Hostels are available in many large Russian cities. Some travel lovers are afraid to rent rooms in such establishments, considering them to be almost shelters for homeless people. However, such fears are often more or less unfounded. You can settle down with relative comfort in such a mini-hotel. So what is a hostel and how do you live there?
A hostel itself is a guest house that offers tourists a minimum of amenities at a very attractive price. In Russia, hostels are usually set up in former hostels or just large apartments.
More expensive or cheaper?
The question of what a hostel is and how to live there interests many travelers. But in any case, when choosing such a hotel, the first step is to decide, of course, with the price of a bed. Accommodation in the most inexpensive hostel, for example, in Moscow will cost tourists 200-300 rubles per day. In such a hotel, guests are offered mainly only the bed itself (they are bunk here), a shower, a kitchen and a bathroom. In most cases, guests of this type of hotel can use washing machines only for a fee. On the websites of tour operators, the description of such hostels usually indicates the presence of WiFi. But in reality, the network in hotels of this type is either very weak, or there is none at all.
When booking a place in a very cheap hostel, be sure to ask if there are any utensils in its kitchen. If it is not there, you will have to take pots and pans with you on a trip or buy on the spot.
Be that as it may, it is worth checking into a very cheap hostel only in case of emergency. And, of course, you should definitely first read the reviews about the chosen hostel. According to the reviews available on the Internet, it is still quite convenient to stay in new hotels of this type. In old mini-hotels, travelers can wait for tattered walls, all sorts of unpleasant insects and "broken-down" wobbly beds.
More expensive hostels differ from very cheap ones, first of all, in more comfortable, not wobbly and not hard beds. Beds in such hotels are usually complemented by curtains, which provide guests with at least a minimum of individual space. WiFi in such hostels (400-700 rubles) is usually more or less good. Provided here guests and utensils for cooking.
Of course, in big cities today there are also hostels offering tourists rooms and more than 700-800 rubles. But taking them off, as many travel lovers believe, doesn't make much sense. In this case, it is easier to look for a cheap regular hotel. Then you don't have to look for an answer to the question of what a hostel is and how to live in it. But if you can't find a cheap hotel, you can, of course, consider a hostel as an option. For 700-900 rubles per day, tourists in a hostel will most likely be offered a room with regular rather than bunk beds. But tenants of such rooms with a high degree of probability will still have to use a shared bathroom and shower room on the floor.
How to live in a hostel
So, we found out what a hostel is. But how can you live there more or less comfortably? Of course, when staying in such a hotel, the traveler, like in any other hotel, will have to follow some rules. Smoking, for example, is prohibited in all such hostels. Unfortunately, in cheap hostels this rule is often violated by guests. But there are also very inexpensive hotels of this type, on the territory of which the guests do not allow themselves to smoke (they just go out into the courtyard).
Travelers wishing to rent a cheap hostel should be aware that there is usually a "dry law" in such complexes. When checking in, guests can take a subscription stating that they will not bring alcohol and drugs to the hotel territory (under the threat of eviction without refunding the funds deposited). However, the "dry law", of course, is also not observed in all such hotels. Hostels are often home to teams of workers. And some residents "live" in such hotels for a very long time and manage to make friends. Such guests can from time to time arrange a feast on the territory of the hotel. And often the administrators of the hostel, if the guests celebrating the "salary" or the "day off" do not openly spoil the property of the hotel, do not stick to other residents and do not fight, turn a blind eye to this.
Of course, having a party behind the wall (and soundproofing in hostels is usually not very good due to the love of their owners for drywall) at night is not a pleasant pleasure. But, at least, in the room to the guests having a rest, most likely, none of the feasting will be bursting. In addition, if the drinking is repeated often, it will be possible to rent another cheap hostel and simply move, demanding the owners to return the money paid for the bed. In order to reduce the risk of losing funds to a minimum, you also just need to pay in an unfamiliar hotel for no more than 15 days of stay at once.
Instead of a conclusion
So, we hope that we have more or less detailed the answer to the main question of our article - what is a hostel and how to live in it. Of course, in terms of comfort level, such hotels are much inferior to ordinary hotels. But you can still spend a night here, or maybe even a couple of weeks, with relative comfort. The main thing is, of course, to take a closer look at the choice of the hostel itself and be sure to read reviews about it on the Internet.
