Any good hostiles?
 

I am going to Venice, Milan, Florence, and Rome. Does anybody know of any good Hostiles in those cities (I am 23 years old) that do not have a curfew and that have lockers to put your stuff in .

Also, if anybody has any suggestions for a "must see" in or around those cities, this will be my first visit to Italy. I will be on foot so any traveling options to get around within each town will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help!
Josh

Hi jde,

Have you looked at the fodors miniguides for these cities.

Beware of hostiles while looking for a hostel. :)

Hostiles!! I was thinking of a Good Hostile thing to say, a Good Hostile way of behavior! :D
JDE, try HostellingInternational. They are online, good luck!

The Lets Go guides have hostels listed.

Just beware of hostile hostels :)

too many hostile people post, so let's give this poster a break for misspelling.

Ok... glad I'm not the only one that couldn't resist. *chuckle* Must just be my good but hostile nature. :>

Curiosity question: What's the difference between a hostEl and a hostAl? I was chatting with a fellow traveler at the O'Hare airport on my way back from Scotland and she mentioned that there's a difference but never said what it was.

~ Sheryl

I don't know hostels in Italy, just France. But from what I've seen, some of the best sites to get ideas and reviews are www.hostels.com and www.eurotrip.com

Interesting question. Contrary to public opinion, some hostiles are better than others. For those who are unfamiliar with this innovative institution, let me fill you in. A youth hostile is a type of private reform school for wayward, ill-mannered, or anti-social young foreigners, and as the name implies, is designed to reform hostile youth. The inmates are required to perform community service such as street sweeping after the morning dog walking hours in Rome, cleaning public gabinetti, and scraping pidgeon droppings from Piazza San Marco, usually for a three-month period. In exchange, they are provided with free room and board, and during the hours when they are not on work duty, they are given training in etiquette, academic subjects, interpersonal communication skills, and cultural relations, and those who excel are admitted to international charm school. The best part is that in the last week of the program those who have completed the three-month resocialization training successfully are taken on field trips where they are given the opportunity to demonstrate their newly acquired social skills. So it's almost like having a one week mini-vacation in Italy!

Have fun! At least I did :)

The Ostello Archi Rossi in Florence is a good hostel. No reservations taken, so arrive before 8 am in the summer if you want to get in. It is walking distance to everything.

There is a curfew, but it's pretty late (1 or 2) and there is also a lockout for a few hours during the day. There are very big lockers available in your room which is included in the price. Hot breakfast is included as well.

Good hostiles are hard to find. I should think your best bets would be in France and Germany, which opposed the war in Iraq and which, while hostile to us in that respect, are still good allies.

Thinking about recent trips to Europe, I can only tell you that some of the best waiters I've ever had in Paris were what I could characterize as "good hostiles." They were efficient, quick, and brought me good food, but at the same time there was this element of hostility that permeated the experience.

All in all, I think good hostiles are hard to find in Europe these days, and as Martha Stewart likes to say, that's a good thing.

But St Cirq, There are still some Hostiles here as THERE. AND that is not a good thing

Great oxymoron for my collection. Thank you.

I worked with someone named Barbara for years who was, by far, the most hostile being I've ever come in contact with.

We are obviously back to discussing the dreaded Vaches Rouges movement? Perhaps they have opened a chain of hostiles.

A hostile hostel is where they give you absolutely rotten surly service and yet still cheerfully take your money!

StCirq put it so well. The best hostiles can be found right around the corner, in most French cafes, why I even found one in Washington DC!!

I would put my foot down and refuse to let anyone hold me hostile. In the words of our Commander in Chief:

"We cannot let terrorists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile."
:)

Redcorvette: I'm not positive about this, but I think a "hostal" is a Spanish "hostel."

For Toile re "hostiles."

Carol, be kind!

Hostal is like a pension, not a hostel.
For lists of hostels in various cities and countries and accompanying reviews, go to www.bugeurope.com .

Thank you. I will be sure to get the hostels and the hostiles straight in the future. :)

www.lonelyplanet.com is a good site for budget travel. they have a bulletin board similar to this one called Thorn Tree with a branch for Western Europe. lots more of a younger, backpacking, budget crowd there. (but do straighten out your spelling because they are even more merciless than the friendly fodors folks!)

Hi jde,

I have travelled to Rome and Venice on my own (I'm 18 years old) and stayed in youth hostels. In Italy there are both official HI youth hostels, which you need to buy a HI card to stay at, and there are "unofficial hostels" called Pensiones. In Rome I stayed at a great place called Pensione Ottaviano. It was clean, had a friendly english speaking staff and was in a great location! It was about a 5 minute walk to get to St. Peter's Square and there was a metro stop lots of shops and restaurants nearby. I believe the rates were 13 euro and they had lockers and free internet access. I would not hesitate to stay there again! The place I stayed in Venice was not so great, so I don't really have any recommendations for you there. Check out the website www.hostelz.com. It is a great guide for finding hostels all over Europe, with descriptions, directions, photos, reviews and online booking for many places.

In Venice I got around most by foot, which was very easy to do and I took a vaporetto a few times as well. In Rome it is aslo pretty easy to walk to most of the sights as they are not too far apart, but I also used the metro a few times and had no problems. You can buy a day pass for all metro and bus rides in Rome for a few euro (I don't remember the exact price). You can buy them in any metro station or at newstands and some tobacco shops. Definitely have a good map with you, as the streets can be pretty confusing at times.

I was also in Milan, but only for an afternoon, so I can't suggest any place to stay there. Personally I wouldn't spend a lot of time in Milan. The Duomo is definitely worth seeing, even though the entire front is covered in scaffolding (at least it was in december), but after that I would rather spend more time in any of your other destinations.

I loved Rome and Venice and would definitely not hesistate to go back! Have a great trip!

RE: Hostal versus hostel
Hostal is a term you'll see in Spain and it refers to a type of tourist lodging establishment that offers individual rooms (with private or shared bath) but fewer services than a hotel. Often family run, they are rather like a B&B (though breakfast is not always available) in atmosphere, or a one/two star hotel in France. Prices tend to be lower than hotels with their wider range of services, higher than hostels with their dormitory flavor.

....just realized that this post is quite old and I probably just wasted my time offering advice..oh well

jde, I have stayed in Hostels in all of the cities you mentioned. (some years ago). All of them were IHA hostels and had curfews. Go to privately run hostels and forget about the international ones.

Staying in hostels is a GREAT way to meet people your own age.