Choosing where to sleep is perhaps the most important question you must answer when traveling (outside of choosing where you’re traveling, that is). And, at a certain point, every study abroad student or young traveler asks herself: Should I stay at a hostel or a hotel?
Like other soul-searching questions such as what is happiness? or to be or not to be? or should I eat that last piece of chocolate cake?, choosing between a hostel and a hotel is something only you can decide for yourself. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a little help in making that decision.
So, oh weary travelers! Sharpen your pencils and get ready to take our very first Notes From A Café test and discover where you should lay your little head on your next trip overseas.
Hotel or Hostel?
An Exclusive Notes From a Café Test
For each of the questions below, ask yourself, “How do I feel about this situation?” and select the response that most accurately represents your gut instinct.
1. Sharing a room with people you don’t know?
a. Great! Part of the reason I’m traveling is to make new friends!
b. Sure, as long as the people I’m traveling with are in the same room, too.
c. No way. An axe-murderer-puppy-kicking maniac could be sleeping in the bed next to me!
2. Sharing a room with people you don’t know who are members of the opposite sex?
a. Even better! Sign me up!
b. As long as they don’t get naked.
c. No, no, no!
3. Communal showers and bathrooms?
a. Please, I live in a college dorm.
b. Can I just share one with the folks in my room? Or on my floor?
c. That’s disgusting. There are germs.
4. Having to break the padlock (for which you paid 10 Euro) on the locker beside your bed because you left the key in your backpack (which is in the locker)?
a. Just part of the whole experience. What a funny story that will make!
b. I’m a little nervous that the padlock can just be broken like that…
c. I am not staying in a place where I have to pay for a padlock.
5. Cleanliness?
a. I’m backpacking across Europe. And I love to camp.
b. Please, no visible stains.
c. If I can’t run a clean white glove across the armoire, I am not staying.
6. Paying for sheets and towels?
a. Sheets? I’ve got a sleeping bag! Towels? I can air-dry!
b. No. That should be included in the price.
c. You’re kidding, right?
7. Access to a kitchen?
a. Yeah, eating out all the time can get expensive.
b. It would be nice, but not necessary.
c. People, I am on vacation.
8. TV room, pool table, or other communal spaces?
a. Like I said, part of the reason I’m traveling is to meet new people.
b. Does sitting around the breakfast table count?
c. I’m here to enjoy a new city, not play foosball.
Key
Each A = 1 point
Each B = 2 points
Each C = 3 points
8-12 points
Sharing one shower with the entire place? Dormitory-style beds? Hey, no bother to you … the place costs 15 Euro and it’s right in the heart of town. Yup, you’re a hosteler, through and through. But before you swing your backpack over your shoulder and hop into that little place right beside the train station, do your homework. Browse Let’s Go or a network like Hostels Europe to find places that are not only cheap, but also recommended.
13-19 points
You would be fine staying in a hostel, but why not try a one- or two-star hotel instead? You’ll get the privacy of a hotel combined with the relative affordability of a hostel. Of course, a cheaper hotel may be lacking in amenities such as a private bathroom or squeaky-clean rooms, but at least you won’t have to wake up wondering who came into your room last night. Plus, because hostels charge per person, it can be as cheap (or cheaper) to stay in a one- or two-star hotel, depending on how many you have in your party. Check out Let’s Go for a fine listing of affordable places.
20-27 points
Gosh darn it, you are on vacation. You’re traveling to a new city and want to enjoy every second of it—and part of that means staying in a place where you feel safe, that’s clean, and (maybe) caters to your every whim. A good hotel or bed and breakfast is right up your alley. Check out Fodor’s or establishments like Alcôve & Agapes to find a lovely place that gives you all the amenities without you having to pay an arm and a leg.
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