise.. do not hang out outside of the hostel making noise past 11. You will either be peed on or have an egg thrown at you. Nothing personal, but Romans like their sleep, too.
There is a lockout from 11 to 4.
3 out of 5Athens: Pagration Youth Hostel 75 Damareos Str. (Pagrati)
It's always nice to chat with fellow Canucks on the road, so imagine my happiness when I discovered that Scott, the guy running the hostel, is from Vancouver. We caught up on all things Canadian, had a really strange chat about penile implants and ate figs. Sadly, Scott is just there temporarily, so you might end up with someone less funny and welcoming, but hopefully whoever replaces him will be as easygoing as he was.
You DO have to pay for hot water here, though, which was a major drawback. It's 50 cents for 7 minutes, and you NEED hot water unless you're ok with arctic temperatures to shower in.
Not a party hostel at all, since the neighbourhood has strict noise bylaws, but it's a quiet place and great to get caught up on sleep (I was horribly hungover when I got there).
For the price (€15 a night), it's a bargain.
2.5 out of 5Fira, Santorini Santorini Hostel Kykladonisia Fira Traditional Settlement
Andreas, the manager here, was awesome! If it weren't for him I think my stay in Santorini would have been crap since I got there after high season, and my pickings for people to socialize with were slim.
That being said, this hostel had it's merits.. a cute kitten to cuddle with, a decent pool, sundeck, open air terrace, free internet (only one terminal, although Wi-Fi on the terrace), bar fridges in all the rooms and huge bathrooms. However, the rooms were kind of cramped, especially in my 6 person dorm.
Breakfast CAN be included in the price (mine was, because I'm apparently a 'nice girl'), but as a rule it generally wasn't, and there's no way I would have paid the extra $5 each morning for the tea, coffee, juice, bread and cake.
The biggest downfall is the lack of transfers to and from Fira. While most other hotels are clamboring for your business at the port, Kykladonisia is nowhere to be found leaving you to fend for yourself. You can catch a bus up to Fira (costs €1.50 and takes about 10 minutes), or you could try hitching a ride with another hotel on the premise of going to 'see' the rooms they are offering (not sure if they would charge you for the ride if you declined, though). Getting back is about the same, although be sure to check the bus schedules ahead of time. I didn't, discovered the bus stopped running to port 1/2 an hour prior and found myself paying €15 for a SHARED taxi to the port, all the while worried about my bag that the driver had nonchalantly strapped to the roof of the cab.
3.5 out of 5Chora, Ios: Francesco's Now THIS is a party hostel. Not only do they welcome you with a complimentary shot, but there's a fully functioning bar right off the terrace where everybody starts drinking around 8 or so (or all day, whatever you want to do). About midnight they corral all the guests on the terrace and take you out to the club that Francesco owns, called the Bluenote where the cocktails are 2 for 1 and the music is loud.
Breakfast isn't free, but items on the menu aren't too badly priced and are good portion sizes. Pass on the fresh squeezed orange juice though.. it's overpriced, unsweetened and tasted like bitter grapefruit juice.
The rooms are no great shakes, but optimally you won't be spending much time in yours anyway. The village is just down the stairs, view of the sunset from the terrace can't be beat, and the pool, which opens at 4 pm, is right down the hall.
I wish they had free internet, though. Internet is uber expensive on Ios, and it's no exception here.. €1 per 15 minutes.
Free transfers to and from the port, just email ahead for pickup from, and let them know a day in advance for transport to.
3.5 out of 5Naxos: Soula Hotel St. Georgios BeachFor €10 a night I got a bed in a 4 person dorm with a small terrace, ensuite bathroom and kitchenette (2 burners, bar fridge, sink, dishes and cookware). It was by no means extravagant, but I could cook my own meals in peace, have a nice long shower and a decent sleep. The biggest drawback is that you have to pay €6 a night for AC. My roommates apparently didn't feel like splurging and neither did I, so we went without, but our room was in the basement anyway, so it stayed pretty cool.
Literally 60 feet from the beach.
Free transfers from the port -- you can email ahead or take your chances and hope the bus to the hotel is there (it probably will be).
Free internet in the lobby, breakfast is €5 extra, but I didn't stick around for it so can't comment.
A bargain for the price. Was nice and quiet, but not very social. I had a few guys in my room, but we all came back late and slept instead of socializing.
3 out of 5.Naoussa, Paros: Camping Naoussa Near Naoussa Town
This place is going to make a killing someday. For €9 a night, you get your own tent, sleeping bag and mat in this neat little campground. It's about a minute walk to the beach, there's always hot water in the showers, a little kitchen area with a fridge, a dining area, a restaurant, a mini market and a bar. It was the off season when I got there, but the owner was friendly as all get out (even invited me to join his family for some wine and conversation later) and it made my night there a lot easier.
There is a shuttle that can pick you up from the port and bring you here, and it usually greets every boat coming in, so that's a good option. I rented a little 50cc quad from a rental agency in Parikia (the port town on Paros) and drove myself there, which took about 15 minutes. There's a bus that goes to Naoussa, too, but I wouldn't recommend it, since the campground is a bit of a walk from the townsite.
No breakfast on offer, but for less than €10, who cares?
4 out of 5.Athens: Athen Style Hostel Agias Theklas N°10 (Monastiraki)
Thank God for Aussies with a sense of humor. Since I already posted a blog about my
debacle the second time I was in Athens, I won't repeat myself, but suffice it to say that the Aussie front desk guy earned his paycheque the night I checked in and I'm happy with the service I recieved and grateful for help out of the lift.
That being said, the lift is screwed here.. you get in one side and out the other.. it makes about as much sense as, well, something that makes no sense at all (metaphors and I are not friends tonight). It's tiny, too. My backpack and I learned several things about each other that I've sworn I will keep private, but the point is, if you have a massive suitcase, have fun.
The roof terrace has an amazing view of the Acropolis, and is enjoyed just that bit more with a cheap bottle of Mythos from the terrace bar.
Being that it has an amazing view, you should also be aware that the Acropolis is completely within walking distance. In fact, across the main street and just down from the Applebees (yes, seriously, an Applebees in Athens) you will see a wall, and that is the start of the Ancient Agora at the foot of the hill.. it's that close.
Unfortunately, Monastiraki IS kind of a sketchy neighbourhood. Although I had no problems, my lovely Greek savior, Zaous, felt it was unsafe enough to walk me to the door of the hostel. And no, he wasn't just propping me up.
We were also warned about pickpockets and muggers at night, so be cautious.
The rooms are pretty standard, however mine hosted something of an unusual (and yet convenient) addition in the form of an extra shower outside of the bathroom (there's one in the bathroom, too). Very handy.
4.5 out of 5It should be noted that without the use of websites like
Hostelworld,
Gomio and
Hostelbookers, my reviews would be much more like:
The ambience outside the Starbucks in XYZ city left much to be desired. There was a funky smell (probably the garbage of decaying Blondies and old coffee in the dumpster beside me) that permeated the air, and my bed of old newspapers definitely could have been cushier.
Viva La Internet!
