Some of the worst hostels in the world... (Youth Hostels in Denver)

Member Name: Jersey-Soph

Product:	Youth Hostels in Denver
Date:	13/09/03 (900 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Boulder is only an hour away

Disadvantages: Unsafe and very scary area, Disgustingly Dirty, Intimidating unfriendly people

Denver. You arrive expecting breathtaking scenery of the Rocky Mountains, and a vibrant mile-high city with lots of fresh air, outdoor activities and fantastic Youth Hostels to match....well I did. And...boy oh boy was I disappointed.

I have been lucky enough to spend 3 years of my life travelling around the world and have stayed in countless hundreds of Youth Hostels. I love the backpacking, hostelling life and would reccomend it to anyone of any age and any disposition. Some countries offer hostels that will knock your socks off they are so beautiful (Australia and New Zealand in particular) and others tend to be rather more bog standard, but you learn to take the good with the bad and appreciate them for what they are - good, cheap accommodation for those travelling on a budget wishing to meet fellow travellers, share experiences and have some fun. Never however, have I been so appalled with youth hostels as in Denver, USA.

The USA, it has to be said, does not 'do' the hostelling thang as well as many other countries. You have to struggle to find your own way there with your backpack, unlike say Australia where every hostel in town will be waiting at the bus stop for the arrival of every bus. But I have found some lovely friendly little spots (see my review on Pacific Tradewinds Hostel in San Fransisco) which show that it is not impossible. There is a big network of YHA hostels throughout the USA and usually they are clean and fairly comfortable, despite sometimes having a sterile-hospital feel. Denver is where it all goes wrong.

There are 3 hostels in Denver, all mentioned in the Travellers Bibles (the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide), yet they do not prepare you for what you will face. I arrived in Denver last month by myself, having spent the last year travelling by myself around the world with absolutely no problems whatsoever, but felt unsafe, scared, and wanted to be on the first plane out of there. Here's why.
...

The Denver International Hostel. PLEASE do not go here. I caught a shuttle from the airport to the door of this place, and as soon as we were approaching I knew we were in a bad bad area that as a solo female I did not feel comfortable. I was dropped at the door, and the attention I immediately received from those hanging about the street (it was evening and the prostitutes were already out for the night and there were a lot of drunk homeless people etc) showed that backpackers like me were not a common occurence. I told myself that as soon as I got inside the hostel it would be OK as I would not have to leave until the next morning and I would be safe inside...but no. This hostel is a total crack house. It was filthy (someone remarked there had been faeces in the shower for the previous 3 days which noone was going to clean up), the staff just made me more scared than I already was as I did not trust or like them, and the atmosphere was very intimidating. A lot of people who stay at this hostel have nowhere else to go, and are 'locals' rather than travellers (which is surely who a youth hostel should primarily cater towards), and they do not work and spend all their days drinking, smoking, and doing drugs in the confines of the hostel. I was forced to share a room with two middle aged men who rolled in at 3am shaking my bed violently. I didn't sleep a wink and escaped as early as I could the following morning, stepping over a syringe as I left.

Next Stop...
Hostel of the Rocky Mountains, Denver. THis is the YHA hostel of the city, but it is VERY poor and I cannot believe the Hostelling International Organisation associate themselves with it. After my experiences the previous night it was however a turn up for the books and the staff were friendly, but still very dirty, mice and cockroaches a plenty, a kitchen from hell that I could barely walk through let alone contemplate cooking a meal in (which for the budget tra
veller like me is a very important consideration) and no form of nice common area. Again, situated on the dodgy Colfax Street, this is NOT an area you want to be walking around, especially at night when it is very very unsafe.

And so I escaped once more. Out of Denver this time as I was thoroughly put off. I went to the small and absolutely beautiful village of Idaho Springs (about 1 hour west of Denver, serviced by the Greyhound bus). What a lovely spot. But yet again...the hostel was just not up to the standards I had come to expect from my previous 11 months of travel. Don't get me wrong, I felt a great deal more comfortable and happy here than anywhere in Denver, and would never tell anyone not to visit or stay here. But it was just a pigs sty! I think this had a lot to do with the dorm mates that I chanced upon who were staying long term, and therfore had clothes, dirty underwear, teabags, razors and the like strewn everywhere. It was a lovely old building with a lot of character and if you catch it on a tidy day you'll be laughing.

But one night here was again enough....and so I set off to Boulder (having to go back to Denver on the Greyhound, and then catching the local B bus to Boulder which is an hour away). Ohhhhh Boulder is just heaven!! The hostel is lovely (if I had to find a complaint it would be the plastic matresses....why oh why do hostels have them....you just wake up with the sheets having slipped off and you stuck to them with the heat!) and the town/city is very traveller/student friendly, lively, managable to navigate on foot, and most importantly very safe. I met a lot of other cool travellers here who had also fled the dire situation in Denver. The Boulder International Hostel is sheer luxury, especially when you shudder and think back to Denver.

It was from some of these Boulder travellers that I learnt about the 3rd and final hostel in Denver city. The Melbourne International Hostel. I can
of course not comment personally, but they hated it with a passion. Filthy dirty, unsafe area, unhelpful staff (...sound familiar.?!?...)

So. In conclusion. If you are a backpacker heading to Denver I would whole heartedly suggest that you either splash out for a hotel, or head straight to Boulder which is nearer the Rocky Mountains, and in my opinion a lot lot nicer.

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