British Hostels

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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TrevA
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Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by TrevA »

I used to hostel a lot years ago (when I was an actual youth!) but aside from a few trips with my son 15-20 years ago, I’ve not done any hostelling for a long time.

I’m inspired by one of the YouTubers I follow - Andy Curran. He has done a few hostelling trips in recent videos. I’m aware that there are a lot less hostels than there used to be, so it’s hard to do a tour by just hostelling, but I’m inspired to do a few out and back trips to stay at a hostel.

So what are your recent experiences of hostelling? How has it changed from years ago?
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gbnz
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by gbnz »

Had a couple of nights in a hostel, back in March. More than happy with it, they can be more of a lower cost "hotel", actually had decent cooked breakfasts, a dinner and good quality sheeting on the bed.

Had the same pre Christmas 2021, both hostels in the Lake District
Pendodave
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by Pendodave »

I've stayed at Hawes, Lochranza and Port Charlotte (islay) in the last couple of years. They've all been fine and I'd be happy to stay there again.
rotavator
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by rotavator »

I have had mixed experiences at the Hostelling Scotland ones that I have stayed at recently:

Broadford on Skye was poor and definitely one to avoid, e.g. my food stolen from the kitchen.

Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore was very good apart from the cramped kitchen so I opted for their evening meals which were good and good value too.

Pitlochry was good apart from a leaking gutter above my window and a non-functional drying room, which is definitely needed when the weather is wet.

As for England and Wales, in the areas that I have looked at for holidays recently (e.g. Shropshire, mid Wales), the hostels have either closed or are only available if you book the whole thing which is no use to me.

There are also independent hostels which are worth considering, in my experience they tend to be a bit quirky but generally OK to good.
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Paulatic
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by Paulatic »

There are so many private hostels now. The ones I’ve used, north Pennines and Tyne valley, have all been good. Wayfarers in Penrith has to be amongst the best.
Agree with earlier comment about Broadford. One night was long enough Thankfully I shared the room with a couple of Australian cyclists with down under humour. The rest of the clientele were young, up themselves, mountaineering types complete PiTA.
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axel_knutt
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by axel_knutt »

I've had more than 500 nights at over 200 hostels in my time, and whilst my experience is growing a bit un-recent, I very much doubt that the year on year changes I witnessed in dismay have gone into reverse.

My usage was all point to point riding and usually casual bookings made by phone, as you've said hostel closures are making them increasingly further between adjacent ones, and regarding casual booking, I watched this being made deliberately difficult because they regard it as a PITA. They want people booking online in advance. It used to be really easy to call a hostel "have you got a bed for tomorrow?", "yes, no problem", "ok seee you then", but now it's half managed from the central office and half from the hostel. Hostels often have the phone on divert to the office, and the office only opens office hours. I've had hostels tell me in the evening to call the office at 9am in the morning, then in the morning the office tell you to wait until 5pm and call the hostel. They have flexible, demand-led pricing now: a warden once told me he was being driven to distraction by the office phoning several times a day putting prices up down up down. Whatever you do, do it yourself, I've had wardens tell me they've booked me a bed for tomorrow, then arrived and found there's no booking, and they just told me that to get rid of me. Bookings for small volunteer hostels are now managed by a larger one nearby, so you now have a three-way situation with the left hand, right hand, and left foot all not knowing what the others are doing.

If you're thinking of going during school term time, another big change is school parties, they've always been there, but you used to be able to get in at a hostel with a school party if there were beds available in an adult dorm, and you didn't mind the rumpus. That all changed after the child was murdered by a paedophile in a French (independent) hostel: now the schools are paranoid, and insist on sole-use whether they're taking all the beds or not. Don't think you'll necessarily get around that one by booking well in advance, I've met people who did just that and got a booking a confirmation, then had it cancelled when a school party called wanting the whole hostel. A booking for two or three beds won't trump a school, they're the core business for the YHA. A lot of the smaller hostels (that haven't already closed) are going over to groups-only usage anyway, they don't consider it worth opening unless someone wants to hire the whole hostel.

Drying rooms with sinks for hand washing are rapidly becoming a thing of the past, expect a walk-in cupboard with a washing machine & drier, a £2 charge, and little or no space to hang anything. I object to £" just to wash a T-shirt & lycras, and I never tumble clothes because they shrink.The larger self-catering kitchens are being taken over for other uses, and kitchens being relegated to pokey broom cupboards, and the same with common rooms. I don't buy meals provided, the last time I compared (in 2010), three meals were ~£20 compared with ~£5 for more calories self catering. Not all hostels have bike sheds anymore either, although there's still usually somewhere to put them indoors.

After duvets became the norm, most hostels used to have a pile of blankets in the dorms for those (like me) who wanted them, or else the warden would fetch you some if you ask, but those days are long gone, you just have to boil your brains under a duvet now.

I recall a conversation with the manager of York YHA once, he was saying that the number of cycle tourists like me were vanishingly small these days, but when I spoke to someone on the desk he said "Oh, he doesn't know what he's taking about, there are plenty, but he wouldn't know because he never works at reception. If that's the sort of feedback higher management are getting, expect cycling to be marginalised more. Hostel shops are a thing of the past, unless you're wanting to buy wine or chocolate instead of food for dinner. The standard bunk design of the 1970s used to have room for tall people like me to poke their feet out of the bottom, many of the modern bunks don't.

On the upside, the vast majority now have a TV, fridge, & microwave, and some have a freezer. The remaining large dorms have all been divided up into 2,4,6,8 bed rooms with a washbasin, and segregated washrooms are gone, with showers & toilets now being single cubicles opening onto public corridors. Quite a few have rooms with an en-suite shower/toilet cubicle. Disabled access is better now.

I've used quite a few independent hostels. In general, they tend to be less well equipped, more variable quality, and often have mixed sex dorms, if that's a problem to you.
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Traction_man
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by Traction_man »

TrevA wrote: 7 May 2023, 8:55pm
So what are your recent experiences of hostelling?
I have been a member of YHA for years, and still keep my membership going despite not having stayed in a YHA hostel for a fair few years now, last time was with my children when they were still quite young, I wanted them to experience hostelling and we had some good stays, especially at Dufton and at Ninebanks, about 5+ years ago.

Why hostels, well I particularly liked being able to self-cater with the children but also for them to witness other people!

However, most recently my attempts at booking YHAs (for myself solo) have been thwarted, I wanted to stay in North Wales this coming weekend, and some while back, in March, tried booking the few hostels still available in and around Snowdonia, to no avail--eg Bryn Gwynant is closed, and King's was fully booked (school party?), so I gave up and booked a B&B instead!

I'll keep the membership going to support the YHA, I've got a lot of good memories of hostels over the years ever since my first stay at Ilam in 1980, but I am looking more now to either camp, bothy or Premier Inns as I get older and (I reckon) less tolerant of other guests!
mattheus
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by mattheus »

I am now positive about hostelling, but agnostic about YHA.

YHA are now mainly the city centre hostels; the ones I've used have been very nice, but they are .. what they are! Bristol is good VFM with secure bike storage. Berwick was very nice (I got a ridiculous bargain big room on Halloween).

Independent Hostels have taken over the niche that my parents were using in the 70s. Info was hard to find for a while, but either I've worked out where to look now, or the web presence has grown.

If you see an Independent that is clearly ex-YHA, put it top of your list. There's a good chance you will get the "70s YHA experience"; or you might get something else nice. In my "Recent experiences" !
PH
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by PH »

I've used three in the past couple of years, Stratford, Berwick and Bath, but I haven't been in a dorm with strangers for many years. Two of the three recently used were booked as private rooms, and Stratford was a small dorm but only occupied by myself and companion.
I think axel_knutt has given a pretty good summary of the general changes, there's nothing there I would disagree with, though just a couple of things to add. The value isn't what it used to be, if solo it's still probably the cheapest option, if there's two or more in the party a Travelodge, or the like, is often cheaper. recent ones have been out of season (I prefer to camp in the weather is OK) some of the high season prices are comparable to a decent hotel. The trend for private rooms and smaller dormitories is a two edged sword, I like that privacy, I sleep better and am less concerned that it might be my snoring causing others not to. The downside is the loss of shared experience, that's partly down to the more insular nature of the accommodation, also I think change in the clientele. In the, possibly rose tinted, good old days, I'd meet like minded people at just about every hostel I stayed in (10's if not 100's). That doesn't often happen now.
There's also the variability, with YHA and even more so with independents. One of the reasons I like out and back rides is that it matters less, it minimises the worst case scenario, it'd have to be very bad to ruin the ride and it's just as possible to have a poor night at a Travelodge or campsite. My worst ever hostel experience was some drunk rowdy climbers getting back at 2am, noisy, lights on, abusive, no warden... We left and were home for breakfast and the YHA refunded us with an apology.
rotavator
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by rotavator »

Another good one that I have stayed at recently in Scotland is Torridon. The only downside was the lack of a proper window in my room, it only had a skylight.

I always go for a private room nowadays mainly because of the snoring issue previously mentioned plus I can afford them now although their prices are similar to budget hotels. For me, the main advantages of a hostel over say Premier Inn or Travelodge is that one gets the opportunity to chat to people, they have drying rooms and kitchens. However kitchens can be too small, inadequately equipped and can be crowded by big parties, all of whom have to be present and getting in my way :x .
keyboardmonkey
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by keyboardmonkey »

I don't know how representative my recent stays at youth hostels are. I've only stayed at North York Moors hostels in the last few years. We book the entire dorm (six beds) even if there is only five of us. Not necessarily great value, but for a group within walking distance of pubs it's just what we've got used to. Decent English breakfast on offer, but I tend to use the self catering option and just have toast and tea/coffee in a morning. If I was staying on my own I'm not sure I'd stay at a YHA place.
Ayseven
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by Ayseven »

Thanks for this post. I was wondering about all of this - not sure a nostalgic experience would be worth it or not. At a young age, I never even noticed snorers!
Nearholmer
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by Nearholmer »

I’ve used them a few times over the past c3 years, for the first time since group stays as a genuine youth. I’ve booked a small room, either for myself, or self and son, and in some ways that doesn’t really give a great deal of differentiation from a travel lodge, although the hostels are definitely in nicer places, and the vibe is a bit less dreary, pleasant even.

When I rejoined, I was hoping to use them for short tours, a week at a go, but quickly discovered that there are now great gaps in the network, and that t seems necessary to book weeks, months even, in advance, both of which rather knocked that idea on the head.

Summary? When you can use one, they are pretty good, but it isn’t all that simple to find one to use.
axel_knutt
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by axel_knutt »

PH wrote: 8 May 2023, 11:19amThe trend for private rooms and smaller dormitories is a two edged sword....The downside is the loss of shared experience
Yes, I think I preferred the large dorms too, not just more people to talk to, but if it's not too busy there's more room to spread out, and room to get further from snorers.

I like self-catering for several reasons, one being that it's also a good place to chat whilst you're cooking, and you don't get to meet women in the dorms. Prepared meals don't provide enough calories either if you're cycling all day.

People have mentioned snoring, I've found it helps if you don't let it wind you up, it's your own anger that keeps you awake.

I'm not keen on big hostels, the ones I like such as York, Bath & Oxford* tend to be because I like the cities, I prefer small ones in spectacular locations that wouldn't get planning permission for anything else, or with interesting histories.

Some of my recommendations are:

Tanners Hatch: a 500 year old cottage hidden in the forest near Dorking. It's idyllic, and for somewhere on the doorstep of London, it could be in the middle of nowhere. There's plenty of cycling in the Surrey hills right on the doorstep.
Black Sail: A remote shepherds bothy in Ennerdale among the mountains miles from anywhere.
Tintagel: An old quarry perched on the edge of the cliffs with spectacular views down the coast.
High Close: Looks very unpromising from the road, a bit like a Victorian prison, but the other side with a wrought iron verandah facing a walled garden is delightful. I looked out of the kitchen window and saw a deer on the lawn one morning.
Grinton: An old shooting lodge high up on the fellside in Swaledale, with great views down into the valley.
Rowen: An old farm in the Conwy valley, again, perched high up on the fellside with lovely views.
High Cross Castle: A large house with an aerial view down the length of Langdale. Watch the sun set over Crinkle Crags and Bowfell.
Longthwaite, Barrow House, Eskdale, & Wasdale Hall are all worth a mention too.

(*Oxford is now demolished, at only 21 years old, to make room for a new extension to the railway station.)
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Grldtnr
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Re: Recent experiences of youth hostelling

Post by Grldtnr »

I too used to be a keen Hosteller, I have been a long-term user, but it is becoming increasingly hard to book a bed for a moving on cyclist, most of my away day breaks were based at Hostels.
The network seems now to be either in big urban areas ,away from the small rural areas the network used to have, this very well may be the last year I renew membership, I see little benefit from being a member, the times I have been at a Hostel , I have camped in my own tent.
It seems the association is competing with the budget hotel chains, when in truth it shouldn't be, the YHA is registered as a charity and as such does not need to make a profit mearly breakeven.
I do agree that the socialising side of hostelling is its main benefit, but these days that is little in evidence, Families turn up in expensive midrange cars loaded down with budget bikes and pose , yes Hostelling is open to all, but it should be for those who wish to travel, by independent means by bicycle , foot or public transport, NOT as a cheap night away for the family whom may well be well off.
The YHA needs to get back to its roots, not compete with the big brand budget hotel chains, the sole light in all this ,is they still do have hostels in the rural touristy places, but I do think for how much longer.
I shall likely continue using Hostels for camping, but for an overnight bed, it isn't likely.
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