I conquered Paris and London this past weekend and let me tell you the differences in the hostels we stayed at are incredible.
In Paris we stayed at a hostel called AIJ PARIS.
In Paris we stayed at a hostel called AIJ PARIS.
I will already say that this hostel was a MISS and I do not recommend staying at it if you plan on visiting Paris. Minus it being very close to the metro which is easy to take to reach all the touristy parts of the city, a friendly front desk staff and free breakfast in the mornings, the problems we endured outweighed anything else that was good about our stay.
Sure a hostel room doesn't need to be five stars because after all you are primarily there to sleep after being out and about exploring the country or city you are in, but that doesn't mean the room you sleep in should be a disaster. That is exactly why I would not recommend this hostel to anyone traveling to Paris. Christine, Risa, Jen and I were excited to have booked a private four bed hostel with a bathroom included, but the excitement quickly vanished once we began to become more acquainted with the room.
Sure a hostel room doesn't need to be five stars because after all you are primarily there to sleep after being out and about exploring the country or city you are in, but that doesn't mean the room you sleep in should be a disaster. That is exactly why I would not recommend this hostel to anyone traveling to Paris. Christine, Risa, Jen and I were excited to have booked a private four bed hostel with a bathroom included, but the excitement quickly vanished once we began to become more acquainted with the room.
A list of reasons why I will not be staying here again:
London on the other hand was definitely an upgrade from AIJ PARIS.
In London we stayed at a hostel called ASTOR HYDE PARK.
- For a room for four people, there was only ONE electrical outlet - ONLY ONE. And to make it worse it was in the middle of the wall so when we plugged in our phones or camera battery chargers the cord would hang from the wall with no ledge to put the phone or camera on top of. This resulted in us having to stack our bags so our electronics wouldn't break.
- The bathroom didn't have hand soap or any counter space on the sink to place make-up and other items when getting ready; also no electrical outlet in the bathroom.
- The room was poorly lit in the main area where we slept; we had to keep the bathroom door open and turn on the two lights in there in order to see better.
- The wi-fi was very spotty and required you to keep logging in every time you wanted to access it.
- and finally the last reason why this hostel isn't worth staying at...the shower. You had to push the knob in to start the water. Sounds easy enough right? Well imagine taking a shower and pushing the knob in, adjusting the water to warm, only to realize that five seconds after, the water shuts off and in order to complete your shower you either need to have a friend hold the knob down for you (I did this for one of my travel buddies) or you basically have to lean one side of your body against the knob so there's a continuous flow of water. Taking a shower shouldn't be that much work and it definitely took longer.
London on the other hand was definitely an upgrade from AIJ PARIS.
In London we stayed at a hostel called ASTOR HYDE PARK.
This is the last hostel I will have stayed at during my study abroad semester. We booked four beds in a 12 person mixed room and the set up was unlike any other hostel I'd stayed in. There was an upstairs and a downstairs both filled with beds. Jen and I called the upstairs beds!
This hostel included:
My only two complaints about this hostel were that for those of us upstairs there was no electrical outlet to use; there were only four outlets located on the bottom floor and the wi-fi didn't connect in the bedroom. Two minor details considering the nightmare of a room we had in Paris.
Astor Hyde Park is a HIT and I would definitely consider staying there a second time when I come back to London!
- Very friendly and efficient front desk staff - available 24/7
- A large and comfy lounge room and dining area with a full kitchen
- Free breakfast in the morning
- Lockers in the rooms - located under the beds
- A big bathroom in the bedroom with additional sink on the outside in case regular bathroom was in use
- Lots of outlets to charge electronics in the lounge room and dining area
- Fast wi-fi
My only two complaints about this hostel were that for those of us upstairs there was no electrical outlet to use; there were only four outlets located on the bottom floor and the wi-fi didn't connect in the bedroom. Two minor details considering the nightmare of a room we had in Paris.
Astor Hyde Park is a HIT and I would definitely consider staying there a second time when I come back to London!