Hostels are awesome.
I mean it from the bottom of my heart. You get to explore a new place without breaking your wallet, you get a perfect chance to meet new people from all around the world and you get access to the kitchen where you can cook your own meal at the end of the day (saving money once again!).
This is why whenever I’m travelling, I always look for hostels first. But man, sometimes hostels suck big time.
Since we like to keep things real with you over here at Take Off Kit, I decided to share 5 things I absolutely hate about hostels.
Now before we get into the list, I want to say that we, by no means, want to scare you away from ever booking a hostel stay. As with hotels, Airbnb and other accommodation types, there are pluses and minuses.
We often talk about how excellent hostels are (and that’s true!) but it wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t address the less fun part of them.
Here are 5 things we don’t really love about hostels:
#1 – Food thieves
I love my food and there is nothing worse than getting back to your hostel after a long day of exploring, opening your fridge and finding out that some of your food was stolen.
I’ve never experienced this until our recent trip to London where someone decided to take our broccoli, cherry tomatoes and lettuce.
It’s usually not worth it to start a massive search mission for justice, so a good old note on the fridge with a passive-aggressive message to the thief is all you can do really. Kill them with kindness as Selena Gomez says.
2. Cold rooms
I really hate how cold some hostels can get during winter. I need my 25+ degrees temperature, alright?
I don’t know if it’s lack of heating system or they are just trying to save some money by turning it low (or off from the feel of it!!) but it really sucks walking from showers or getting up in the morning when all your limbs are freezing.
3. Weird noises
I swear, sometimes people just don’t have boundaries. Some people say that there is nothing worse than having a snorer in your dorm room but I tend to disagree. Yes, snoring is annoying but I usually can fall asleep very easily, so snorers don’t bother me as much.
What I absolutely despise is people deciding to get it on in hostels, if you know what I mean. I’ll never understand why backpackers think it’s okay to have sex in dorm rooms or public places of a hostel.
JUST STOP IT. Get a private room. And it better be far far far away from dorm rooms.
4. It can get messy
Turns out that some people just don’t feel like cleaning up after themselves.
You can find unwashed plates and pots, dirty kitchen stalls or even a clogged kitchen sink if you’re unlucky enough. I feel like it’s not hostel’s fault rather than people who decide that staying in hostels emits the need to keep the space clean.
But it’s still annoying. Like how hard it is to clean the pot and leave it where you found it?
Luckily for me, majority of hostels I’ve stayed in didn’t have this problem. But I think it has a small correlation with how little you need to pay for the hostel – the cheaper the price, the messier the people.
5. Being woken up in the middle of the night
If the reasons that I’ve listed above happen very rarely, I’m afraid that this one is the most common.
I don’t know what it is about backpackers or general hostel stayers that make them think that it’s okay to start packing your luggage at 3 a.m.
If it’s not an excessively loud packing sounds, it’s someone bumping all their limbs into every damn corner of the room. Or worst – loud whisperers who think that they are doing their sleeping roommates a favour.
Over all those years staying in hostels, I can safely say that being wakened up in the middle of the night by someone shouting ‘KARTACHKA!’ or re-packing loudly is the worst.
Let’s not forget a blinding light at 2 a.m., an obnoxious alarm clock or a plastic bag that just NEEDS to be rustled by someone for at least 20 minutes.
If you never stayed at hostels, don’t let these things discourage you from booking your first stay at a hostel! Even though these things suck, they don’t happen all the time and there are many hostels out there that are simply amazing.
And if you have your own fair share of experience staying at hostels, we would love to hear from you.
What are some things that you dislike about hostels? Have any funny stories to share? Let us know in the comments below.
