A Somewhat Horrendous Hostel

by sarahcoggrave

No one expects luxury when they book a hostel bed.

Whilst the quality of such establishments varies considerably, the most any visitor can reasonably expect is somewhere to sleep, wash and store their stuff.

During my trip I experienced huge discrepancies – in the US, the hostels I stayed in felt more like hotels. In Vienna my hotel was a cross between a hotel and a hostel. Likewise I was impressed by the hostel in Geneva. In Athens some of the smaller hotels were as cheap as hostels anyway, whereas in Rome I was lucky that the hostel I stayed in was mostly empty. Seville was clean, but the noise and layout were ridiculous. I’ve stayed in various hostels in Europe previously, including several naff ones in the UK and a fabulous one in Budapest.

However, Hostel of the Sun in Naples, is officially, THE worst hostel I have ever had the misfortune to stay in.

Undoubtedly there are far worse hostels out there – I studied reviews fastidiously on Hostelbookers and elsewhere before making my bookings (although this was one of the few I booked on Expedia), and presumably avoided some of the worse hostels out there. However, in Naples I spent just one night in my chosen accommodation before escaping. I very nearly left earlier than that.

I arrived early, knowing that my room would not be ready yet. I paid at the desk. The lady I spoke to was rather rude, but at the time I thought little of this.

First impressions in general were certainly not good. The hostel is quite literally squeezed within an inch of its life onto one tiny floor (although I think there was another floor I didn’t get to see, maybe that was better?). A grubby, cramped common room filled with the earsplitting tones of a continuously blaring radio; noisy, rude people, and only a couple of toilets/showers for the entire place. One toilet didn’t work. The facilities were not clean. The kitchen likewise was tiny and untidy, with insufficent seating or space, and the eight bed mixed dorm was dark and dingy, the lockers didn’t seem particularly robust, and the room was overheated.

It was a relief to spend the remainder of the afternoon exploring Naples, but as darkness fell, as a solo traveller, I didn’t feel safe wandering the streets without the comforting presence of daylight. So, I returned to my dorm, right next to the packed, rather claustrophic common room.

As the evening drew on, the music and noise grew louder still – mine wasn’t the only dorm to back onto the common room; they all did. Noise was transmitted through paper thin walls and there was little privacy or quiet to be had anywhere.

Night time, however, introduced a whole new level of torture.

The lounge/kitchen area doubled as a bar and party area. Cue headsplitting, pumping dance music, loud voices, drunken people wandering in and out of the dorm throughout the night. The ‘partying’ continued well into the early hours. I was really tired, and several of my unfortunate roommates seemed so too – two Japanese visitors, who, like myself had seemingly sought an early night in vain.

At one point I sought refuge in the dark street outside.

In spite of the fact that Naples is not renowned for its nighttime safety, I felt better, and calmer outside than in that tin can hostel. I wandered a little and queried room prices in some nearby hotels. Due to earlier frugality I thankfully had some euros to spare for emergencies such as this. However, most of the places I found were either full or too expensive. In despair I returned, plugged in my phone and tried to listen to relaxing music. But nothing could drown out the noise of the thumping dance music, or the constant comings and goings of drunken men wielding beer bottles – I’m not even sure whether all of them were staying in my dorm or not. Very unsettling.

Needless to say, no sleep was had. As I said, the party ended in the early hours, but fragments of conversations continued beyond that, and at 5am, I got up, had some food, and went on another hotel search.

Naples in the early morning is a sea of broken glass and dubious figures wandering. I felt even less safe than I had done in Athens, during my pre-dawn walk to the bus stop. The city, wrecked by a night of partying, was a mess. Rubbish everywhere, abandoned bottles and cans, and an unfortunate team of street cleaners actually raking up the carnage into piles.

Still semi-dark, I went into hotel after hotel.

No spaces, or beyond my budget. Eventually I was all the way back at the station, where I found, finally, an affordable hotel. The proprietor only spoke a few words of English, and my Italian only stretches to basic greetings such as hello and goodbye. Somehow I parted with the necessary €40, obtained a surprisingly luxurious room (double bed, shower, fridge, cupboards etc) and returned to the dreaded hostel to pick up my remaining luggage.

When I announced my departure, the guy on reception at the hostel didn’t seem to give a damn about losing a guest.

I tried to point out that it wasn’t fair to have no limits on noise at night, and relayed my feelings that the rooms were not safe, but as seems to be the case in hostels like this – they simply want to shove as many people in the beds as possible, get them to buy their booze and provide minimal upkeep to the facilities.

Thank goodness none of the other hostels I stayed in were as bad as this.

Avoid this hostel. You can get a hotel room in Naples for a reasonable price. I wish I’d done this to begin with.

See also:

From Rome To Naples: By Train

Europe

Beginning At The End