Hostels Vs Hotels? [Krakow]

If you’re planning a wild weekend away in Krakow then you don’t want to be stuck in a hostel of oldies who are in bed before 9:00 pm. At the same time, if you’re planning a cultural trip then you certainly don’t want to be stuck in a dorm full of freshers who won’t get home until the wee hours of the morning. Here are 4 helpful tips for choosing the right hostel, no matter the reason for visiting our magical city.

Hostels over Hotels – The golden rule is always hostels over hotels, you will find out exactly why below.

Regular Hostel

If you’re here for the culture there are a range of hostels where the staff (usually locals) offer free daily activities to places or attractions you probably didn’t even know about or had planned on visiting. It’s also a great way to meet other like-minded people to join in on your adventures throughout your stay. You can also book the big attractions like Auschwitz & Salt Mine at the reception desk which usually include transport to and from the hostel. You shouldn’t be worried about comfort as a lot of the smaller hostels far exceed regular hotels in this area. PLUS for those of us who prefer the extra home comforts, nearly all of these hostels offer private rooms for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room.

Party Hostel

For those of you party animals that have come to Krakow to get down, get dirty and get loose….you have come to the right city! There is a reason Krakow has been voted one of Europe’s best party cities and that has a lot to do with the intense party hostels. If you have been travelling around Europe for a while then you may be expecting some overpriced and dirty hostels which are usually only busy because of the sheer number of tourists in that city. This couldn’t be further from reality as Krakow has one of the most competitive hostel markets around which has forced even the party hostels to up their game. You will find the majority of them will be just as crisp and clean as a hotel, with customer service not far behind, just check the ratings on hostel world and you will notice the trend.

Krakow’s party hostels have a wide range of options, from smaller more intimate 30 – 40 bed hostels to the 100+ bed hostels that are complete with bars, clubs and even restaurants. It doesn’t stop there, the bigger hostels in Krakow offer pub crawls and the city’s only boat party!

Hostel World Reviews

It’s all well and good to read the about us section of your chosen hostel, however this will only get you so far. The best way to truly find out info on hostels is to jump straight to the reviews tab. Now not all review websites are created equally when it comes to accommodation so I would suggest steering away from sites like Trip Advisor as anyone can put up a review, whereas on websites like hostelworld.com or booking.com you can only review after your stay.

Try not to pay much attention to the amount of review as sites like hostelworld.com only take into account the reviews from the past 6 months to give you their score. Basically just because a hostel has 1200 reviews as opposed to 120 doesn’t necessarily mean the one with more reviews is better.

Avoid The Negative Nelly

Sometimes there is just no pleasing everybody for instance; if you’re looking for a party hostel and the review is a complaint about the lack of sleep because of the parties that went on all night, that’s not exactly a knock against the hostel but rather someone who probably shouldn’t have booked there in the first place. Just remember to take some reviews with a grain of salt because there are a bunch of Negative Nelly’s out there ruining it for everybody else!

Our Top 3

The Little Havana
Party Hostel Pink Panther
Hostel Let’s Rock Hostel