what hostels + number of ppl per room

[ghady]

Hey all..

As I'm getting closer to reserving everything, I need to make sure that the hostels I've chosen are fairly decent...and also, FUN. I'm travel with a buddy of mine.

Berlin: 2 or 3 nights (I'm not sure. If someone can give me some advice on this, I'd be VERY grateful). I decided to stay in Circus.

Amsterdam: 2 nights. Staying at theFlying Pig.

Paris: 4 nights. This is where I'm not so sure. I've heard good things about Peace and Love, Le Village, and Mary's, but nothing solid. What do you guys think? I'd want a place in or right next to downtown. I tried looking at reviews, but I'd feel more comfortable with your opinions.

Barcelona: 4 nights. Staying at Kabul.

Are these good choices?

Also, while booking, I've noticed that there's like a two-dollar difference between 8-ppl and 5-ppl rooms. Should I just pay the extra 2 bucks and get the room with less people? Would that be generally safer?

thanks!

[ghady]

oh and...i'm looking for places with NO curfews and NO lockouts

[herrbert]

I can't tell you a lot on the other cities, but for Berlin make it three nights, and yes the Circus is an excellent choice. They also serve a breakfast buffet (not included in the price), which is good, but also a little bit expensive, but that would be my only minor negative point about the Circus.

At the circus you will get a pass. with this pass you can enter the room, but you can also enter the building during the night. (Check out the Mexican across the street for a decent and cheap meal, you will also get a discount, there, and at some other places). They also have a bar in the cellar, but I would prefer, checking out the city, as Berlin has a lot to offer at night. Check out the nearby Machinehaus (a.k.a. Kesselhaus) at the Kulturbrauerei, if you like Live-music.

The U-bahn (Metro) has a station at the junction where you can find the Circus, and there is also a tramstop, so you make good use of the excellent public transport in Berlin.

As for all hostels, bring your earplugs, you never know if somebody next to you decides to start a logging company during the night.

[ghady]

sounds great!!

i've been doing a little research, and i realized that there's more than one flying pig! which one's better, uptown or downtown?? (im more inclined to favor the latter tho cuz of really good reviews on hostelworld.com and bcs it's like right IN the red light district)

and i still can't make up my mind about paris cuz all the reviews are always mixed! i want something close to downtown, though..

[madamtrashheap]

ghady, when you say "downtown Paris" where are you thinking of? Paris is pretty spread out so if you want to be near the sights like Notre Dame and the Left Bank, they are at the opposite end of the city to say the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. The Metro in Paris is easy to navigate and most of the main sights have a Metro (or RER) stop located next to them, so pick a place that you like the sound of in terms of accommodation and know that getting around won't be too hard.

From your list, I'd suggest Le Village as it's located in Montmartre which is great for cheap-but-good restaurants and is near the artists quartier on the hill, plus Sacre Coeur. If that doesn't suit, you could look at www.timhotel.com for the TimHotel properties, as they have good locations but they might be above your preferred budget.

[WillTravel]

I'm pretty sure Le Village has a lockout.

[madamtrashheap]

According to this: www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/LeVillage-Paris-606 there is no lockout, but that may have changed. Anyone with recent experience?

[ghady]

they do have a lockout, turns out..

i guess im left with peace&love and mary's.. my friend and i are 20..

does one of them have "prettier" scenary? as in parks etc? cuz if i can get anywhere anytime, it's fine...

although, it would be cool to be right next to the eiffel tower.. so i dunno.. and i need to book places like next week..

[madamtrashheap]

Another case of not believing what you read on a hostel website! Well, they're out then!!!

Mary's is in the 20th district so isn't central but is near a Metro stop and Pere Lachaise cemetery. Peace & Love is not exactly in a "park-laden" part of town, maybe the odd fenced piece of grass, but public transport (Gare du Nord and RER stop) is very close - always a bonus. I you want to be in the action (ie in town) then maybe look at the Young and Happy Hostel in the Latin Quarter (gets mixed reviews though, so your choice) or for something very different (no bookings taken!) you could be down amongst the books at Shakespeare & Co bookstore, also in the Latin Quarter. I stayed in the hotel just near it (many years ago) called Hotel Esmeralda (also not a bad choice, very eclectic with some rooms having views of Notre Dame, but has gone up in price and not a secret anymore) but was intrigued that you could doss between book shelves and apparently people still do it. The bonus of this area is the markets down the little street that runs of the St-Michel statue (to the right if you're looking at the statue) and lots of cheap eats can be found.

Or, for proximity to the Eiffel Tower (well, you asked! ;D) you could look at Aloha Hostel (there have been reviews on GFE and posts pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=Accommodation&action=display&n=1&thread=6627 and pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=Accommodation&action=display&n=1&thread=6624 ). Otherwise, here's a sample of the costs of 2 star hotels near the Eiffel - clearly not as cheap as a hostel, but it's all about location! www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hoods/near-eiffel-tower.html

Hope that helps you decide!

[WillTravel]

I got confused by this a few months ago as well, but it turns out there's a Marys Hotel in the 11th arrondisement on Rue de Malte, and this is the one that most budget travelers here are referring to, rather than the one in the 20th.

[madamtrashheap]

Ah yes, I remember the post as I too only though there was one Mary's in Paris...so I had to find the post to clear things up: pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=Accommodation&action=display&n=1&thread=6632.

[ghady]

oh god! wow.. now i've got TOO many options!

ill look over these with my friend and decide

thanks a lot madamtrashheap! you're quite the expert guide!