How to discover if a hostel is more a travel hostel or a party hostel?
I have done some traveling and I have often stayed in hostels. These are great for many reasons. One of them is meeting people that share the same mindset and that actually need to sleep at night :)
My experience tells me that you can basically find 2 types of hostels (generalizing). Travel hostels, where most people are travelers and party hostels where most people are there for exploring the night life, drinking and have a place to sleep (if needed :). It's probably not the owners desire to choose a style but it often happens that these places start slowly shifting towards one of these (and of course they are not mutually exclusive, plus travelers also like to party).
From what I've seen this mostly depends on the city (there are clearly party cities where most people are there for drinking and partying all night long), but also hostel location. Reviews often help but they can be biased, too short or ambiguous (eg.: great place; great staff; loved to stay here; had the best time; etc.)
Besides the mentioned aspects what signs should I look, online, to tell if an hostel is a "party hostel" or a "travelers hostel"?
Best Answer
I'm posting this as a representative of Hostelz.com.
There definitely are some very different types of hostels, and it's always a shame when people end up in the wrong type of hostel for them. If you're using Hostelz.com, on the city page look for a drop-down menu that says "Suitable For" (just under the booking form at the top of the page). You can use that to filter the hostels by things like "partying" or "quiet rest".
Aside from that, I've found that the photos tend to be a pretty good indication, including the reviewer photos. Party hostels are almost always the ones that have at least one photo of a bunch of people smiling at the camera holding their drinks in the air.
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What is a party hostel?
Party hostels often specialise in chill areas, for obvious reasons! If you've had a big night, it's more than likely your new friends will have to and you'll all want to get cosy in the communal area. The hostel will often have other facilities like a movie room, or a hammock somewhere you can just chill out and relax.How do you avoid party hostels?
So if you definitely want to avoid party hostels, stay at hostels without a bar. 4) Spend more for a higher quality room. And not necessarily a private room. Spending an extra $5 to stay in a six-bed dorm rather than a sixteen-bed dorm is money well spent because it makes it feel even less like a frat house.What is a hostel for traveling?
A hostel is a low-budget accommodation shared among travelers. When a guest books a stay in a hostel, he or she typically books a bed for the night, not a room. The guest's bed may be in a room with four other travelers, or in a room with up to twenty travelers.What makes the best hostel?
Comfortable and inviting common areas Most travelers stay in hostels because they are cheap, but also because they want to meet other travelers, hang out, have a good time, and exchange travel stories and tips. This is done best in a comfy and cozy environment that invites travelers to hang out and mingle.Staying in HOSTELS | 5 Tips to Always REMEMBER!
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Answer 2
I've found that reviews help, but also that on most hostel review sites, they'll mention ratings of 'atmosphere'. If that's a high rating, odds are good that it's a party hostel.
Also if they mention group tours or cheap drinks, or have a bar inside (although I've seen exceptions to that last one).
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