What really matters in a hostel..

When I first set off InterRailing around Europe just over a week and a half ago I had my priorities for booking a hostel sorted, well located, wifi and a comfy bed. As I have been travelling from country to country they all seem to have gone out the window.

After what I can only describe as an “Experience” during my stay in Berlin I’ve decided from now on that the bathroom and shower are my top priority. I know what you are thinking, REALLY?! Yes, really!

After walking so much, I tend to be able to just sleep anywhere, trains, beds or buses it doesn’t really matter! All I ask from a shower is that you feel cleaner when you come out than went you went in! Hostel X Berger was the exception..

During my one night visit to Berlin to see a friend who is living in a very l studenty part of the city which is popular with backpackers meaning hostel beds are scarce. As we booked so late we could only stay in a Hostel called Hostel X Berger! The hostel itself was ok but run down with a receptionist who definitely had an attitude problem or some kind of unresolved personal issues. After checking in we went to our room which was full of what were essentially camp beds. Brilliant! At least they were comfy even with the impending doom of my friend falling through the top bunk.

After a long 6 hour train we thought we would grab a quick shower before going out, bad move!

The floor may as well have been classed as a swimming pool (with the water being brown / black!) with the showers being questionable at best. Imagine a prison shower, yeah worse than that. They had sensors which meant after 20 seconds the water would just stop, not what you want when your covered in shower gel / shampoo is it? Also every time I waved my hand in front of the sensor the water would start, but ice cold . To be honest i’m just glad I was lucky enough to get a shower curtain! With 2 out of 4 missing that rather important privacy feature all together. In the end you came out feeling worse than when you went in and definitely not feeling fresh.

So here is some advice (and the end of my rant), when looking for a place to stay while travelling , don’t worry about beds, wifi (ok maybe wifi is important!) or kitchen facilities. Make sure it has decent showers, trust me!