Why the Low Price Tag of Cheap Hostels in Asia Isn’t Worth the Hassle

• I used additional than 40 evenings sleeping in rentals this 12 months, from hostels and Airbnbs to luxurious motels.
• Hostels are inexpensive, but my yr of traveling confident me they’re not truly worth the inconvenience.
• Budget accommodations are a good different and you should not charge that a lot extra.

Hostels are normally considered the finest lodging for funds tourists. But after spending more than two weeks in hostels across Southeast Asia, I can firmly say that finances inns are the improved decision.

I have been composing about backpacking and regional vacation for Insider for practically a yr. This calendar year by itself, I stayed in extra than 40 distinctive lodging throughout five nations around the world. My travels, most of which Insider paid out for in entire, took me from hostels and love motels to Airbnbs to luxury resorts.

My time on the street has certain me that budget lodges — which are commonly in the just one- to two-star group — present considerably additional than hostels, for not that substantially more money.

Right here are 5 causes travelers really should skip hostels and as an alternative decide for finances motels when touring in Southeast Asia.

1. Safety: Staying in hostels often involves sharing a sleeping area. When I invested the night time at The Explorers Guesthouse in Kuala Lumpur in April, I experienced to share a room with 3 males. The hostel failed to have pods, so I had to rest in an open up bunk bed, which manufactured me, and the male friends who were presently there, uneasy. I ended up paying $7 far more to remain in a private room, and the additional charge was truly worth the privacy and feeling of safety.

2. Hygiene: Hostels usually are not particularly regarded for their cleanliness. Even though Singapore is frequently touted as a single of the cleanest nations around the world in the area, I discovered some of the hostels in the metropolis-point out to be terribly taken care of. In March, I invested a evening in Galaxy Pods at Chinatown, exactly where I discovered a stench permeated the room and the bedsheets were dotted in black dust. At $45, it wasn’t worthy of the cost, primarily as spending budget inns like Hotel 81 generally expense only $10 extra.

3. Room (or lack thereof): Most hostels arrive in one of two kinds: bunk beds or capsules. Even though the beds can be spacious, like with the queen-sized bed at Capsule Transit in Kuala Lumpur’s airport, the enclosed room of the hostel pods can experience claustrophobic.

4. Deficiency of features: Many hostels will not appear with services like lounges, fitness centers, or swimming pools. There are, of training course, exceptions — like Luk Hostel in Bangkok, wherever I stayed in July, and which has a gorgeous rooftop get together house. But for the most element, the hostels I stayed at failed to have public spaces to take it easy in, and I would have gladly paid out a little bit much more for the facilities of a two- or a few-star resort.

5. Selling price: Some hostels, in particular in expensive cities like Singapore, can be just as dear as funds lodges. For case in point, DreamLodge, a major-rated hostel where I put in the evening in April, fees up to 173 Singapore bucks, or $127, for a just one-evening stay in a few pod in January 2023. In comparison, spending budget lodges like Fragrance charge all-around SG$85 for a non-public room in the identical time body. Whilst costs fluctuate throughout the 12 months, hostels can really charge you far more than love motels — and appreciate motels aren’t all as undesirable as their names would suggest.