7 hostel horrors and how to deal with them

ROWDY roommates, filthy bathrooms and being too close for comfort. Here are some of the most common hostel dramas, and tricks that could help ease the pain. Blanket fort, anyone?

Here’s what you need to know in order to cope with a hostel stay. Picture: Henry Burrows

CHEAP, fun and social. There’s no doubt that hostels are handy places to stay at while you’re exploring the world.

What’s more, hostels these days are more likely to provide better services and amenities to avoid being hit with negative online reviews. However, some places may still fail to live up to expectations, and there will always be some irritations that arise from communal living.

So from bad roommates to mouldy showers, travel website Skyscanner.com.au looks at some of the most common hostel horrors and how to handle them.

1. The room is too small/overcrowded

You check in and get shown to your eight-bed dorm-room only to discover that the beds have been crammed into a shoebox-sized room. You knew you would have to share the space but you weren’t expecting to be THAT close to a stranger within five minutes of meeting.

How to cope: Turn your bed into a blanket fort. It’s horribly claustrophobic but a welcome alternative to constantly bumping shoulders with people. Use your pillows and backpack to create “walls”, and hang up clothing over your bed for privacy. If anything, a shambolic room is a good excuse to get out and about as much as possible.

It’s a blanket fort! Picture: Lorena Cupcake

Another attempt at a blanket fort. Picture: Jessica Weimar

2. The food thief

You know the deal. Those juicy cherries you bought at the market, which you had labelled and placed in the fridge, have vanished, likely to another traveller’s stomach (or backpack). Then there’s the missing muffins and chocolate ... sigh. Beware the communal fridge thief!

How to cope: Sometimes taking someone else’s food can be a genuine mistake — so if you have to store food in a shared kitchen, label it as clearly as possible and store it at the back of the fridge/cupboard. However if you want to make sure you are never left foodless, all you can do is cook and eat it as you go. Or eat out.

Beware of food thieves.

3. The filthy bathroom

The inexperienced backpacker’s nightmare, this is somewhat an inevitability for the seasoned traveller. Even in the most well looked-after hostels, you never know what mess another backpacker has made before you. And in some hostels it is simply down to bad housekeeping.

How to cope: Ensure you have a soap bag with some essentials — flip flops, wet wipes, hand sanitiser and a foot towel. This may not seem like much but can make the experience of a mouldy shower a (tad) more bearable. And mind the toilet!

Mind the shower. Scary stuff.

4. The unexpected location

So you’ve arrived at your destination, feeling happy that you’ve got a bed pre-booked in a hostel with good reviews at a budget price. But wait — how many stops away from the train station is it? Oh dear, better put on the walking shoes ...

Let’s face it, a hostel that isn’t slap bang in the centre of town might exaggerate a little about its proximity to the biggest attractions. It’s something many of us fall foul to at some point in our travels. It can put a bit of a dampener on the start of a trip, knowing that you will be sacrificing time and money to visit places you thought were a stone’s throw away.

Tips: There isn’t really anything you can do about it (unless you want to lose your deposit and search for a new hostel). The best thing you can do is see the positives. You may have ended up further off the beaten track than you were hoping for, but it means you can see a side to a city that few others will. Try out the local cafes or bars, mingle with the locals and get some authentic (and usually much cheaper) food from the surrounding restaurants.

5. Noisy roommates

Aren’t they the worst? The people who seem to have no concept of manners, let alone noise levels. They pick inappropriate times of day to stomp around, having loud discussions and treat the room like it’s their own.

How to cope: Use earplugs or your iPod. These two items will help get you through many an aggravating situation — or at least make it more bearable. It’s a heck of a lot easier than getting into an argument with someone. They also work a treat if you end up in a party hostel or a room that looks out onto a main street in the centre of town.

Longing for some peace and quiet? A hostel isn’t for you.

6. Friendly roommates (bear with us on this one)

As nice as the people you are sharing with may seem, remember that they are still strangers. As nice as it is to believe in a “traveller’s code of conduct”, it can be easy to fall into a false sense of security and put your trust in people you know nothing about, only to later regret it when your valuables go missing.

How to cope: Always use lockers when they are available and carry a padlock with you to lock them up with, as many hostels don’t actually provide them. Try to avoid taking valuables with you, unless the only place you could leave them is under your pillow! No matter how cosy a situation may feel, always keep your wits about you and exercise extra caution when staying in shared rooms. A little bit of paranoia is better than a stolen laptop.

7. Constant farewells

You meet a fellow traveller and really hit it off, but time flies and soon you’re forced to say adios. It’s a sad reality of being constantly on the go.

How to cope: We live in the 21st century, arrange to keep in touch online. Although you may not have been pals for life, having some point of contact with someone you meet means you’ll have a local tour guide if you ever decide to visit the country they are from. These chance encounters with fellow adventurers make all the irritations of being in a hostel incredibly worthwhile!

For more travel tips visit Skyscanner.com.au.