How much do you know about hostels in general? Hostels are one of the accommodations that have existed for so long. City or rural, they’re just everywhere to assist people who would love to have some affordable inns with a friendly atmosphere to pass the night. The first kind of hostel was a youth hostel in Germany, invented back in 1909. They have come a long way to create a new trend of accommodations that makes them more widespread everywhere in Europe. Later on, when urban hostels became a thing, hostels were a must to have in some major cities all over the world until this day and age.
Even if it’s considered cheap, it doesn’t mean you can’t find the best amenities other than meet-the-budget places. Hostels provide some communal facilities such as bars, lounges, and kitchens. On top of that, some of them include laundry service, internet access, and activity tours to attract more guests. For the accommodation itself, they offer a wide range of options. Those are shared or private rooms, by gender or age, and individual or groups. All that can fit everyone’s needs. Whatever your conditions, there’s always going to be a hostel of your liking.
You can find the one you’re looking for by its type for your plan here.
1. Activity or Adventure Hostels
A lifestyle hostel that is developed in some specific locations where the guest can have maximum enjoyment of nature. Their activity options can be climbing, rafting, hiking, surfing, or else. Even their accommodation options are provided according to their guest’s choice of activity. Some of these types of hostels include their activity offers on their name for instance surf hostels, camp/glamping, beach hostels, and jungle hostels.
Highlight amenities: activity or adventure package offers
Suitable for: active travelers
2. Boutique or Luxury Hostels
Not all the time hostels are associated with inexpensive places. They have many aliases like design hostels, high-end hostels, premium hostels, or upscale hostels. It’s best for people who want to drop extra cash on their travel time. Guests can spend more money on bigger private rooms and decorations or more suitable locations. A combination between boutique and hostel resulted in a well-themed design and layout for a short stay. Some of them came with their history to tell.
Highlight amenities: pool, free breakfast, uncrowded rooms, rooftop terrace
Suitable for: independent travelers or flashpackers
3. Cheap Hostels
Yes, hostels already give cheaper prices on the whole. But it refers to the cheapest price they could offer in a city or town. It’s good for people who want to lessen overall travel costs during their stays. Since it’s the cheapest of the cheap, some services and facilities might have inferior quality. Most of them are in good locations, near tourist attractions. However, it’s not easy to spot on the main street. The feature rooms are usually like the one in the dorm where many bunk beds gather in a large room.
Highlight amenities: bunk beds
Suitable for: people with a fixed budget
4. Cozy or Homely Hostels
Do you want to be far away from home but still feel at home? Homely hostels are your calling. When in reality it’s still a hostel, but it has many homey aspects and ambiances. An actual kitchen that you can utilize, living room, garden, and daily family kind of events are some of the amenities you can find there.
Highlight amenities: home-like facilities
Suitable for: ideal for first-timers
5. Eco-hostels
Looking for some environmentally friendly accommodation? Eco-hostels are the answer. They aim for minimizing energy consumption and travel waste. They manage to reduce the impact on the environment by using sustainable ideas like the reuse of some resources, reducing their energy heating system, and recycling their waste all the way. You can spot these hostels with either ‘eco’, ‘eco-friendly’, or ‘eco-hostels’ labeled in their place effortlessly.
Highlight amenities: green environmental facilities
Suitable for: environmentalist people
6. Family Hostels
You can guess by its name as it’s destined for families. They offer some special activities and amenities for young to old in the family. It’s found commonly with a larger room for everybody in the family. Although it has curfew hours, amenities like game rooms and family-oriented activities will accompany each and everyone during their time there.
Highlight amenities: family-friendly activities and amenities
Suitable for: families with children
7. Historic Hostels
Typically, this type of hostel only exists in countries with extended history and wealthy cultures. They make use of the local property with historical background and recover it as a proper accommodation without not much changing the value of the building. Some of it was castles, convents, former prisons, and renovated brothels. This way, the guest can have ideas from the past in their mind about the hostel.
Highlight amenities: historical buildings
Suitable for: quiet rest
8. Party Hostels
Just like its name, it’s designed especially for party people. Many youngsters prefer this hostel because of its unrestrained regulation. An endless enthusiastic environment features fun organized events in bars and nightclubs. Needless to say, no curfew exists. Their main focus relied on guests having fun during the party time on their stays. You can simply find ‘party’ as a part of their hostel’s name.
Highlight amenities: bars and nightclubs
Suitable for: adult solo travelers
9. Quirky or Out of Ordinary Hostels
This has to be one of a kind hostel. They’re not related to any similar hostel type. Usually, they are inspired by a unique theme for their all-embracing hostels’ concept. Some of them have distinct hostel rooms like gender-only dorms or pods. A few examples are Kadir’s Treehouses in Turkey where you are surrounded by the natural beauty of jungle vibes. Jumbo Stay in Sweden for an airplane suite experience. And Santos Express Train Lodge in South Africa for on-the-road ‘moving-like’ accommodation. You can find the full list here.
Highlight amenities: unusual overall hostel experience
Suitable for: all-age travelers
10. Youth Hostels
The last but not least, the original gangster of hostels. A traditional type that focuses on being low-cost social accommodation for bigger groups like school excursions and team-work building activities. It offers mostly a dorm-kind room. So it’s just perfect for everyone whether you are a solo traveler, group traveler, or family.
Highlight amenities: dorm hostel room
Suitable for: solo or group travelers
That’s all for a full ride on hostels. This will save you time in researching the right hostel for your next stay. Every hostel has its own merits to look forward to. Just remember, wherever your choice of hostels might be, it’s just going to be the hostel that attracts you the most and fits with what you’re looking for with your itinerary. Finally, don’t forget to check their reviews to guarantee your travel experience!
