Author Topic: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?  (Read 1475 times)

robb

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Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« on: 13:37:38, 30/07/19 »
I've just come back from a enjoyable 5 day trip to the Isle of Man and managed to see the usual tourist sights again (I first went 20 years ago and fancied a break away from the heatwave.) Finally reached the summit of Snaefell with a little help from the train, but walked back down via the North Barrule ridgeline to Ballure.


This is where things took a downwards turn as I was booked in to the only YHA (unofficial) on the island for 2 nights, and to say it was underwhelming is a overstatement. I wasn't expecting much for £15 per night but walking into the bunkhouse was like a scene from the Green Mile. Dead flies all over the cafeteria tables, spiders all crawling around in the room, left-overs from the last occupant/s, the room itself was nothing more than a converted horse-stable with no amenities. Perhaps it was just bad luck but i've stayed at YHA hostels in the past and they were vastly superior in terms of cleanliness and living arrangements. I only managed the one night and left ASAP in the morning deciding to fork out on a costlier hotel instead, which turned out to be the better option given that on Sunday it did nothing but rain all day.


Has anyone else got similar horror stories to this? and what are the consumer rights in such a situation, surely there must be some kind of H&S breach with regards to dead flies strewn across the eating quarters and lack of heating.     

Ridge

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #1 on: 14:11:37, 30/07/19 »
When you say YHA unofficial what does that mean? I don't think that there is a YHA on the Isle of Man is there?

robb

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #2 on: 14:43:38, 30/07/19 »
I believe it qualifies under YHA status in terms of rating but being on the Isle of Man it's not an official YHA accommodation, as it's more closely run by the Activity Center where it's located. At least that's what the official website for the center states although there was a 'Youth Hostel' sign outside of the main building.


Regardless of what the facilities state, there was no pre-arranged breakfasts or lunches, no heating, and no wifi available.
https://independenthostels.co.uk/members/maugholdventurecentrebunkhouse/

Owen

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #3 on: 15:09:45, 30/07/19 »
Independent hostel, it says so in the web link. Not YHA.

ninthace

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #4 on: 15:42:22, 30/07/19 »
A friend and I stayed in the Youth Hostel near Laxey Wheel almost 50 years ago.
Sadly it is no more, although the building is still there  We walked up Snaefell from there by "the direct route".
« Last Edit: 15:46:58, 30/07/19 by ninthace »
Solvitur Ambulando

Slogger

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #5 on: 16:34:47, 30/07/19 »
Weve had two really bad Hotel experiences, nothing to do with walking however just the usual tourist thing.!. Driving back down from John O Groats we decided to stay overnight in Stonehaven. Everything ok when we checked in but after returning after an evening meal etcc we found the hotel full of Drunken Glaswegian dockers. Charging up and down the hall all night, shouting, swearing and the manager trying to evict non payers who had sneaked in and threatening to call the police. Little sleep was had and by the looks of other guests they had experienced the same, then the dockers arrived for breakfast and began boasting about their drunken exploits. In hindsight I should have demanded a discount, but we just wanted to get away as fast as possible. It put my wife off Scotland for many years afterwards.2. Again kept wake by a group of partying students from Essex University, in the room across the hall. Pure bedlum, shouting and whooping for hours, chanting "get naked, get naked" over and over again. Ramada Hotel too, and not cheap.

gunwharfman

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #6 on: 17:58:48, 30/07/19 »
My worst experience was in the YHA, Keswick, about 3 or 4 years ago. I was walking the Cumbria Way from Carlisle and felt unwell so booked in to get a good sleep. I entered the small room, 3 x 2 story bunks. I could see that the bottom bunks were taken, clothes and equipment were lying on them. About 5.00pm I climbed up on the top of one of them and fell asleep. Sometime later, it was now dark, I was hazily aware that people had quietly come into the room and there was a bit of shuffling around.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my ankle, I woke instantly and qall I could her was a man shouting in the gloom "He's taken my bed, I'm going to 'effin' kill him!" He then switched on the light, he was white, bald, middle-aged, slim had a northern accent and was about my height, 5' 5'. He then started RANTING "I'm going to 'F' kill him" over and over again. Looking back, I know that my career work in the mental health field helped me a lot. I didn't panic, I tried to grab the initiative. I knew he had some kind of aggressive/mental health issue, that was obvious so I shouted above him "don't worry mate, you can have your bed, I'll come down and get in the other one!"

It didn't work, he refused, turned the light off and I heard him climb to the top of one of the other bunk beds, by now muttering "I'm going to kill him" and making lots of noise shuffling about and getting undressed in the dark. I remember thinking this is not going to end! My work had given me a 'feel' for these things!

I then heard him jump down and he switched the light on again, now he was just in his Y underwear and he started RANTING again the same threat and physically shaking! With that, I shouted, "I'm leaving the room, I'm coming down and I'm out of here!" Luckily I hadn't unpacked my rucksack, my boots and coat were on the rucksack top.

I jumped down grabbed everything in one go and at that moment I could see that the lower bunks had bodies in them, but they were under their duvets. I moved straight for the door and the bloke, still shouting, picked up a full bottle of wine from the floor (Lambrusco, I'll never forget, horrible stuff!) and he took a swing at me. It was in that movement, when he turned to pick up the bottle and the second that it took to swing it, that saved me. I ducked, he missed, the bottle hit the bunk, it didn't smash, I'd opened the door and was gone!

I went downstairs to complain, I could still hear him shouting, one staff was on desk duty was scared (it by now was after 11.00pm) and didn't know what to do, I wasn't feeling brave either. He just gave me keys to another room on the second floor. We hesitated at the bottom of the stairs and listened, it was now quite. I suggested he should leave it, not worth getting into a confrontation in the middle of the night, he agreed, he was in a worse state than me! I went to my new room, it was empty, so I just locked the door and went to bed.

At dawn, I woke and thought, right, I'm now going to seek my assailant out on my terms. I went downstairs to the restaurant area, saw the chef, the incident had already been reported to him. He said was I looking for a middle-aged, white bloke, I nodded and was told that he had already been down and had left about 15 minutes before. And basically, that was it!

gunwharfman

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #7 on: 18:23:01, 30/07/19 »
But that was the end of it! I sat and had a coffee, given to me for free! I then wandered down to the bus station, no particular reason I just felt the need to walk to somewhere and then plan to resume the Cumbria Way.

I then thought I'll buy breakfast in the cafe in the supermarket. I went in, an old man and his wife were the only customers, I nodded hello, he nodded hello. I put my rucksack down to the right on the floor propped up against the wall and wandered over to the food. I ordered scrambled egg, toast and coffee, I still remember, so odd!

I sat down and a short while later my eggs came, I had already started drinking the coffee and started eating. With a minute or two the cafe door opened and a policeman came in, looked at me and came over. "Excuse me, Sir, we've had a phone call about a suspicious rucksack in here" He pointed and said, "Is that your rucksack, Sir?" I said yes and adjusted to the situation quickly. I got up and walked over to it and said would you like me to open it up? He nodded but by the time I'd undid the lid he said don't worry, we get these calls all of the time. We then had a short chat and a laugh and he wandered off. At that, the old man said to me "I'm sorry, I made the call, I didn't know who the rucksack belonged to?" With that, I became really annoyed and said "Yes you did, you saw me walk in, you saw me put the rucksack down and we nodded a greeting to each other! and thought you silly old duffer turned away and sat down again.

I had a second coffee then resumed my walk. On the way, across the field to the Cumbria Way I really had to laugh out loud, by now it had all sunk in and I remember saying "WHY me? Why ME?) I can laugh at it now, really funny, but not at the time.

Postscript - I had a call from the Police, one of the men under the duvet had complained. The Police identified the man, who lived in Gateshead and had already spent two terms in jail for GBH! No idea what happened after that. I had the usual creepy apology letter from YHA but I didn't take it any further.

tonyk

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #8 on: 20:28:04, 30/07/19 »
The Imperial Backpackers Hostel in Calcutta.Filthy,rat infested and really unpleasant.That was thirty years ago and from what I have been told by people who have travelled in India more recently standards have improved considerably.

BuzyG

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #9 on: 21:09:18, 30/07/19 »
The Imperial Backpackers Hostel in Calcutta.Filthy,rat infested and really unpleasant.That was thirty years ago and from what I have been told by people who have travelled in India more recently standards have improved considerably.


Sounds, not supprisingly, similar to Bombay, 35 years ago.  Squalor, Stench and iniquality.  Very much hope it has changed beyond recognition.  No plans to ever return.  Male with a whip in hand, standing over women on their knees, washing and polishing marble floors.

Pitboot

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #10 on: 21:17:49, 30/07/19 »
Railway Hotel in Austen, Texas, 1982. I was forced to check in as I was dog tired after several hundred miles of straight desert roads so the first place with vacancies was IT. It was very scruffy but cheap, straight out of the movies.
I awoke in the night as I thought something was crawling on me, it was, there were two cockroaches on my leg. As I brushed them off I turned on the bedside light and the floor was moving, with hundreds of the horrible things.
Fortunately I had in my bag a tin of "Deepwoods OFF", a very effective insect repellent, which I sprayed around the bed, on the sheets, on me.
It kept the bugs at bay and I got some sleep. I mentioned the infestation when I checked out next morning, all I got was a shrug and a comment like "Yeah, we get a few roaches, everyone in town gets them."

clyoung

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #11 on: 23:33:11, 30/07/19 »
In the summer after leaving university and before starting work in the 90s I spent a few weeks travelling round central Europe on a cheap bus thing that had just started. In Munich I ended up sleeping on not much more than a wooden pallet with a thin mattress in the basement of what otherwise appeared to be a perfectly respectable hotel. They let us have the all inclusive breakfast in the dining room with the other guests but at night we were stuck in a very hot, very crowded basement. Fortunately I was only there two nights, I can't believe it was legitimate tourist accommodation.

gunwharfman

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #12 on: 18:15:19, 31/07/19 »
Re: Cockroaches, off topic, sorry. In the 60s I worked in a large 1500 bed psychiatric hospital in Kent. The wards were for 50 plus people so very large dining room. Switch the light on in the night and the floor was a 'carpet' of cockroaches!

Owen

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #13 on: 19:50:50, 31/07/19 »
I really seem to have lived a charmed life as so far I've had nothing more annoying that the odd snorer, at least in hostels. Maybe being ex-military I have a very well developed tolerance to such goings on. After all I survived Bessbrook Mill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles_in_Bessbrook   

Dread

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Re: Your worst Hostel/Hotel experience?
« Reply #14 on: 20:27:13, 31/07/19 »
Many years ago I was working in Malaysia and decided to travel around afterwards. I ended up in Singapore where the Lonely Planet guidebook suggested a street that you could walk down where anyone with a backpack would be approached and offered cheap accommodation. It worked, within minutes a guy accosted me and offered me two choices, air con or non air con. It was very hot and there wasn't much difference in price so i went for the luxury option.


I was led around the back of an office block, in through a fire exit, up numerous flights of stairs arriving in an unoccupied office which had been partitioned into small rooms with plywood sheets. There was still the odd filing cabinet and desk lying around. My plywood box room had a mattress, a nice view and the promised air conditioner. It cost me around 75p for the night. I couldn't leave until the morning as I didn't know how to get back in and there was no one else around so I spent a quiet evening staring wistfully at the lights of downtown Singapore.

 

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