hostelling international card?

[virgicin]

Hello, i have a new question. ive been looking for hostels in hostelworld.com because each hostel has a score, and some reviews... besides that, can anyone tell me some of the hostels you've stayed at in any of these cities that you found clean and nice? (just to have a few more places) . just so you know we plan on staying in 3 beds rooms or maybe 4.
the cities are:
barcelona
paris
bruges
berlin
prague
vienna
budapest

my other doubt is about the hi card..i dont really understand how it works... ive seen their hostels in their webpage. there, those hostels have a price. when i look for them in hostelworld, the same price appears...the thing i dont understand is what advantage does it have if its the same price if i book it without a card? besides that, reviews of those hostels in hostelworld arent very good... what do you think??

thanks for everything, and if you find mistakes in my english, remember im from argentina... ;D

[pointofnoreturn]

I only stayed at Appihotel in Paris. We paid $35CAD each for a twin ensuite room. Very nicely decorated and in a quiet neighborhood while being a short walk to the metro in the 2e arrondissement. The only downside is the fact that there's no internet (breakfast is available but you'll have to pay for it) and it's in a bit of a dodgy area. Neverless, I'd recommend it. I am not sure if they have dorms but if you type in "Appihotel" in the hostelworld search box, you can find out.

I didn't stay in any of the other cities that you listed so I am not sure.

I don't think a HI card is necessary. Unless you're planning on travelling for a long time, it's not worth the money.

You need to take the reviews in hostelworld with a grain of salt. These reviews are from the last 6 months so the reviews might be out of balance. Just look for a common pattern in the reviews. If almost all the reviews say that the hostel was crappy, then don't book with them. But if one out of 10 reviews says it's bad, then it should be fine. Everyone has their own preferences.

[virgicin]

thanks...the hotel looks ok...i didnt find in hostelworld, but it has a web page...whats dodgy?

[pointofnoreturn]

Here's Appihotel's link on Hostelworld:

www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Appihotel-Paris-13629?

They do have a 3-bed room with a private bathroom for 25 euros per person.

The place itself is very clean and well-managed. It's just the neighborhood that's a bit sketchy. It's on rue Saint-Denis which is kind of a sex district. There were a few sex shops but I didn't experience any problems whatsoever. I'd just avoid walking around there at nighttime (or any part of Paris to speak of) and that's coming from a female traveller.

However, I'd still recommend this place for its price and the sizes of the rooms.

[me]

sketchy means unsafe, suspect, untrustworthy & dodgy means not sound or unreliable. both are pejorative words with basically the same meaning.

English has a huge vocabulary. that makes it hard for non-native speakers (many native speakers, too) to get a good grasp of it all.

[patrickt]

In Berlin, I stayed in the "A&O Hostel City West" (that's how it's listed on Hostelworld)...

It's LITERALLY across the street from the train station, which (for me) was always nice, so I didn't spend half my day or a huge chunk of change on tubes or taxis... I liked it. I remember it being clean with a friendly staff. It's also within a short walking distance to cheap eats and local transport.

That's pretty much the only hostel I stayed in in the cities you listed which I could truhfully recommend.

Have fun!!!

[me]

patrickt said:

In Berlin, I stayed in the "A&O Hostel City West" (that's how it's listed on Hostelworld)...

It's LITERALLY across the street from the train station,

just to clarify, i looked this place up just now, it's across from the Zoo Station, not Berlin's new Main Train Station.

Zoo Station was the main train hub in West Berlin, so it still has the subway & streetcar connections. but, is it still as important a hub these days? [haven't been to Berlin for a few years]

- d

[herrbert]

me said:

patrickt said:

In Berlin, I stayed in the "A&O Hostel City West" (that's how it's listed on Hostelworld)...

It's LITERALLY across the street from the train station,

just to clarify, i looked this place up just now, it's across from the Zoo Station, not Berlin's new Main Train Station.

Zoo Station was the main train hub in West Berlin, so it still has the subway & streetcar connections. but, is it still as important a hub these days? [haven't been to Berlin for a few years]

- d

It still is one of the bigger stations in (West-)Berlin. Ofcourse the new Hauptbahnhof takes away some of the traffic that first went there, but I believe that most nighttrains, and trains going to the countries in the East (Poland, Ukraine) are starting their journey at Zoo Station (or Zoologischer Garten)

But to get back to the question: in Berlin I stayed at the Circus, and I would recommend it. There is a metrostation just across the street (and a great Mexican restaurant as well).

(and for any hostel: take earplugs along)

[virgicin]

thanks, i ve read most of the posts here and i think we might choose the circus (seems to be everyone´s favorite). thanks for the info though...