It’s not often that I get to enjoy live music with my morning coffee, but in New Orleans the soulful guitar feels apt. A woman opposite me is furiously scribbling in a paperback copy of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road as she munches on cereal, while a posh young Brit in Mardi Gras beads chats up a couple of giggling French girls by the toaster.
So far, so similar to my student hostelling experiences two decades ago, except that the musician is recording a performance for his YouTube channel and absolutely no one is smoking rollies or sitting on a rucksack. In fact, the communal areas of the HI Hostel New Orleans — in a newly renovated Victorian building on the edge of the French Quarter that was previously home to the notoriously exclusive Pickwick private members’ club — look much like a funky boutique hotel, with leather sofas, lush house plants and a pool table. It’s only upstairs that you realise half the doors off the hallways are stylishly white-tiled bathrooms rather than bedrooms and remember you’ll be sleeping with seven strangers tonight (dorms from £21, hihostels.com).
I know, I know, when you’re no longer 19 and privacy feels like a luxury you’ve earned this probably sounds like hell. But having stayed in four hostels in the US in the past month I can vouch for them as far more pleasant and wallet-friendly experiences than the various budget motels on offer. Maybe, as the Californian teacher I chat with while folding my laundry suggests, because America has less of a hostel culture than Europe they simply have to work harder here. The red tape hasn’t helped — for example, a 2010 ruling in New York City designed to curb illegal hotels inadvertently restricted hostels.
Certainly American hostels have changed a bit in the past two decades. They’ve dropped the “youth” tag for a start, and middle-aged me now sits squarely in the middle of the guest demographic. In Santa Cruz, California, I shared a dorm with a woman who had recently retired and was “finally free to travel” and a 23-year-old Texan taking time out before embarking on the career in law that her immigrant parents had dreamt of her having. “One year exploring the world first won’t hurt,” the older woman urged as we got ready for bed. “Do a ski season in Colorado like I did in the Seventies.”
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Sure, hostels still have their fair share of guests who want to stay out late and snooze away the morning, but the establishments have responded to the more diverse customer needs by making an effort to ensure that everyone gets a good night’s sleep.
In Santa Barbara, for example, the ingenious use of a white-noise machine in the dorm at ITH Santa Barbara Beach Hostel (from £54; ithhostels.com) helped me to nod off like a cosseted baby, as I remarked to one of my roommates over free breakfast pancakes. “Me too,” she agreed. “I thought I was alone in there this morning until I saw all the shoes”.
For the most part you don’t wake up face to face with your neighbour, either — this isn’t boarding school. At the hostel in New Orleans bunks are fitted with a curtain; once drawn, you’re in your own capsule-hotel-like space, complete with bedside lamp, USB charger and cubbyhole for night-time necessities; secure storage for bags is in a large adjacent locker and spotless white bed linen is provided. The Green Tortoise hostel in San Francisco goes a step further, providing sturdy yet flexible screens at the head of each bed (from £28; greentortoisesf.com).
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Along with value for money, cleanliness is one of the principal selling points of the hostels where I’ve stayed. I paid £148 for a night at an independent motel on an an unfashionable part of the Californian coast, with a floor that left my feet so filthy I had to wash them again before going to bed. By comparison, four nights at the HI Hostel — where everything is immaculate, the bathrooms are checked regularly and the stainless-steel kitchen is well managed, with plenty of equipment and a very orderly communal fridge — set me back £84, including breakfast and wi-fi.
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In addition, my HI roomies seem scrupulous about keeping it that way, unlike at the big-chain Motel 6 I used in rural Texas, where the renovation project (not mentioned at the time of booking) encouraged guests to dump their rubbish in the corridor along with the building materials. I only paid £69 for a night there, but it was still a lot extra just for the privilege of being able to watch TV in my underwear should I so wish.
Even if you splash out and upgrade to a private room at a hostel (£90 in New Orleans; £75 in San Francisco), the social aspect is fun to dip into, especially if you’re travelling solo — many offer walking tours and bar crawls, while some in California can arrange surfing lessons and those in the Big Easy may have trips to see live jazz.
This morning, however, the music has come to me. You definitely don’t get that at a Comfort Inn.
Five stylish hostels in our favourite US cities
By Lucy Thackray
1. Stay Open Venice Beach, Los Angeles
This pod hotel, where guests sleep in bunk-bed-sized compartments with sliding doors, is partly inspired by the space-saving capsule hotels found in Tokyo. In a high-ceilinged, light-flooded communal room, each pod has a comfy mattress and bedding, as well as storage compartments, adjustable lighting, device charging points and (for some) a small workspace. As well as championing affordable beds in generally pricey LA, Stay Open also wants to promote a sense of community — its communal lounge has low-slung sofas and soft rugs; the shared kitchen is perfect for cups of tea and home-chopped salads; and there’s a help-yourself bookshelf. Venice Beach is right outside the front door.
Details Room-only single pods from £50 (stayopen.com)
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2. Viajero, Miami Beach
Opened in November 2021, this hostel is in the art deco district of South Beach, with a design that channels the city’s rich Latin culture (bright tropical murals around the outdoor pool, pastel and palm-print spaces inside). Aimed at backpackers and digital nomads, it has dorms of four, six and eight beds, as well as a few private rooms. You can network and meet new friends around the pool, in the house cocktail bar, over table tennis or on the rooftop terrace. It’s the first US outpost for this Latin American brand, which also has hostels in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
Details Room-only bunks in an eight-person mixed dorm from £36 (viajerohostels.com)
3. Found Hotel, Boston
A cool “poshtel” concept mixing private doubles with shared bunk-bed dorms, Found’s communal rooms are super-smart: there is wi-fi, the beds are panelled with glossy woods and toiletries are complimentary. Guests also get a locker designed with small wheelie cases and backpacks in mind. It’s in a handsome red-brick building dating from 1877 in the smart and historic Bay Village neighbourhood, known for the friendliness of its residents and its central location. For tourists that means being close to Boston Common, the Public Garden and the charming Beacon Hill district. Common areas in the hostel are limited, but there’s a helpful front desk and the bathroom facilities are head and shoulders above those of most hostels.
Details Room-only bunks from £33 (foundhotels.com)
4. Nap York Central Park 24/7, New York
The homegrown start-up Nap York opened its first sleep pods — only available to reserve by the hour — in 2018. Now the Central Park outpost, opened in 2021, offers bunks in shared rooms. In black-painted steel with fabric curtains, they have soothing, starry-sky lighting on their upper panels, aimed at giving guests a peaceful night’s kip. The wider property has a kitchen, seats for co-working, shared bathrooms and a policy of creating a calm, relaxing environment. Its super-central location — on the corner of 8th Avenue and West 56th Street — is close to Columbus Circle, Central Park and the museums and theatres of Midtown. You can go as no-frills as you like here, adding an extra blanket or a towel for £4 or bringing your own (use of the washer and dryer is £8).
Details Room-only bunks from £65 (napyork.com)
5. HighRoad Hotel, Washington DC
Opened in 2016 and renovated in 2022, this is a thoroughly modern hostel in the US capital. With a top location in the sociable Adams Morgan neighbourhood, it has spacious bunks with blackout curtains, storage areas, USB charging points and full-sized lockers — papered with bright hibiscus-flower wallpaper — for each occupant. Female-only or mixed dorms give solo travellers plenty of options, and common areas include a well-equipped shared kitchen, large fridge, laundry facilities and a lounge area. In an older building with the perks of a foodie, residential neighbourhood, HighRoad has a homier feel than some of the new-build city hostels you’ll find in urban centres.
Details Room-only bunks from £69 (highroadhotel.com)
What are your experiences of staying in hostels? Let us know your favourites in the comments below
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