Hostel Experiences
 

I will be traveling to Venice and Florence in the beginning of June and will be staying a few nights at two different hostels. They are very modern and have great reviews. Has anyone experienced staying in the mixed dorm rooms? And if so, how was your experience? Feel free to give me any advice.

I would go to a couple of the student/backpacker web sites and guide books that have a ton of info on hostels and check for info there.

And without the names of the hostels it's very difficult to make any comments. (Some are wonderful and some are truly awful - with problems of theft, drugs and all night partying etc.)

The Generator in Venice and The Academy in Florence.

I will definitely check out the web sites and guide books. Thank you.

If you're already read "great reviews" I would go with those. Or double-check somewhere like The Thorn Tree at Lonely Planet.

Not many people on Fodor's are currently backpackers.

Let's Go Europe - the guidebook is a great source for objective reviews of zillions of hostels in Europe - check any major library or amazon.com - great info for younger folks on a hostel budget.

Yeah, I've stayed in a lot of hostels. To answer your question, yeah, I think mixed dorm rooms are the way to go if you're a young backpacker. Many hostels only have mixed dorm rooms now. The male only or female only rooms tend to be mostly used by people who aren't on vacation and aren't as interested in talking to other people.

Some people who have never stayed in hostels think it's shady or strange to have males and females sleeping in the same room, but after you try it you realize it's really not any stranger than males and females sitting in a classroom together (which also used to be taboo in some places).

as long as there is no 'mixing it up' in mixed rooms! They have unisex bathrooms all over Europe - with lady attendants working away cleaning up while guys use urinals - no eyelashes batted!

I chose to stay in hostels purely for the experience and not for budgeting purposes. I am an open-minded woman in my mid-30s and am going on a solo vacation for the first time in my life. No significant other, no children, no friends...just me!

I'll do some further research so I can fit in with the "young backpackers"!

If the hostels are new, I doubt printed guidebooks are going to be of much use.

You'll have fun. Bring earplugs.

Maybe nose plugs too. Shoes that have been pounding asphalt for several weeks can be quite odiferous at night. Personal experience.

If you can sleep in it, a sleep mask is a good thing to have, too. I can sleep through noise but not light. If your question was general- I tend to avoid mixed dorms because I've had a few bad experiences (nothing scary, just annoying). If this is your first time in a hostel, spend a few extra bucks to stay in smaller dorms. It's much easier to sleep Ina dorm of 6 than a dorm of 22, and the cheaper dorms also tend to be where the party animals sleep (or more like stagger in at uncivilized hour to crash).

Hi Alyssa71100

Some earlier posters are spot on. This tends not to be the travel forum where you will find many who enjoy the hostelling experience. There are other places where you can get good information.

I have been fortunate enough to have travelled with many student groups to Europe and we always include at least one stay at a hostel. Why? Because when my students return to Europe for a gap year - or just to travel, it is unlikely they will have the funds to stay in hotels while they are abroad. Further to that idea, we have stayed in many hostels, in many European countries, and never had a bad experience. In fact, my students quite often found the hostel experience invaluable. It allowed them to chat and make friends (in a non-threatening situation) with travellers from other countries around the world.

Most hostels don't really market themselves as "youth hostels" anymore. While the younger crowd appears to make up the majority of their clientele, all ages and all family situations are welcomed.

I am a recently retired, male teacher and I spent a week at the St. Christopher's Inn (Canal) in Paris in October 2015. I travelled by myself this trip. I stayed in a 10 bedded, mixed dorm. It was a positive experience every day. I was busy during the daytime, but the evenings were spend socializing with my new acquaintances. I had a great time. There were separate male and female washrooms on each floor, but we've stayed at hostels where both sexes shared. It wasn't a big deal.

I encourage you to bring a lock (to secure your belongings) if there are storage cases. Also, flip flops for the shower and ear plugs for overnights. I take a small container of talcum powder to sprinkle in my shoes overnight so I don't contribute to any odours (but it hasn't been a problem in my experience).

I am heading back to Paris in a few weeks and will be hostelling again, but at the sister hostel, St. Christopher's Inn (Gare du Nord).

Good luck and good travels to you on your adventure. Please consider posting your experiences on this thread upon your return.

tC

Thank you for all of the responses. I am staying in the smaller of the shared dorms. Very much looking forward to it and will utilize some of the valuable advice I have received here. Good luck to all of you on your future travel endeavors!