I've stayed in plenty of hostels. The best advice I can give you is not to have any expectations. Some are just wonderful, some are middling, and some are horrific. On top of that, a lot depends on the people you end up sharing with.
If you're doing it with friends, though, you may find it's one of the best trips of your life. Even if it's terrible you get a shared experience that you wouldn't have in something as impersonal as a hotel. Particular personal highlights include the girl who kept shouting "Fuck all over you" in her sleep, the man who wore socks on his hands when he was in bed (we never found out why), a group who tried to start a barbeque *inside* the room, and various people who were several sandwiches short of a full picnic. I met some very interesting people, though, including a man who lost his wife to cancer in her late twenties, sold his house and decided he was never going to put down roots again but simply to live "in the world". He lives a life of permanent escape and I bumped into him three times in hostels on separate occasions and each time he had the most positive aura of anyone I think I've ever met. A bit of a hero.
Has anyone ever stayed in a hostel?
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I've stayed in plenty of hostels. The best advice I can give you is not to have any expectations. Some are just wonderful, some are middling, and some are horrific. On top of that, a lot depends on the people you end up sharing with.
If you're doing it with friends, though, you may find it's one of the best trips of your life. Even if it's terrible you get a shared experience that you wouldn't have in something as impersonal as a hotel. Particular personal highlights include the girl who kept shouting "Fuck all over you" in her sleep, the man who wore socks on his hands when he was in bed (we never found out why), a group who tried to start a barbeque *inside* the room, and various people who were several sandwiches short of a full picnic. I met some very interesting people, though, including a man who lost his wife to cancer in her late twenties, sold his house and decided he was never going to put down roots again but simply to live "in the world". He lives a life of permanent escape and I bumped into him three times in hostels on separate occasions and each time he had the most positive aura of anyone I think I've ever met. A bit of a hero.