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What are the best hostels you've stayed in? and why?
(Can be anywhere in the world - city and rural)
Hotels yes hostels no.
Best to date - The Goring. SW1.
Dolgoch.
First went over 20 years ago. My favouritist in the whole world.
A while back the urbanist nazis at the YHA thought it would be a great idea to off load the best part of the remote hostels in their portfolio to be replaced with more in the likes of manchester etc.
They got my membership card and a rude letter back.
Fortunately there were enough people to put together the Elenydd wilderness trust to buy it (as well as Ty'n Cornel over the hill) and I was pleased to be able to contribute to the buyout fund.
No elec, no BT, no mains gas. Just bottled gas for cooking and lighting. Lovely spot to be in and to get to.[img] 
&loc2=04&type=O&road=Y[/img]
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=280500&Y=256500&A=Y&Z=120
Book your stay here
http://www.elenydd-hostels.co.uk/index.html
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Rainbow Lodge, Dingle.
[url= http://www.rainbowhosteldingle.com/index.htm ]Link here.[/url]
Friendliest hostel I've ever stayed in - beautiful location, friendly people, great facilities.
Nice cats too.
Best hostel for me has to be that one near Dollgellau, up the hill. Kings?
Comfy bunk, nice staff, good grub, clean, good facilities, let us come in quite late, and have a few beers in. Beautiful location.
And the young lass working there fancied me. 🙂
That log some Dutch lass left in one of the bogs weren't too pleasant mind. 🙁
Fred, I spent one marvelous night at the Goring some five years ago, long before it was in the news. Also been there for dinner and drinks on numerous occasions. It's superb.
An edit I see...
Oh, and not really a hostel, but our Mountaineering Club hut in Llanberis is pretty decent:
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Nice views over Snowden, Moel Elio and all the way over to Anglesey:
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Glen affric was pretty nice - rather remote!
[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3518/3853527794_ce233e9594_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewanpanter/3853527794/ ]IMG_3665[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ewanpanter/ ]Ewan Panter[/url], on Flickr
Out of the ones i've stayed in the last week or so (just done a tour of the cairngorms and lakes) the nicest was Fell Foot Independent hostel. Less a hostel more a mini hotel! http://www.fellfoot.com/
Loving those bookshelves, Rusty!
Fine selection of board games too 😀
If there's good ale, it's on the path to perfection!
Well, this place isn't too far away:
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[url= http://www.pyg.co.uk/ ]The Pen Y Gwryd, [/url], the most famous pub in Snowdonia.
But we usually take our own. 🙂
Did I mention the mixed dorms?
Derwen****er was nice, epic views, good food and comfy beds (bit short though). Stayed in a bunkhouse at the bottom of the hill just after the road splits heading towards dunmail raise from Keswick when my dad did his Bob graham round, that was also really nice.
I always recall the Lazy Crofter in Durness being very nice. A combination of being in a lovely part of the country, being particularly cheap, and having amazingly soft bed quilts!
If it's views you want the Torridon SYHA has a lounge with a fantastic bay window outlook onto the hills.
And finally the Inversnaid Bunkhouse is a great place to stop on the West Highland Way. Almost certainly the nicest and best equipped living area of any hostel I've been in. The only downside is that there's no self catering kitchen (but the home cooked meals were delicious and reasonably priced)
Ullapool
Great kitchen, ace common areas, totally amazing place in the world.
Great company everytime I've been (3 times).
Tree house, Thailand - ko Chang 2004
Lovely decked area chilling in hammocks and smoking. Rooms for £1 a night. Green squid curry for breakfast, washed down with a beer followed by a swim. Alright.
Unfortunatley, all of the best hostels I've stayed in seem to have closed down!
Baldersdale
Badby
Ivinghoe
to name but a few!
I'm afraid that I will forever regard the YHA as a bunch of utter, utter cocks!
Stayed in many over the years, but this place is pretty cool. An old converted prison in Ljubljana, Slovenia - the rooms even have a prison door still attached!
Ambleside YHA
Maggs Howe barn
YHA in Apollo Bay, Australia - kayaking on your doorstep, mountain biking in the hills behind and a really clean, green hostel.
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I was at Loch Ossian Youth Hostel on Wednesday, I love the place. No road access, a mile from the train and absolutely no distractions whatsoever.
I wholly concur Z11. utter, utter cocks.
Never forgiven them myself. Dont even bother looking for YHA's anymore. Just what were they thinking?
Did none of those hostels you mention get bought for hostel use or were they all converted into homes?
And some more listed for closure:
http://www.yhagroup.org.uk/archives/hostel-investments-and-closures
[i]On a sadder note, the following hostels will be closed after the end of the 2011 season:
Arundel
Derwen****er
Hawkshead
Helvellyn
Newcastle
Osmotherley
Salisbury
Totland Bay[/i]
Hawkeshead's a great YHA! Why sodding close it you bunch of retarded ******s.
these were all closed in 2006
[i]1. Ivinghoe in the Chilterns and on the Ridgeway National Trail
2. Blackboys in the Sussex Weald on the Weald Way path.
3. Castle Hedingham in Essex.
4. Steps Bridge in the Teign Gorge near Exeter and Dartmoor.
5. Dartington near Totnes on the River Dart near Dartmoor and the South
Devon Coastpath.
6. Quantock Hills near Holford in Somerset.
7. Elmscott near Hartland and Clovelly on the North Devon Coastpath.
8. Capel-y-Ffin in the Brecon Beacons on Offas Dyke and the Cambrian Way.
9. Trefin on the Pembrokeshire Coastpath.
10. Dolgoch in the remote Welsh Tywi Valley.
11. Tyncornel in the remote Welsh Elenydd.
12. Llangollen in the Clwydian Hills & Dee Valley; one of YHA's flagship
activity centres till just a couple of years ago.
13. Meerbrook in the Peak District near the Roaches rocks and Staffordshire
Moorlands.
14. Langsett near Sheffield on the newly-opened Trans-Pennine Trail.
15. Earby between the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland on the Pennine Way and Pendle Way.
16. Stainforth in the Yorkshire Dales on the Pennine Way and Three Peaks Challenge Walk.
17. Keld in Swaledale at the junction of the Pennine Way with the
Coast-to-Coast Path and Herriot Way.
18. Kirkby Stephen in the Eden Valley on the Coast-to-Coast Path.
19. Alston in the North Pennines and South Tyne Valley on the Pennine Way and Coast-to-Coast Cycle Route.
20. Greenhead on Hadrians Wall and the Pennine Way.
21. Acomb near Hexham on Hadrians Wall between Northumberland and the North Pennines.
22. Bellingham near Kielder Water in Northumberland on the Pennine Way.
23. Wooler in the Cheviot Hills on St Cuthberts Way and the Ravenber Path. The following will be closed but YHA will see if it's possible to open another hostel in the area after they've closed:
24. Dover in Kent on the North Downs Way.
25. Hastings (Guestling) on the Sussex Coast.
26. Brighton (Patcham) on the South Downs Way.
27. Sandown on the Isle of Wight.
28. Lynton in Exmoor on the North Devon Coastpath and Two Moors Way.
29. Matlock in the Peak District.
30. Bakewell in the Peak District.[/i]
These in 2007
[i]Badby,
Lincoln, Crowcombe, Aysgarth, Ystradfellte, Kemsing, Malvern, Bradenham, Broadstairs, Winchester, Corris, Hampstead.[/i]
and then
[i]Portsmouth,Baldersdale,
Blaencaron, Chester, Dentdale, Llanbedr.[/i]
Black sail hut
Carbisdale castle
Teh yha has been dying for decades - an organisation with its root in the 50s is being squeezed out in the modern era. Not enough folk stay at the hostels so they have to close. YHA cannot afford the losses
The lazy duck at Nethy Bridge still ranks top of my list.
[url= http://www.lazyduck.co.uk/ ][/url]
I've not stayed in that many hostels (2 in Scotland and 1 in Germany I think). The Scottish ones were both good:
Carn Dearg at Gairloch:
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Lovely building, great views and location
Achmelvich:
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Very crude facilities but great location next to a lovely beach.
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Teh yha has been dying for decades - an organisation with its root in the 50s is being squeezed out in the modern era. Not enough folk stay at the hostels so they have to close. YHA cannot afford the losses
Apparently the hostels themselves turn a profit but the head office running costs are 20% of turn over which puts the whole organisation in the red. From the outside it does seem like the YHA is too focused on creating a corperate YHA experience. Its not travel lodge! Atleast a lot of the old hostels are now becoming independents.
I've always prefered mountaineering club huts - Ty Powdwr was first I stayed in. Bowder Stone the most memorable for mainly the wrong reasons. Pinacle club's was prob the best.
some interesting replies...
don't just mean YHA hostels though... any hostel anywhere in the world
Oldagedpredator, when did you first stay at Ty Powdyr?
Taking bookings from other clubs these days, check the club website for details.
The Hi Hostel at Fishermans Wharf San Francisco, includes free parking which in San Francisco is great
[url= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/113011818_cee63ef83c.jp g" target="_blank">
and
Innerdalen Gammelhytter - Norway
[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4960260653_29fc0f0312.jp g" target="_blank">
The Hippo Lodge in Queenstown, NZ is a great place to stay, comfy beds, great location, friendly staff.
The Hostel USA place in San Diego was also very good, right in the gas lamp district and again was just a good place to stay.
In the uk the yha at Youlgreave near Bakewell was good as was the one at Ambleside.
Apparently the hostels themselves turn a profit but the head office running costs are 20% of turn over which puts the whole organisation in the red. From the outside it does seem like the YHA is too focused on creating a corperate YHA experience. Its not travel lodge! Atleast a lot of the old hostels are now becoming independents.
I used to regularly stay in YHA hostels with the kids, when I was travelling down south to see them for weekends (separated dad)
The pissers for me were:
A family room in a YHA costs as much as, or more than, a hotel with far better facilities (Holiday Inn for example - linen, pool, breakfast included) or for singlies a B&B for the same price - Not that I want the facilities, less is more with hostels and a lot of it is about the social side, but making it so expensive removes one of the key benefits!
Group Bookings - since so many hostels spend so much of the year as "rent a hostel" where you can only take the whole place, and are rarely or never available for 'traditional hostelling' and the few that are, are always booked up!
I think the 'corporate experience' thing is very interesting, as it seems to be a case of 'oh, this hostel has good occupancy rates, but poor facilities, so we need to reduce its opening hours and make it rent-a-hostel' shortly followed by 'oh, this hostels occupancy rates have dropped, so we need to close it' - Arses!
Can anyone tell me - Is there a decent "independent hostels" site that lists the ex-YHA and independent ones?
[url= http://www.independenthostelguide.com/ ]Indpendent Hostel Guide [/url] is what is says. Still doesnt cover all bunk barns but good list of places.
Rusty - ages ago, Easter 85 or 86. Been back a few times over the years. Lottery was definately a good thing for club huts as a lot of them got a little less rough round the edges in the late 90s. Property prices prob now mean we wont be seeing many new ones being bought. Chapel at Capel is another favourite hut but cant remember which club has it.
lunge
what did you get up to in San Diego? Did you stop there for long?
Tanners Hatch. Such fond memories of the place, especially 'nearly' losing my virginity with some posh bird there, but was thwarted by some hattie Jaques neo nazi character.
I used to use the few with camping, so never needed to book.
Carbisdale castle for me
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Another vote for Tanners Hatch here. Hindhead as well, which seems well on the way to closure. But it's no good, I'm 32 and have got rather used to being the youngest person in a YHA hostel and often the only person arriving under my own steam.
😕
Ty'n Cornel for me (the other one from the Elenydd wilderness hostels trust that Stoner mentioned).
Away from the UK found the one above Bergen (Norway) good value for money.
Got to be the hostel sun and moon in Barcelona. Mixed dorm, just me, my mate and 8 brazilian girls one New year:)
The que for the bathroom was horrendous!
Rua Reidh lighthouse near Gairloch
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Most of the ones in NZ
I stayed in and worked in The Lazy Lizard, Moab (quite) a few years ago, I had a great time, a fantastic base for rides to various trails
Cat Bells camping barn is a basic fun pad for a group
I liked the Lazy Lizard, mainly because our car containing all our camping gear had been towed to a garage after the alternator went in Arches NP, the tow truck driver kindly recommended the hostel and then drove us there 🙂
[i]Ambleside YHA[/i]
Really? I went last year and it was god-awful. My complaints would take considerable time to document here so I won't bother but one thing that really came out of the experience was that the YHA have completely lost their way. For the same price I could have (and definately will next time) got a nice B&B.
At Ambleside the problems were still going on at 5am so I got up and left.
Mary Potter Nurses Hostel, Hyson Green, Nottm 8)
Hartington Hall YHA (particularly Bonnie Prince Charlie's room)
Aqaurius Hostel, Byron Bay, NSW
Monriad, Marrakech (bit dearer than a hostel but not an hotel)
Black Sail - what a place to wake up - amazing location. Cracking dinner and breaky plus great staff.
Bushmills Hostel in NI - clean, great staff, cracking rooms - great place to stay for the NW200 races
The YHA "board" (trustees) are nominated and elected by the members. I wonder if any of the people who are so disgruntled with the YHA have got involved e.g. attending the AGM etc. Or do you want to treat it like a "commercial" hotel chain, in which case if that is what it seems to be evolving into it is perhaps no surprise!
Personally I've only used SYHA properties not YHA ones and generally had good experiences. There's definitely been a culture shift since the 1990's but generally IMHO that is positive. Perhaps there is less requirement for a collective body and the internet (as a way of communicating the existence, availability/booking etc) for independent hostels/bunk houses - whereas 20 yrs ago the "hostel book" was the starting point.
It would be tricky to pick a specific hostel as being the best. What would the grounds be? At both extremes luxury/comfort could produce a great hostel, but simplicity/basics could be just as good. And a brilliant hostel in a poor location would be worse than an average hostel in an amazing spot.
It would be tricky to pick a specific hostel as being the best. What would the grounds be?
You can decide those grounds and put them in your response, best is subjective and the topic title was open/general on purpose..
Some interesting responses and one can follow up some of these places/hostel names with a bit of research
Most welcome one - Truleigh Hill last year after 60 miles of the SDW. Oasis Backpackers Mansion in Lisbon was amazing. Best memories Bel Air in Cairns, Oz.
Have stayed in hostels all over the world, bit sad to think that some are on their way out. The only one in the town where I live is about to close.