12:45:25, 21/01/08
The best YHA was the one in Glen Doll, fantastic managers and beautiful surroundings. Pity it's been sold and is no longer a hostel.
This is my major beef with the YHA. My favourite was Capel-y-ffin in the Brecons, which has also been sold. One thing that can't be said of the YHA is that it is democratic. When the last round of closures was announced, there was no consultation with members, and there were a significant number of complaints from members, but did the YHA take any notice? Did it hell.
My understanding, and reason for joining in the first place, was that the YHA's raison d'etre was to provide affordable accommodation primarily for those who have travelled under their own steam (i.e. walking, canoeing, cycling etc) . But it seems now to care more for city hostels and car drivers as it appears only the more accessible (and therefore more profitable) hostels are being fully supported. In my view the YHA has totally lost sight of it's objectives as a charity in the pursuit of profit.
Having said that, the grassroots people who run the hostels do seem to appreciate the basis on which the Association was formed, and have a respect for those who have walked 20 miles to get there rather than driven up the road. We once arrived at a hostel to be told that there was no-one to cook the evening meal so could we make other arrangements. We'd walked 22 miles that day over mountains and with full packs, and the nearest pub was about 8 miles away so alternative arrangements were not really feasible, but somehow a meal appeared for which we were truly thankful.
The only major problem I've had with the hostels themselves is getting a booking. Sometimes it seems that if you don't book several months ahead, forget it.
Following on from what others have said, yes you can get 'private' rooms, although these are not always particularly large. At Llwyn-y-celyn for example, we had to take it in turns to get dressed as there's literally not enough room in the 2 bed rooms for two to move about. There are others that have (for example) 4 bed rooms, but if there's 2 of you and you want a room to yourself you have to pay for all 4 beds.
Also, I guess due to staffing, as mentioned above you can't always guarantee to get an evening meal, although they often have a supply of prepackaged food (such as Pot Noodles) which you can run through the microwave, but don't rely on that as I have ended up with nothing more than a Mars bar from the vending machine.
Oh yes, and a lot of hostels are now licenced, or I should say that the warden is licenced. This is an important distinction because if the warden is off somewhere, his/her deputy will not necessarily be able to sell you an alcoholic drink unless he/she is also licenced.
S.