I’m going to guess no, so I won’t elaborate too much, but I traveled a lot between 2004-2013 and have stayed in many hostels in Europe, Australia, Asia, and North America. Has anyone done this recently? I’ve tried to imagine it when they re-opened. I’d love to know anything you are willing to divulge.
Moved to IMHO, where i hope you get useful replies.
Yes, many, beginning in July '21 after Europe reopened to US tourists. It’s pretty back-to-normal these days and was mostly normal even in 2021, apart from a few sporadic attempts to enforce social distancing in the common rooms. Was there something else you wanted to know, specifically?
If by “during covid” you mean now, then yes, I did about a month ago. I was only in the hostel when I was sleeping, and I was in the only one in my room, though I see no reason to be particularly concerned even if that weren’t the case.
I have, and also a full hiking shelter. I have notices that some hostels have stepped up cleaning, cleaning procedures and some other precautions such as partitions.
Thank you
I guess I’m curious about differences, but if it’s back to normal… The last time I spent the night in a hostel was about 5-10 years ago, and that was in the US. The one thing I could see is the lack of cultural exchange thanks to people staring at their phones like a religion… Much different in 2004
I stayed at a hostel in the Netherlands earlier this year. They were more or less back to their pre-pandemic routine, as far as I could tell. They kept windows open as much as possible, but I think that’s extremely normal for Europe in July.
There were plenty of folks looking at their phones some of the time, but it wasn’t hard to find someone to have a conversation with. The kind of people who choose to stay in a hostel tend to be ones who want to talk to strangers, after all.
I didn’t, but many of the pilgrim hostels on the Spanish Caminos stayed open. The communal kitchens were closed, meals weren’t available, and half as many bunks were open.
Very cool! The Netherlands is like my home away from home. Been there 6 times, all over. But it’s been 11 years.