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| A residential area in Barcelona |
Meanwhile, our stay in Cologne was also relatively cheap but it wasn't that much of a nice experience. More on this later.
It is not my first time to stay in a hostel, where this type almost always equates to dorm-type rooms. I had my first time in Seoul, South Korea and my experience was good that I readily welcome the idea of doing it again. Most likely for me, because I don't prefer staying at big hotel chains with amenities I might not avail. Besides, I really don't have the money to burn to begin with! hehe #thirdworldproblems But I am not all too sure if that's really a bad thing since cozy and more homey stay is of my preference. Whatever floats our boats, my dear friends. ;)
Barcelona, Spain
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| The building in front of our hostel |
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| The only photo I had in our room haha |
My cousin and I stayed in a 6-bed dorm type room in Somnio Hostel in Barcelona. Autumn is a lean season that for a day we had the room all to ourselves while the rest of our stay, we shared with a friendly Turkish girl. (Ahhh, Turkey! Dreaming on...)
Location
It was close to La Rambla with only a block away to the nearest metro, Passeig de Gracia. When going around Barcelona, taking the metro is the most convenient way especially to the newbies like us! It is also a walking distance to Placa de Catalunya where airport buses start. So, the key thing was a location that's near to a public transport and convenient enough to get us to the airport or the train station for our next destination.
Room
Our room was considerably clean but it could make use of a repainting job, maybe? The balcony is inaccessible and more so, that air-conditioning compressors are put there. :-/ There is a sink inside the room to do away from a possible queue to the shared toilet. The shared toilet is clean and it is nice that the hostel expects everyone to be considerate in using the toilet. This is one of the things that separate hostels from hotels where there is a guaranteed housekeeping service.
Security
While we were there, we experienced train interruptions due to strikes and for us foreigners, chaos was an understatement. And buses saved our day. Rome has only two train lines that buses prove to be more convenient, since they snake around almost every nook and cranny of Rome's ancient streets.
Room
We stayed at a 4-bed room (what?) and although the other 2 beds were occupied the entire time, we could still feel enough privacy. And besides, the other girls were come and go and by spending 3 nights, it felt like we were the ones that got stuck. The bathroom is still shared but the hostel only caters to females so... it's more than okay.
Security
The hostel's location is in an old building (Of course, we're in Rome.), with flights of stairs that are steep and are made of hard marble. No elevators. Thank God, the hostel is only on the second floor! We were given 3 sets of keys. Each one for the door of the building, the door of the hostel, and the door to our room. If that ain't secure enough, I don't know what else. One thing to note though is that the walk to Via Gaeta, the street where our hostel is located, can be a little dodgy at night especially that there are men gathered along the street, in front of the Termini station. No judging but better safe than sorry. Just make sure to walk in well-lit areas and if possible, walk along with a group of people.
Price
€28/Bed (Room with 4 beds). Yeah, more expensive than in Barcelona...
Our hostel is located in a building like the one above. I can't remember anymore which floor. (Of course, the forgetful me who doesn't always take notes.) There is a very small elevator which can only fit the two of us and our luggage. It is so vintage that the elevator's doors we need to close ourselves! That alone was an experience in itself! haha
The door to the hostel must be opened from the inside and maybe that's why, their reception is open 24 hours. There is no such thing as curfew, you know. Access to our room is through a security card and so, we felt secured enough.
Price
€17/Bed (Female dorm-type room with 6 beds)
Other Facilities
Wi-fi
Pantry
Laundry Service at €10
Rome, Italy
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| A small Philippine flag at a store near our hostel |
Again for 3 nights, we stayed in a dorm-type room in an all-female hostel in Rome, named rightfully as Hostella Female Only. It couldn't be more obvious than that, could it?
Location
There is that saying "All roads lead to Rome." but to be more specific, "All roads lead to Termini Station in Rome, literally..." lol Sorry, I don't spare anyone from my silly self. But I am only half kidding because most buses really starts/terminates at the Termini bus station while its train station, has connections to the local metro, airport, and many countries in Europe as well. For our hostel to be just a walking distance from Termini, we certainly got our money's worth.While we were there, we experienced train interruptions due to strikes and for us foreigners, chaos was an understatement. And buses saved our day. Rome has only two train lines that buses prove to be more convenient, since they snake around almost every nook and cranny of Rome's ancient streets.
Room
We stayed at a 4-bed room (what?) and although the other 2 beds were occupied the entire time, we could still feel enough privacy. And besides, the other girls were come and go and by spending 3 nights, it felt like we were the ones that got stuck. The bathroom is still shared but the hostel only caters to females so... it's more than okay.
Security
The hostel's location is in an old building (Of course, we're in Rome.), with flights of stairs that are steep and are made of hard marble. No elevators. Thank God, the hostel is only on the second floor! We were given 3 sets of keys. Each one for the door of the building, the door of the hostel, and the door to our room. If that ain't secure enough, I don't know what else. One thing to note though is that the walk to Via Gaeta, the street where our hostel is located, can be a little dodgy at night especially that there are men gathered along the street, in front of the Termini station. No judging but better safe than sorry. Just make sure to walk in well-lit areas and if possible, walk along with a group of people.
Price
€28/Bed (Room with 4 beds). Yeah, more expensive than in Barcelona...
Other Facilities
Wi-fi
Pantry
Breakfast! (See below. One ration is one bread, a drink, and yogurt.)
Cologne, Germany
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| Another random photo. This time the fall colors in Cologne, Germany. |
Cologne is a wonderful German city. Laid-back yet with enough noise to remind you that you haven't left the city. However, our stay in Pathpoint Cologne was not something we could say with much admiration. But it provided us a bed for one night and a hot shower to kick off our day. So yeah...
Location
We could not find fault with our hostel's location. It is yet again a walking distance to Cologne's main train station, where we would have our next train journey to Brussels the day after. But it's only this instance that our hostel's location was incorrectly mapped in my phone's offline map. It was a long while, searching for the hostel's sign, while walking almost in circles and finding ourselves in what it seemed, to be an abandoned backyard. Ignoring the mapped location, we finally ended up in Pathpoint's front yard. Whew! Pathpoint is one block further.
Room
We arrived from Amsterdam, earlier than our allowed check-in time in Pathpoint. Because we would be in Cologne only for a day, we decided to just leave our luggage and went about our day which turned out to be until late at night. We met up with my cousin's friend's boyfriend and his friends (Finally someone we knew!) and got introduced to the famous Kölsch beer in Cologne. Needless to say, we arrived in our room with 6 beds already tucked in for the night while we stumbled through darkness to find our own bunks. We had our individual light attached near our bed but we still had to unload some things from our luggage so, we turned the room's light briefly, only to be turned off again by a disgruntled girl. It wasn't really that late since it was only around 11pm. But anyway, we couldn't understand what she was saying and there won't be anymore confrontation since we would be leaving in the morning. haha Yes, 8 beds fully occupied can be too much even if there are 2 toilets en-suite.
Security
Security
The hostel is actually an entire building with many room types. Non-guests are not allowed inside and access to the room is through a security card.
Price
€21.40/Bed (Female dorm-type room with 8 beds)
Facilities
Wi-fi (Slow to nothing inside the room)
Mess hall
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Our main goal was to have a bed to stay and an affordable bed at that. Hosteling in these 3 European cities was really an experience although we didn't have the most common goal which is also to meet other travelers. Yes, we chatted with our roomies but that was only that. Staying at a hostel is really a cheap alternative in an expensive destination which is Europe. If you don't mind a few glitches that normally come with it, then you will surely be fine. Sometimes, hostel rooms are even cleaner than rooms in generously-starred hotels.
The above 3 hostels, we booked through HostelWorld with 10% deposit and 2% service charge. The rest of the due, we payed directly to the hostels. Do take note of hostel cancellations, which are usually 24 hours or 48 hours. For those nationalities requiring a visa to Europe (like I do #thirdworldproblemsagain), booking hostels is the way to go. Spending a lot before an approval of your visa can be a little risky.
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