The World´s most Interesting Hostels

09/21/2009

Caves, airplaines, boats and the Sultan´s Palace.

Every hostel, like every traveler, has its own unique personality. Some are party centers, some are tranquil oases from life’s stresses, and some are merely great meeting places in beautiful or interesting areas. But if you’re looking for accommodation that stands out even in the motley world of youth hostels, look no further. Here are some of the worlds most interesting hostels for the world’s most adventurous travelers – you!

Cave Hostels

Seeking somewhere subterranean to bed down? Try one of the “Fairy Chimney” cave hostels in Göreme Village , in the centre of Turkey’s Cappadocia region. These hostels, budget hotels and pensions are carved into distinctive ‘capped’ geological formations known as fairy chimneys. These soft rock formations – the result of ancient volcanic eruptions and subsequent erosion – serve as homes, churches and cafés in the small agricultural village. Hostels in Göreme are a great base from which to explore beautiful, surreal Cappadocia, whether you’re hiking from town or touring the greater region.

If you really want to go down under, check out Radeka Downunder Underground Backpackers Inn at Coober Pedy , in the South Australian outback. You’ll sleep 6.5 meters underground after days exploring underground homes, museums and potteries. Don’t forget the opal shops and opal mine - Coober Pedy is considered the Opal Capital of the World.

Eco Hostels

Our large ecological footprint is often deeply embedded in our daily lives, even in our architecture. Eco-hostels are interesting for being ideologically progressive, but what makes them really stand out are architectural features that often result from their sustainable designs.

Take Ireland’s Gyreum. Located 25 km from Sligo, this disc-shaped eco-lodge is nestled right into the land, drawing ‘hobbit-hole’ comparisons. The Gyreum is wind and solar-powered, made from second-cut wood and insulated with sheep’s wool and recycled fiberglass, and this is only a part of the ecological integrity of the hostel and its operation. A great base for outdoor enthusiasts the Gyreum has a sauna and an indoor camping area. Like Ireland’s ancient megaliths its central hall is illuminated at both summer and winter solstice, and high energy levels in the building are said to give guests vibrant dreams.

Historical Hostels

Being budget accommodations, hostels are rarely built as such. More often, they are opened in buildings that already have long histories of serving other purposes. Often, the buildings’ prior use goes a long way toward developing the character of the hostel itself.

Långholmens vandrarhem, a former prison in Stockholm, is one such place. Guests can stay behind bars in original but modified jail cells, and learn about the hostels 300 years history in the prison museum.

When staying in Marrakech, Morocco, be sure to book a bed in one of the riads in the medina, the heart of the city. These terraced palaces are the former homes of sultans and princes, and the North African decorating traditions of silks, plush pillows, elaborate tiles and rich tapestries live on to this day in the riads. On a warm Marrakech night, sipping sweet mint tea on a tiled terrace overlooking fountains and the Atlas Muntains, it is easy to imagine that you are royalty.

It is no longer unusual to hear of hostels built on boats – Stockholm, Sweden has a floating hostel in its harbor, Rygerfjord hotel and hostel. Airplane hostels, however, are still unusual. In fact there is only one, the Jumbo Hostel at Arlanda Airport outside of Stockholm, Sweden. The staff of this renovated Boeing 747 wears retro airline outfits, and the pilot’s cockpit makes for a deluxe private room.

While these are all exciting and unusual hostels, they only hint at the wide range of accommodation available to you as an international backpacker. Look around, keep an open mind, be bold and you are sure to find accommodations that are as unique and wonderful as you are – no matter where you travel.

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