Sometimes I wonder what has happened to me in my old age. What could possibly compel a grown man to book a €24 bed in a n 8-person hostel when a perfectly respectable Hyatt-affiliated hotel was available nearby? Let me at least try to explain the logic.
What Is Wrong With Me?! My Hostel Experience In Brussels
Yesterday you may recall that I mentioned that I faced a hotel dilemma after failing to modify my Eurostar ticket at Brussels Midi/Zuid station. It was around 5:00 pm and I just wanted to walk around town a little bit and then take a nap and get some work done.
I’m a “free agent” when it comes to both airlines and hotels this year, but I am still partial to Hyatt and I noticed that The Standard had rooms available, which is affiliated with Hyatt. But that hotel is in the Northern Quarter, which is the opposite direction I wanted to go to explore the city center.
I also had a train departing at 5:53 am the following morning and this was not a city I was familiar with. Right outside the station is a Pullman Hotel, which would have been perfect…but it was sold out.
But down the street a couple blocks away was the Meininger Hotel Gare du Midi, a hostel…yes, the sort of hostel with 4-8 bunks that I stayed in when I was kid. And the price was only 24€…
I know I’m cheap, but the thought of having a place to work (and use the WC) for 24€ struck me as a great bargain, and I figured I could catch upon sleep during the 11-hour flight from Amsterdam to Los Angeles the following morning.
So I booked it…
I don’t know if calling it a “youth hostel” is fair because there were (mostly German) families there and some older travelers, but yes, it was mostly kids.
But this was a huge place and it even had a bar and a self-service kitchen.
I was assigned a room on the top floor.
As I walked into the room, there was a Brazilian guy on one of the beds with his laptop open and hands in his pants…
He was startled by my entrance and stopped whatever it was he was engaging in, but unfortunately was a chatty type and tried several times to strike up conversations with me.
I just wasn’t in the mood and let’s just say the Delhi Belly was still causing met trouble, which probably should have been more than enough justification for me to get my own room…
He wasn’t a student or backpacker…he appeared to be a worker delivering food for Uber Eats who just needed a place to sleep. His bicycle helmet and box to keep the food warm was sitting on the floor of the room.
I had to shake my head…what the heck was I doing? Thankfully, he soon left and I had the room to myself.
I went out for my walk and came back around 8:00 pm and the room was empty…Mr. Brazil came back later but it was just us…the other beds (and there were eight of them) never filled up.
I got up around 3:00 am and went down to the lobby, where I spent the next two hours working before heading over to the train station at 5:15 am to catch my train.
Would I have been a lot more comfortable in my 250€ room at The Standard? Without a doubt.
But somehow I’m kind of glad I spent 1/10 as much at this place and was able to get a solid seven hours of sleep and get my work done..
Is there something seriously wrong with me?
8 bunks? Could have been a lot worse.
Matthew, my goodness, the risks you’ve taken on this trip, from transiting the Middle East during an active war, drones and missiles flying by, to salads and Taco Bell all over India, resulting in *explosive diarrhea*, and, now, youth hostels. Please, stay alive; it’s “live” and let’s fly. Not ‘risk it all’ and blog finished. *wink*
My thoughts exactly. What in the actual hell has Matt been thinking ! Ay !
When the Pullman sells out, I just stay at one of the hotels near the Gare Central, just one stop away on the Metro. Midi is not in a great neighborhood, though there are a couple of good breweries nearby.
Good for you.
It is important to remain grounded and be able to function in lesser circumstances even if one need not compromise.
None of us would think twice about paying gobs of miles / money for business class and sharing a confined space with 30-50 people on “flat beds” for 10+ hours. But somehow when on land the idea of spending next to no money for what looked like a comfortable enough shared room for a few hours is abhorrent to some. Meanwhile, you slept well, you move on.
Naturally there are more options on the ground than in the air, but I think you made a perfectly fine choice, although if I was not feeling well I would have probably opted for a private room. I would imagine there were options that were in between the price points of the Standard and a hostel though – that probably was not a binary choice.
I stayed in a youth hostel in Athens two years ago (and I am way older than you) and it was fine … because they also offered ensuite single rooms. The room was clean, the price ridiculously cheap, and I enjoyed meeting people in the common areas. But you are a braver person than me in risking an 8 person bunk room.
Man I respect you and follow your site for these moments. It’s like reliving the old Matthew, travelling to Iran and the lot. Omaat will never do what you just did, flying economy might be his bare minimum.
I also respect the risk you take so that the world could see things better, humanity needs more of your kind.
You got pretty lucky Matthew, these past few months I had to make emergency overnighters in Europe and chose the hostel route because I did not want to fork out 250-300 euro, but sadly my rooms were packed with travelers. Even in Amsterdam I was assigned a bed in a 12-bed dorm (!) and yes all other 11 beds were occupied… 4/4 hostels were terrible sleeps even with eye mask + ear plugs.
I stayed in that hotel some years ago and booked a great single room. I don’t think I could ever share a room with many other people in it.
FWIW they all dropped the “Youth” moniker about a generation ago. There are no more “youth hostels.” It’s “Hostelling International”. See wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostelling_International
You did nothing remotely sketchy or dangerous or even noteworthy. You picked a budget option that millions of other people use with no danger and relatively few issues (biggest risks: having something stolen that you leave in your room unattended – which is completely preventable; and – in a shared room – getting someone who snores loudly nearby – which can be solved with ear plugs). Many years ago I discovered the bliss of earplugs in a hostel in Marrakesh, it changed my life – but that’s a long story.
Most hostels (including, I suspect, the one you stayed in) offer private rooms these days (also “family rooms) – if I were in your condition (explosive bathroom events) I would have ponied up a bit more and opted for one of those, but outside of the likelihood that you would be spending a lot of time in the throne room, your choice was perfectly valid, normal, routine, and the default choice for a large percentage of people traveling. That you make such a big deal over (gasp!) staying in a place like this is not an attractive point. While I love me my long-haul lay-flat seats up front in the plane, getting out of that bubble occasionally is good for anyone. Hostels can be a good (even great) option to include in your plans sometimes.
In some places, they may be the best option (occasionally the only option) available. I had a good hostel experience in a remote small town in the Faeroe Islands (where housing for tourists is extremely short), staying in what was clearly a dorm built for (and probably still used by) fishing boat crew members. It met our needs (me and my wife had a private room, with the shared bathroom down the hall). It was the only place to sleep for many miles around and the weather outside was absolutely awful. It was fine for us (and cheap). Nobody around who spoke a word of English, we managed.
Hostels are not some scary, weird, dangerous choice. Anyone who thinks they are has not had much life experience.
I am a cheap son of a gun, which is why I can now afford to never be in such a situation. I’ve stayed in hostels that had private rooms with en suite. Small, no real space, but nobody else in the room.
I stayed in that exact hostel in 2016 after flying TUI in from SFB for €149… A fabulous value. I agree with your assessment that it isn’t ‘youth’ oriented at all. I too recall seeing families and older (40+) couples. Honestly, what a great concept. A clean, cheap, and safe place to rest your head for not a lot of money.
I say this all the time, but accomodation like this, along with inexpensive and reliable transport from airports, is why European LCCs can make money, while their American counterparts can’t.
Yeah, happy to stay in a hostel but as long as it’s a private room.
Hahaha @peter hit the nail on the head. We’re all tempted to spend in the hundreds of thousands of points and or thousands of dollars to be squashed into a Qatar suite or Air France seat crowded by people sharing one loo… but effectively fi this was a hotel room on the ground (eg the la premier suite) we’d want to pay max $100 for the night. The mystery of plane travel.
Oh My Lord! Do you think Mr. Brazil was interested in you? Now that would be quite a review!
@Matthew Klint – Why would you, a rather mature family man, and a very experienced traveler pushing forty do such a thing? This undoubtedly seems like negative nostalgia!
What is the big deal? I am amazed that people regard this as some kind of great risk. It’s not. It’s routine (in fact, way more routine that people flying in business class!).
Personally, I have found that 4-bed dorms in hostels are the sweet spot. Any more people in one room than 4 typically means I will get woken up during the night (likely multiple times). With a 4-bed room, you only have 3 other people (and they are very respectful and courteous a majority of the time in my experience). Meanwhile, with a 6-bed room, you have 5 roommates, so almost double the amount of people who can potentially wake you up. And with 12 beds, that is almost guaranteed if you have most beds occupied. I’ve personally never had any issues with 4-bed dorms.
Also, hostels are typically very social, so it is common for your roommates to talk to you. Just be kind and respectful. If you don’t wish to engage, that’s fine, just make sure you don’t book a social hostel.
If anyone’s looking at booking a hostel, use the Hostelworld app. The reviews on there are pretty accurate in my experience, and you can easily compare hostels and see how much they charge for each room category. Keep in mind that they mostly have higher prices on Hostelworld, so best is to search on there and then book directly with the hostel (they typically have a website linked on Google Maps).
Matthew, oh, how you tease us with these handsome pics!! Thank you.