The Perfect Hostel

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There is a question that non-travelers always ask to the backpackers: The famous Q? "What do you do the whole day?" I used to answer "Nothing!" But it is not quite truth. We have at every single minute something to do. And if we don't, we find something to do.

One of this occasions we had to find something to do, we started some researches. Actually we have many of them!
After staying in so many hostels, we realize that some of them are just a place to spend the night and others a place to spend a week having so much fun and everybody is always trying to leave, but end saying: "Just one more day than I'll leave!'.
So we started to identify why some hostels are better than others.

Here are some items that in our opinion make a hostel a perfect place to stay one night. Maybe two, why not three or four....

1 Bar (w/ connection for guests Ipod and far from the rooms)
2 Vending machines for beer 24/24 for late nights
3 Camping site in noble area w/ access to car parking
4 Dormitories for 6 to 8 people
5 One girls-only dorm (we like the mix but they feel more comfortable)
6 Free breakfast
7 Guests kitchen with big table
8 Restaurant
9 Internet fast and cheap
10 Big clean toilet
11 Book exchange (language for language)
12 Guide books for sale
13 Display w/ informations about the city and its activities
14 Folders from other hostels
15 Big TV + DVD's
16 Hang out area w/ cushions and carpet
17 Free pool table love free stuff!
18 Swimming pool
19 Lockers and Bag storage room
20 Vending machines w/ first necessity items
21 Leave and take basket leave what you don't need, take what you need
22 Reading/snooze area w/ hammocks
23 Token laundry and hanging lines
24 That friendly homely environment!!

To be honest, we never met a hostel with all items but we will keep searching!! Until now, some of the best hostels we've been are the following (the numbers are what they offer):

Barcelona Mar- Barcelona, Spain: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14, 16, 19, 20,
Faisal - Jerusalem, Israel: 4, 9, 13, 16, free coffee and tea!
? - Beirut, Lebanon: 2(self service), 4, 7, 23,
Penguin - Dahab, Egypt: 1, 8, 6, 10, 16,
Nairobi Backpackers - Nairobi, Kenya: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21
Kampala Backpackers - Kampala, Uganda: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 23
Cha Cha Cha Backpackers - Lusaka, Zambia: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23
Joly boys - Livingstone, Zambia: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 18, 22, 23
Cardboard box - Windhoek, Namibia: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23
99 Hostel - Czeski Krumlov, Check Republic: 2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 21
Elf Hostel - Prague, Check Republic: 4, 6, 7, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22


And you, do you agree? Would you add something in the list? Have you been in a very good hostel too? What did you like in it?

Let's rate the best hostels in the world!

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Photos

By the pool
What else do you need?

Chill out area
Perfect for a nap!

YHA
Shengzhen, China

Comments

[Victoria]

Thanks
Thanks for adding me to your blog updates! Keep having fun....

[His Dudeness]

Paradiso- Nelson, New Zealand... I think it basically has all the above mentioned and more... Free soup in the evening, a hot tub, sauna, beach volley ball court, smokers bus (and not the normal kind of smoking) in the garden, nice garden and a great atmosphere... The best hostel I have stayed in... It took me 4 month to leave!

[adam]

props to the cardboard box in windhoek, namibia!
love that spot. was there in 98. glad its still strong! can't forget the nearby King Pie shop!

[kari]

The bearded Monkey
I agree with your assessment of hostels and have one that has nearly everything you mentioned. The Bearded Monkey in Granada Nicaragua. It does not have a pool or free breakfast though. It also had another location on the lake and provides excursions there... so instead of a pool it has a lake. Really love your bios and you adventure. Keep traveling!