Room-Finding Tricks

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Hostel Comments

Amsterdam. Stayed at the Vondelpark City Hostel, which is clean and spartan. Was in a 4 man room with 2 others, so we split the NLG180 tab, making it about $30 US for each of us. Next I moved to a dorm, I which cost about NLG38, or $19 US. It was fairly quiet (at night) and right next to Vondelpark and close to the Leidseplain (sp?) Two words of caution:   1. Don't come to Amsterdam without reservations, or be prepared to either stand in long lines and to pay commissions or hoof it around. There are signs on the light posts, especially around Centraal Station, and there's one for the Vondelpark City Hostel, but the signs aren't easy to follow. 2. Call ahead and reserve, if you can. I tried this from London (if you stay in Hostelling International Hostels, most of them have a booking network and can make arrangements for you at the next stop or two. I made my NEXT reservation in Rotterdamthis way. TIP--How to speak "Hostel": When I phoned to get a reservation in the Vondelpark Hostel, I was told it was "full up". When I arrived in Amsterdam I went to the hostel anyway and was told again, they were all booked up, and was given a list of budget hotels to call. Then two other men came in looking for a twin. They were told that there were no twins left, only a Quad. I then asked if they'd be interested in splitting it, and the three of us wound up with a previously unavailable room. The lesson here is: don't be too specific about what you're looking for unless you won't have it any other way.   Had I asked what was available, I could have looked around the lobby and found potential roommates. They use a PIN-number controlled locker system here, and it costs NLG3 for all day. Very reasonable.Especially since I had to change rooms and couldn'tmove into the new room until 2pm.    Jim Swensen    20 Jun 1999    About Lockers: In Earl's Court --London, each room had a key, which you get when you check in. In each room there are individual lockers for each bed, and they are bolted down. These are big enough for backpacks much larger than mine, and have a hasp for a padlock. I simply used one of my combination locks to secure it.  TIP: if you use a combination lock, be SURE to leave a flashlight out where you can find it. It's IMPOSSIBLE to open combination locks in the dark. I KNOW... I TRIED. At Vondelpark Hostel, Amsterdam, the new buildings are much more modern and even the old ones have been upgraded.  The security is much better than Earl's Court. They use electronic key cards, which they change daily, or when someone checks in/out. There are also the PIN-controlled lockers in the lobby that I wrote about yesterday. (These are ONLY for daily use, and are cleared nightly at 23:00.) There are no provisions for locking the in-room wardrobes, so padlocks won't help here. But with the key system, they have the buildings divided into zones, so you can't get into the wrong zone or anyone else's room. One disadvantage - they have no laundry here, and it's much too crowded to try hanging clothes out in the shower. The nearest laundromat is about 6 or 7 city blocks away... "Sleeping" Last night I was moved to an identical room to the one the first night, in fact, the room next door. But this one had a trundle bed for a 5th person, so when I awoke this morning, there were 6 of us... It was quite noisy last night, a lot of LOUD partying going on in the courtyard area til all hours. Hard to sleep. I guess it's a nice idea to break the cycle with a B&B or a home stay occasionally to get some sleep. I'm looking forward to staying with family in Bornholm. Booking Next Room:  I used the Hostelling International IBN again to book into the Amager Hostel in Copenhagen. You just fill out a form at the desk, then they send it by computer to the hostel(s) you choose, and if a reservation is available, it'll come back OK. Then you pay in the local currency of the place where you did the booking. (Dutch Guilders from here). Credit cards accepted this way. The Danmarks Vandrarhjem -hostel system is GREAT! They rate the hostels with stars - 1 to 5 stars, and they're quite good. Very clean and mostly convenient, although NOT at Copenhagen. They're too far from the center city there. At Oslo, I made another mistake. I was too quick to book into a hostel because they could give me a bed for two nights. The one in downtown Oslo could only promise me 1 night. Anyway, the one I stayed at was about 10 miles from town, a 1/2 hour bus ride away. It's called Holtekilen. It was a 12 man dorm, with a sink in the room. The WCs were through the lobby, downstairs, through the TV/rec/kitchen, and the showers were down a different set of stairs next to the phone booth in the lobby. Thw bus stop was a steep climb of about 1/2 mile and over a pedestrian footbridge (like the one at Lunalilo Home Road). This hostel is VERY strict about their rules (Baptist church connected) and when they said breakfast is 7:30 to 9:30, they opened the doors at EXACTLY 7:30 and locked them at EXACTLY 9:30 and whoever tried to get in late didn't get fed. Norwegian hostels do NOT adhere to the standards of the Danish hostels There is no rating system here, nor any way to tell what kind of accommodation is available until you see it. Both the Oslo one and the Bergen YMCA Interrail center (recommended in Rick's book) have been quite a letdown after Denmark. Other than the disappointment at the commercialization of Flam, the big surprise came when I checked into the YMCA Interrail Hostel. It took me a while to get over my initial disillusionment. Now I haven't got high expectations of Norwegian hostel, but this was really a surprise. I'm in a dorm with 40 beds. This is in a room which should fit about half that number. The beds (2 tiered bunk beds) are so close together you cannot get to yours without pushing someone else's to make a passageway. Also, there's an adjoining 12 person dorm which must enter and exit through this dorm. There seemed to be a lot of female traffic, and I thought that the back room must be a women's dorm. There are two showers for women or Men and a shower room for women only. Also 2 WCs. This for 52 people. But I was wrong about the back room. It was, just like the one I was in, COED. So I have my first experience with a coed dorm    Jim Swensen June 1999    (from Jim's Road Reports) Hosteling is an excellent way for solo travelers to meet Europeans as well as save money . I takes my own sheet and combination lock so I don't have to pay extra for these. I feel more secure knowing my bag is behind my own lock. Another security measure I use is locking my bag up while I shower. I carry  my clothes and toiletries in my day pack into the bathing area. "Ear plugs are a must to sleep through dorm-mates' noisy AM home comings." Combating loneliness is an issue for solo travelers and hosteling helps alleviate it. I have met a lot of Europeans in Hostels who have become traveling companions for a day or so. Several have even invited me to their homes as an over night guest. I evev use hostels when I travel with a partner—but some times finds the price of B&Bs can be the same as our combined Hostel fee. "Taking a vacation from group living can be nice."     Darlene Narvaez I would like to add my comments!                                             Top of Page

Avoid these Sleeps

I deffintely. would suggest to others not to stay in "Cat´s Hostel (Madrid)" for at least a few months. I thought it was a new hostel that opened a few months ago, but it only opened 1 night before we got there!!! so they dont have lockers, internet, or hot water, but because of this we are being charged 10 Eur instead of 15, so it´s not horrible, just some  they still have a lot of work to do and it wil probably be a nice hostel in about 3 months. Just so you and anyone you help knows.  Liana of Northbrook, IL   4 July 2004 Please don't recommend Hotel Magic in Rome (http://www.hotelmagicaroma.com/) to anyone. The information on the website is incorrect. It's an apartment on 3rd floor and no lift !. None of the rooms have toilet. Only one room has a shower.  P. Shrivastava  02 October 2002 London - Victoria Station Area  What a great town - aside from their obstinate insistence on driving on the wrong side of the road which made their traffic the most dangerous of all of the places that we went as far as I was concerned (no small feat). We stayed at the Limegrove which was good only in so far as its location --near Victoria Station (well ok, and price). I really thot the place was pretty much of a loser, not especially because of the place but because "harried joyce" really didn't have it together. This may not be altogether fair as we arrived early in the morning--but this is the only place that we stayed that I would not go back to.  Marlee  14 June 99 Venice. Our 1st night was at the Hotel Canada—BOO! Too, too ugly and basic for the price ($126.) Hotel Canada does NOT belong in the Rick Steves book! In our 5 weeks this was our ONLY SOUR NOTE!  (we have had this comment from other TERC Travelers)    Marlene and Martin Hall, Big Island of Hawaii.   May  99 I would like to add my comments!                                             Top of Page

Camping - Barging - RVs

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Alternative Accommodations

"House Swap" reduces travel budget--The Steverson family have swapped houses with other familiesin Europe several times. Besides saving money on accommodations and cooking at home, they often get the use of the family car. He said they have gotten aquatinted with neighbors and lived as temporary locals. The homes they stayed in were beautiful—and the one draw-back is that his wife wants him to paint their's before they go! They use a company called VACATION EXCHANGE CLUB, PO Box 650, Key West, FL 33040— 1800-638-3841 and pay a $60 fee to be listed. (OFTEN FREE FOR PRIZED HAWAII LISTINGS--they use to be home based in Hawaii) Mr. Steverson also contributed a book to the TERC Free Lending Library called Trading Places, the wonderful world of Vacation Home Exchange, by Bill & Mary Barbour which thoroughly covers the ins and outs of this topic. Mahalo Nui Loa for sharing this Info. OnLine Home Exchange & Free Guest Stays--some require nominal membership fee Home Exchange Club for Professionals  $33 membership fee The Home Exchange Club Online Christian Home Exchange   New & FREE Senior Home Exchange Elder Travel    Free Guest in Home up to 5 days SERVAS   Free Guest in Home 2 days Home Exchange I would like to add my comments!                                             Top of Page

Are Reservations Necessary? Firm Believers in Reservations    My husband and I returned from a trip to Northern Italy from October 1-14th. I would have to agree with another of your readers: Even during the off-peak season, rooms were hard to come by during the week as well as on weekends in Ravenna, Verona, Padua, Florence and Milan. We wasted many hours searching for a place to stay whenever we traveled from one town to the next. Although we have always traveled in the past without reservations--preferring to do things on the spur of the moment--we are now firm believers in reservations.  Carol Morrison of Costa Mesa, Ca October 30, 2000   see No. Italy recommendations above Solo Serendipity with NO Reservations   I had a wonderful visit to England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. I very much enjoyed deciding where to go next, calling ahead for a B&B and then jumping on the train or ferry with my Brit/Ireland Pass. Everyone was most friendly, and helpful (especially the B&B owners and rail personnel.)   The spontaneity of my trip allowed me to get off the tourist map. I met a man in West Wales who became my friend and guide around the lovely Pembrokshire coast....And so I discovered some of my Welsh heritage and am now known as the "Welsh Hawaiian lady"!   Thanks for all your friendly advice. Lots of fond memories! Rosemary Jones—Big island I would like to add my comments!              Top of Page

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