Hostel dorm vs private room - I keep picking wrong

Everyone in this sub swears by hostel dorms for saving money. But last trip to Barcelona I spent 3 nights in a 10-bed dorm and got zero sleep because of snoring and people packing at 5 AM for flights. I caved and switched to a private room at a different hostel for 45 euros a night. Double the price but I actually saw the Sagrada Familia without falling asleep standing up. Has anyone else just decided the savings aren't worth it for certain trips?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_martinez5d ago

4 AM flight packers are basically the hostel version of someone revving their motorcycle outside your window at 2 AM lol. I swear the guy in my bunk in Prague unzipped his bag like 47 times before sunrise.

hannahsingh5d ago

Oh man, I used to be all about dorms too. Thought anyone paying for private rooms was just being bougie or whatever. But then I did a trip to Lisbon last year and it was the same nightmare - one guy snored like a chainsaw and another person got up at 4 AM to leave. I was a zombie after two nights. Paid for a private room at the same hostel and honestly, it saved my whole trip. The savings just aren't worth it when you're actually trying to enjoy where you are. Some trips you need the sleep more than you need to save twenty bucks.

the_miles4d ago

And that's the thing @morgan_martinez mentioned about the zipper guy, it's never just one thing, it's a whole chain of little annoyances that add up. I had a similar wake up call in a hostel in Barcelona where someone came in drunk at 3 AM and turned on the main light, then another person started arguing with them in Spanish. I ended up spending the next day half asleep on a park bench instead of seeing the city, which kind of defeated the whole purpose of being there.