Should I stay in a Hostel?

Should I stay in a Hostel? The age-old question.  The traveller’s cost-benefit analysis.  The potential ‘pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’ – affordable travel.

Recently I took a quick hop up to Brisbane that was the result of a combination of several factors including a tough week at work, a glass of wine, and a Qantas sale.  But that’s a story for another day.  In order to reduce the financial impact of last-minute decisions I decided that since I was travelling solo, I’d stay in a hostel while I was there.  After all, it was only going to be one night, so how bad could it be?

Are Hostel stays comfortable?

“Should I stay in a Hostel?” – I think if you have to ask yourself that question, you probably already know there’s going to be some level of personal sacrifice involved….

I always read about how people love to stay in hostels for the social aspect. I’m an introvert, so I need my own space to retreat from people.  And that’s ok, because many hostels also have private rooms.  So it can still work.  But I do find that you are ultimately at the mercy of the behaviour of the other guests when it comes to determining your quality of experience.

Nomads Brisbane Hostel

Let me start with the good.

The price was great – $47.50 for a private room for one night.

Surprisingly, the bed was very comfortable.

This hostel is located in a beautiful old heritage building in the centre of Brisbane City, complete with an antique lift.

The bedroom doors have a keyless entry system where you input a code on a panel which opens the door.

Central train station is literally across the road from the hostel, and there are many shops, food courts and restaurants within a short walking distance.

They let me check-in when I arrived an hour early because the room was ready.

There is an option for private rooms to take a late checkout for $10.

Now for the bad.

Disorganised

The staff checked me into someone else’s room, accidentally, because that person hadn’t arrived yet. Luckily for both of us, I found out about that error before it could cause an issue for either of us. So I ended up with room 518. If you ever stay here and you actually plan on sleeping, make sure you request to NEVER be put in this room.

Heritage Lift

While it is very beautiful, the lift only goes to the 4th floor. My room was on the 5th floor. Also, there are signs everywhere saying ‘please shut the door after you exit the lift, otherwise the lift won’t run’.

There is a safety mechanism in the lift that won’t allow the lift to travel – up or down – until all the doors, on every floor, are closed.

Do you think that anyone can read the damn sign and close the door when they get out? No! They’re right, thanks.

The only way to get the lift to run is to walk up the stairs and shut the doors. I bet the staff who work here are fit from running up four flights of stairs numerous times a day to close lift doors for the guests.

Warning – the fire alarm has been activated

I’d been up since 04:30 for an early flight out of Sydney, and I was attending a concert that night. I decided to take a nap to recharge. While I was sleeping one of the other guests decided that they would start smoking in their room, ignoring every instruction to the contrary. This set off the fire alarm and sent for the fire brigade.

Can I just say, that waking up to the sound of a fire alarm going off in an old heritage building while you are in bed, in your pyjamas, in your room on the 5th floor – is NOT an experience that I ever want to have to repeat.

After throwing on some clothes, stuffing my belongings into my already overflowing backpack, I stumbled down five flights of stairs and into the street to wait for the fire brigade to tell us that the building wasn’t going to burn down today.

Picture a bedraggled person, with random socks, sleeves and charging cables poking out of a half-zipped backpack, wild-eyed and in need of emergency remedy. That was me.

The nightlife is alive and well

Great for young people who are out enjoying their Saturday night.  Loud thumping music was being played from a venue nearby, probably the place under the hostel.  Not so good for tired people who have been up since the wee sma’s, and would now like to be asleep at 1am.

I really don’t think it could be any noisier

The location is right next to the station so you hear the squeal of the train tracks when the trains go past. Traffic is intense, including endless honking and sirens as well as just basic engine noise. I’m not sure if this is just affecting the 5th floor rooms because they are exposed at the top of the building. I had to use the 4th-floor bathrooms a few times and I swear it didn’t seem as noisy inside the building as it was in the rooftop room.

The rooftop terrace

I’m sure this feature is listed under the positive attributes of the hostel in someone’s book. But if you’re in room 518, trying to sleep, at all, this is the equivalent of your own private hell.

You see, people enjoy the rooftop terrace. Drunk people. Very loud, drunk people. All night, right outside your window.

Literally all night, until sunrise.

Remember the code

Ok, so I really like the concept of the keyless entry code. I put it in my phone in case I forgot it, and made sure I took my phone with me if I needed to leave the room. This was all working fine. Until the next morning.

Sleep-deprived, and grumpy as hell, woken up for what seemed like the 50th time, I’m not sure when, but the sun was up by now and I had to use the bathroom.

This meant a walk across the rooftop terrace to the external bathroom on the 5th floor, or going down a flight of stairs to use the 4th-floor bathroom. I put my raincoat over my pyjamas, stuck my feet in my shoes and took a chance.

I got lucky with the 5th floor bathroom and then came back to my room, and input the code.

Access denied. ‘WTF?’ Input the code again.

Access denied. ‘*****!’ Pull out phone, read code, input code again.

Access denied.

Use phone to call reception.

Yeah, so basically, I was told that ‘sometimes’ the codes reset overnight, they don’t know why.

I growled about the ludicrous situation of having to stand outside in my pyjamas and ask for a new code to get into my room. Back in my room again, I tried to make use of the remaining time to try and get a little sleep. But it was not to be.

Nobody tells housekeeping about the fact that you paid for a late checkout.

* Loud knocking * “Housekeeping! ”

It seems that nobody informed the housekeeping staff that someone had opted in for the late checkout. So they made an entrance into my room anyway and then wanted to question me as to why I hadn’t checked out yet. Thankfully, I could hear them coming along the row of rooms and just got up and dressed before they made their entrance. After that, I decided it was probably better to just go and get a coffee and get on with the day.

The lovely gentleman at the reception desk was kind enough to refund my $10 for the late checkout that I didn’t get.

The answer is probably no

Should I stay in a hostel? The $50 question. For me, I think the answer is probably “no”.

It’s not the basic-ness of the rooms or ammenities that bother me. It’s the over-exposure to the selfish behaviour of other people in the hostel experience that makes it unpleasant for me.

People who ignore signs and warnings. Who think nothing of staying up all night on a rooftop terrace drinking and making an almighty noise while other people are trying to sleep. People who would stand outside a bedroom door and talk loudly at 4am in the morning until the miserable occupant has to scream “BE QUIET!” at them.

People who can’t be bothered to close the lift door so other people can use it, apart from them. Or who light up a cigarette in their room, under the signs that say no smoking, and cause the WHOLE hostel to have to be evacuated because of their selfishness.

I’ve stayed in a few hostels over the years, and it’s never the room or the facilities that cause the issues, it’s the other guests.

For me, taking that attractive cheap price option always ends up with me feeling tired and cranky.

As for Nomads, the building was beautiful, the bed was comfortable, and I thought the location was perfect. If you stay there, try and ask for a room as far away from the rooftop terrace as possible!!

Booking.com