European Hostel

Hostels can be an excellent way to save money on that annoying accommodation expense. Traditionally seen as a place for young backpackers, hostels today come in all shapes and sizes, many with en-suite private rooms. I’ll be honest, I’m not a hostel person. I’m old and need my sleep and prefer it without other people in the room. I don’t mind shared bathrooms, but appreciate having a place of my own to relax. I usually opt for pensions, guesthouses or B&Bs that are smaller, not directly in the city center (I’d rather mix with locals than tourists) but close to public transport. If I’m staying in one place for a week, I’ll rent an apartment. EuropeanHostels.com recently re-launched itself and is now offering reviews, editor’s picks, user reviews and photos.

They are offering more than 15,000 hostels, budget hotels, B&B’s, guesthouses and campsites. So how does it rate in terms of search ease-ability – and most of all price? Let’s find out. I’m currently planning an extremely non-budget trip to Copenhagen, the MOST expensive city EVER! (Not an accurate quote, but it feels like it.) Can European Hostels find me a reasonably priced place to stay in August? Yes, I’ve given up on a budget priced place to stay… So the Hotel Loeven will provide me with a twin room, en-suite for 178 USD a night, while the Saga Hotel will give me a twin private with a shared bath for 153 USD a night. If I want a double bed, en-suite I’ll have to cough up 207 USD a night. Pluses for the system include the address and photo of the hotel, and directions to the hotel from a variety of locations including the Central Station and the airport. You have a choice how you want the properties displayed: via popularity, price, location, etc. and you can choose what currency you’d like prices to be offered in. So is it any better than other hotel search sites? Prices are comparable to what I’ve found elsewhere. It has some nice features (I really like the hotel directions information) and I’ll probably use it in the future as an additional search tool for that ever elusive budget bed…