I had the chance to stay in a 5-Star Hotel last week. There’s nothing like being in the lap of luxury. As I was watching CNN (a rarity in China) I jotted down the following list of difference between staying in 5-Star hotels and hostels.
- Taxi drivers often know how to get to 5-Star Hotels.
- Your luggage and belongings are more secure in five star hotels than they are in the battered locker of a hostel.
- You don’t have to pay a deposit for towels in a 5-Star Hotel.
- At 5-Star Hotels you don’t have to share your room with 3, 5, 7 or 11 strangers.
- In a 5-Star Hotel you, more often than not, are the only person having sex in your room.
- You don’t have to worry about being awakened between 3 am and 8 am by drunken roommates at a 5-Star Hotel.
- A night in a 5-Star Hotel doesn’t include wearing earplugs.
- The free breakfast at a 5-Star Hotel is more than cold cereal and instant coffee.
- The bathrooms at a 5-Star Hotel are often larger than hostel rooms in Hong Kong.
- The staff at a 5-Star Hotel are professional, deferential, and helpful; not travelers working odd shifts to pay for their own rooms.
- The attire of other guests at a 5-Star hotel doesn’t usually include Che Guevara T-Shirts. Also, dreadlocks are rarely seen in the hotel’s rooms or halls.
- Most 5-Star Hotels do not offer easy ways to prepare Ramen Noodles.
- The showers in a 5-Star Hotel can be used without fear or flip-flops.
- A bell boy will help carry your bags at a 5-Star Hotel, not vaguely point down a hallway.
- The guests at a 5-Star Hotel are often cold and care little about you or your journeys. They usually won’t offer advice or information on the city you are visiting.
- The atmosphere in the bars of 5-Star Hotels are akin to a slow elevator ride with Celine Dion and alcohol. The same cannot be said for hostels.
- Outside the gift shop, there are rarely books and magazines at a 5-Star Hotel to help you spend a quiet (and free) afternoon.
- The guests at a 5-Star Hotel will know little about a city’s bus system or how to effectively use it.
- There is neither a comfy common area or DVD room in a 5-Star Hotel.
- You’re hard pressed to find a washing machine in a 5-Star Hotel.
- There isn’t a bulletin board full of useful information at a 5-Star Hotel.
- Total strangers you meet at a 5-Star Hotel won’t become life-long friends.
- Five star hotels feel like your grandmother’s parlor, Hostel’s feel like your best friends house.
Veteran travelers: Feel free to chime in with your own observations.
Creative Common photo credit: thisisbossi
That’s a pretty good list. When I travel, I never stay in hostels but at the same time, never stay in 5-star. Always the guesthouse, cheap hotel type thing.
Craig Ferguson´s last blog ..Katoli’s World – Abandoned Dreams and Urbex Heaven
That’s more my speed too.
all that makes me want to stay in a hostel even more!
Nomadic Matt´s last blog ..Four Cities, One Great Thing
Glutton for punishment, you are.
Great list, Stevo. I’m still chuckling. I like hostel living, but this makes me even happier that my husband loves indulging in the high life. I think a lot of it depends on what kind of trip you’re taking. When we’re doing a beach vacation or we’ve been on the road for a while, hostels can’t be beat. However, when you’re away for a nice long weekend, nothing beats a five-star hotel. Singapore wouldn’t have been Singapore without The Fullerton House accommodating our every whim and desire.
Carrie´s last blog ..The 2009 Taipei Toy Festival Kicks Off Today!
Maybe I haven’t had good luck with hostels, or maybe I’m too old?
Just out of curiosity: Are you (‘you’ in the general sense) having sex by yourself? (#5 “You… are the only person…etc.)
I enjoyed the list. I have not stayed in a hostel, and have stayed in a 5-star hotel a grand total of twice. Cheap, clean hotels and B&B’s are usually the way for me. I enjoy B&B’s for some of the good things you listed about hostels.
Robin´s last blog ..Hiking shoes
Hehe. Perhaps…
Same for me. 5-Stars are not places I often stay in.
Well, I’m really not qualified to comment on the Hostel part…
R(etc… )
Ron in L.A.´s last blog ..Scenes of Mourning – Part 1 – Encino, California
I know, Ron. You live the high-life, an international jet-setter. Need an assistant?
LOVED this! And all these reasons are precisely why I don’t particularly enjoy hostels.
Julie´s last blog ..Recipe: White Lychee Tea
Thanks, Julie.
My home often feels like a hostel.
Shawn´s last blog ..I Stole It From David
Hehe.
Great list Stevo, all very true. I agree with NomadicMatt, it all just makes me want to stay in a hostel more. Hostel’s can be so much fun! And there’s always easy access to washing machines, game/DVD rooms, cheap booze, fellow travels full of knowledge and advice, the works! For me, sometimes 5 star hotels can feel too sterile. Like the bed is made up so nice that you’re apprehensive about sleeping in it for feer of messing it up. I NEVER get that feeling in a hostel.
Graham´s last blog ..The Past Few Days
True.
You may fear messing up the bed, but you don’t have to worry about bedbugs.
Nice post and blog! Greets.
I would hope that if having sex in a five star hotel I would NOT be having it alone!
I can’t say I’ve stayed in either, haha. Obviously I would prefer a 5 star hotel traveling abroad, but I think my wallet would be happier in a hostel.
Ryan Cowles´s last blog ..Taking a Train Across the Country – Part One
5 star hotel has a money cost, a hostel has a cost in different way
bob´s last blog ..Crafty bat