Staying at hostels

In 1996 I asked Swedish friends to recommend a hotel in the central part of Sweden. They told me they NEVER stay in hotels; they always stay in vandrarhem (hostels). When I said, “But I’m too old to share a room with strangers,” they said that they never share: “Just pay a little extra and you have a room to yourself.” So I decided to try it and have been doing it ever since.

I’d like everyone to write in about their own experiences staying in hostels. I will start it off with my favorites in Sweden.

• At a purpose-built hostel in Mora, Dalarna, in 2002, my cousin and I stayed five nights in the handicapped room, with the bath and shower en suite — very private. It had two sets of bunk beds, so we each moved the top bunk mattress down — comfy!

• At a rather strange hostel on an island in the Stockholm archipelago, also in 2002, the facilities were excellent, but once we checked in and paid our money we never saw the proprietors again. We ate breakfast but couldn’t find a way to pay for it.

• In 2004 I stayed at a hostel that had been converted from an old hotel that belonged to the labor movement and was built for women factory workers on holiday. It was in Norrland, with a marvelous lake view.

• In Ystad, Skane, in 2008, the hostel was a conversion from a nursing home. The shower room was enormous and the food outstanding. I think it cost about $30 per night.

Hostels in Sweden are used mostly by seniors and families with young children. Guests can rent sheets, but I usually borrowed from friends or bought sheets at a charity shop and left them with friends.

All of the vandrarhem above had excellent cooking facilities with lots of dishes and pots and pans. Each provided an excellent buffet breakfast at a reasonable cost, and they seemed very comfortable with our making sandwiches for our lunch. (One place even had a supply of baggies on the table.) Some also do an evening meal if you reserve it.

All Swedish vandrarhem are listed in the catalog from Hostel­ling International (in the US, phone 301/495-1240, www.hihostels.com). Membership is not necessary, and at each place they will advise you as to whether joining will save you money.

Now, I want to know at which hostels other ITN subscribers have stayed.

LOIS SUNDEEN

Concord, NH

Write to Hostel Stays, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com. Include where, when and how much.