Worst Hostel Experiences
A hostel is essentially a place filled with wandering souls. It is an amazing place to find yourself, or others you connect with. However sometimes it can be a total nightmare.
Here are my 5 worst experiences.
Sleeping with eleven old men. In Barcelona, I stayed at BCN Sports Hostel. This was by far the worst hostel I have ever stayed at. I arrived late from Ibiza resulting in a midnight check-in. At the front desk was a young gentleman who sent me to the messiest, smelliest dorm I have ever been in. There were clothes everywhere, dirt in the corners and it looked as though the bathroom had not been cleaned in ages. I was very tired and still a bit tipsy (from an Ibiza boat party) so I spent the night. In the morning they told me I could get a different room, I just need to recheck in at 3 pm. When I arrived back a few hours later, they told me I needed to wait once again, for a few more hours.
After a day of adventures, I went back to my 12 person dorm to find what looked like 11 homeless old men. As you could imagine I was very freaked out. I was too tired to find a new place to stay, so I went to my top bunk and listened to them snore all night. It was horrible.
A week prior in Paris I had been robbed. I had my credit card shipped to BCN Sports Hostel. I had to stay there another 3 nights till it arrived, the whole time it was a prison. I missed my bed so much that I booked my ticket home over those few days. On my last night in the hostel, someone was incredibly sick. They were coughing all night and I ended up giving them some Aspirin in hopes they would pass out.
I left for Valencia the next day. In Valencia, I was insanely sick. I could not get out of bed for 2 days. I had a fever, vomiting and dizziness. I 100% got it from whoever the old bloke coughing in my room was. It was one hell of a week. It definitely gave 18-year-old me some character.
Someone peed in my room. When I was living in Costa Rica I was staying at Coral Reef Hostel. I had my private room but a shared bathroom. I made a deal with the owner Jeff that I would stay 1 month at a time paying 400 USD. I was at Coral Reef for 2 months. The hostel itself is amazing, it is a 2-minute walk from the beach and a quiet place located in central Tamarindo.
One night it was pouring rain. It was quite intense. As I saw water creep under my door I immediately jumped out of bed to investigate the situation. When I opened my door I saw a man peeing, holding his penis. I immediately shut the door. He wandered back to his room and went back to bed. I thought it was just a dream until I smelt it.
I got up and went to the cleaning closet. Grabbing a roll of paper towel and bleach. I spent the next hour cleaning someone else’s piss from my room. I moved all my clothes, the bed and the table. It was a nightmare. In the morning I got the cleaning lady to mop everything including my door and life went on.
The guy who peed was celebrating his friend’s birthday. He got very messed up on drugs and alcohol that he did not even realize what he was doing. I made an Instagram story explaining what happened the night before and he apologized. What would you have done?
Sex above me. Thailand is one of the most chaotic countries I have travelled to. It does not make sense to me why it is so unorganized because there are a lot of tourists and it is Americanized. People can do whatever they want without consequences. For example, you can go to any massage parlour and receive a happy ending, find a prostitute in every bar, get a drug menu with opioids, mushrooms and weed, they even have ping pong shows (which is greasy but I suggest you google it).
People having sex in the same hostel room as you happens every once and a while. Normally it is very quiet and short. However, I have never been on the bottom bunk. I am not sure if they knew I was there. Backpackers say it is an earthquake when people have sex above you and a rocket ship when you are on the top bunk. I did not know what to do. I just felt as though I was a part of the intercourse. I ended up texting another girl from the room and telling her to save me. This motivated the love birds to move to the shower.
After they finished he grabbed his blanket and pillow. I did not see him for 2 days. It was the strangest thing and gave me a giggle or two. Please do not have sex in the dorms, most people just want to sleep in peace.
No airconditioning. In Albania, it gets insanely hot in the summertime. Upwards of 40 degrees Celsius. I was staying in a large hostel owned by backpackers. It was a really fun place but sleeping at night was miserable. Lying in a room with 5 other girls sharing one fan made for a terrible night of no sleep. To make matters worse there was a heavyset Russian girl who snored worse than most men. Although I love the Balkan countries, make sure the hostels and buses include air-conditioning.
Someone sleeping in my bed. Koh Rong Sanloem is an amazing island in Cambodia. I predict it will be the next Bali or Tulum, with an unbeatable price. One remote part of this island could only be accessible by boat. The only thing was a Mad Monkey Hostel, with under 35 age limit. It was a party and a half. Around 7 am I was sneaking back to my bed. Upon arrival, I realized a random guy was sleeping in my bed.
I woke him up and asked what he was doing. He explained there was no free bed and he saw mind was available. Honestly fair enough, I would have done the same. I told him not to touch me as we both slept in a single top bunk. Everything happens for a reason and we ended up becoming amazing friends but that is a story for another time.
Not every hostel is going to be a good experience. When it is miserable it is at the very least a good story. I enjoy the hostel life and would not trade it right now for anything. My parents went to Croatia and Italy in 2021 and stayed in hostels. If they can do it anyone so can you.
I have done the fancy hotels and dress coded restaurants but that is not true to me. I am playing a role in someone else reality. In hostels there is no need to pretend to be someone you are not, sometimes street food is better than restaurants. Before you knock hostels try it at least once or twice.
Happy Sunday. Hope you have a good week. Remember being busy is not a high paid compliment to yourself. Do something you enjoy. xx