So there is this movie out right now called Hostel. its about people who are bieng kidnapped from hostels and murdered.
I have not seen it but its making it look rather scary to stay in one now. then i overheard somebody say that it reminded them of how scary it was in budapest. we’ll, im going to budapest. i really just dont know WHAT to expect from a hostel since ive never stayed in one. so thinking of safety options…there are 4 of us going….lets say HOTELS range about 100 euros a night. do you think it might be safer AND cheaper if we all pitched in 25 euros a night and all stayed in a hotel? i guess we would take turns on who would sleep on the floor and on the bed. i wouldnt care if i slept on the floor really.
so correct me if im wrong….a hotel…..25 bucks a night each…
cheaper than hostels that way?
safer?
garanteed private bathroom + shower?
cleaner?
Man, I’m glad I haven’t seen that movie.
The only time I stayed in a hostel, it didn’t feel very secure at all to me.
There as so many people working the desk (especially if there’s no lock out time) and so many travelers coming in and out that the chance of anyone being able to so much as pinch you on the arm without someone else noticing is slim. In fact, the only thing that ever made me feel unsafe was leaving my personal belongings because there were so many people — and even that was easily fixed because any good hostel has lockers.
Horror movies are not based in reality. They are meant to scare the bejesus out of you and go to great lengths to do so. Think about it this way: Would you rather be surrounded by a lot of people (including other vigilant travelers) while visiting a strange place or isolated in a room?
hostels are cheap and can be fun.
personally, i find the premise of the movie Hostel to be rather absurd, so i wouldn’t base any accomodation decisions upon it. Just do your research. websites like hostelworld.com offer reviews and ratings of hostels. If something’s not on the level, chances are someone is going to post something about it. And if that’s not an option, just get a feel for the place yourself. Every hostel I stayed at in europe was inviting and pretty safe. The one place i stayed at that felt less than safe was in rome. and incidentally my ipod got stolen there. but i knew from the get go that the place wasn’t that great, and ended up staying there as a compromise to my travel partner.
most hostels will have someone watching the security desk 24 hours, and those that don’t lock up from midnite until 8am or something like that. the hostel in rome didn’t offer that. in fact, it was just an apartment with a ridiculous amount of beds. we were given keys to the apartment and room, and the owners of the hostel lived somewhere else. there was no staff of any sort, it was just a family run establishment. as a result, there was never any staff in the “hostel” to make sure nothing went awry. OH! even sketchier detail, i brought vaseline with me on my trip, because i use it as eye make up remover and also as chapstick. and i noticed that in addition to my ipod being stolen, someone had stuck their fingers into the vaseline and taken out a dollop of it. THAT was strange.
My point is, the fact that something bad (relatively speaking) happened at that hostel came as no surprise to me. it was the only hostel i didnt do research on, it was the only hostel i hadn’t found online, it was the only hostel without staff. it was silly of me to stay there, and even so, the only thing that happened was the loss of an ipod i should’ve carried around with me. i met interesting people at hostels, shared travel stories and advice at hostels… i dont know, i feel like its a fairly important part of the whole backpacking experience.
That is utterly silly. Don’t worry at all; use your instincts, do your research, and talk to other travelers. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to find a hostel to your liking.
I really didn’t need to know that, I’m leaving in a week and will stay at hostels for 9 nights or something.
Hostels are nice. The good, clean, decent ones I mean. Not particularly into “party downstairs all the time, feel-free-to-smoke-weed-in-your-room” type of hostels ;) It’s more about the cleanliness for me, I’ve never felt unsafe in a hostel.
And the hotel thing… I really doubt they would let 4 people take a 2-bed room on the account of “we’ll fit in”. No hotel wants to lose money over giving rooms to more people than they can fit. They would probably politely invite you to take enough rooms (with enough beds) to fit all of you decently and normally (1 person/bed), or choose another place to stay.
Don’t worry…hostels aren’t as scary as that movie makes it seem. :)
What did your friend say was scary about Budapest? Just curious…I have family from there and I’ve visited, and loved it.
the only “scary” thing that ever happened to me in a hostel in ottawa, ontario, was the sound of two pigeons making love outside the window. it sounded like ghosts.
the best part is…the hostel was haunted, it was an old jail house, and is now a tourist attraction/cheap place to stay. nonetheless, i felt ridiculously safe.
research is key.
i’m from ottawa and i love telling people about that hostel. :)
Hostels are the best experience when travelling. They are all different and you never know what to expect. You are never guranteed a private bathroom but that’s just the fun of it. You meet people who you never thought you would meet and learn that you are capable of many things with 25 euros and running water.
I traveled 6 weeks with a suitcase going from hostel to hostel all over Europe. Just do your research and you will have the time of your life. Good luck in your travels.
I never felt unsafe at any of the hostels I’ve stayed at…
I hate this kind of movie because it’s the sort of thing my family/some friends point at to try to persuade me that I shouldn’t travel =(
I don’t know how long you’re planning to go for, but I’d bet you can find a cheap hotel with private bath for cheaper than 100 euro. But I would also be surprised if the hotel wouldn’t notice that there are 4 of you and not be down to give you a double. Really, you should be in a quad which shouldn’t be that much anyway.
Hostels are okay. But it’s really nice to have your own bathroom if you can.
I stayed at the hotel fortuna in Budapest. I paid 15 euros two years ago. I was an HI hostel. It was very clean, the rooms were big; 4 beds per room, gender divided, own bathroom. Free breakfast too. It’s on the main subway line and away from all the noise. However, just a warning about Budapest: the street signs have a tendency to go missing.
As for the movie Hostel, it takes place in Bratislava-the hostels there are something to fear. If anyone had fell victim to the Orange Hostel- you’ll know what I’m talking about. There is a reason there are no photos online.
Bratislava. Such the place you stop over in if you don’t feel like doing a long haul train ride. I never stopped.
Budapest is super safe and there is nothing to fear about it. Just make sure you always pay for your subway ticket.
I agree with what everyone else has said. After traveling all over Europe for 3 months via hostels, I felt so safe. I’ve stayed in rooms where I was the only girl and some of the guys were drunk and nothing happened. I’ve never had my stuff taken, in fact I met some awsome people that I still keep in touch with via hostels. It is an excellent experience and gets more bad press than it really deserves. Which says a lot considering I’m a spoiled only child who’s used to having her own bathroom!!