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HI - Salzburg - Youth & Family Guesthouse Hostel

Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

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Address
Josef-Preis-Allee 18, Salzburg   Map
Price
Dorm beds from US$30.46. Private rooms from US$37.53/person. Price may vary by season - Check Current Prices by Date Here
Location/Contact
Details
Their Description

Features

  • Free Breakfast
  • Lockers
  • Bar
  • Nightclub
  • Gameroom
  • Lounge / Common space
  • BBQ
  • Food/Restaurant
  • TV
  • Book Collection/Exchange
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Clothes Dryer
  • Elevator/Lift
  • Travel information provided
  • Bike Rental
  • 24 Hour Free Hot Showers
  • Phones (public or in room)
  • Currency Exchange
 
The Hostelz.com Review
Note: This hostel was previously called "Youth & Family Guesthouse Salzburg".

This is a purpose built hostel, in a modern building. There is a large yard, including an area for a little bonfire. It has a good location next to the old town of Salzburg and a short bus ride from the train station. The reception, internet and breakfast areas have been renovated. The bedrooms are getting a bit worn but are still very adequate and the hostel is kept incredibly clean. Lockers with their own key are supplied as is a good breakfast with a very nice hot coco.

The one down side to this hostel is it is popular with families and groups. If you end up there on the wrong night you could be bunking down in a building with a couple hundred kids (it is large, almost 400 beds). The staff is a little harried at times but if you can get their attention long enough they can be helpful.

You can buy bus tickets and calling cards and a multitude of other things including food and drinks at reception which is handy. There is also a book exchange for those who have finished their current read or need to trade in their current travel guide for one on the next destination.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review


Your Comments
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites, we don't censor out the negative comments.
We do not validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Kathy, canada
June 2008
Dull.
so the best part is the sound of music movie, which plays every night, and that's pretty much it. nothing else is too exciting. it's the same old HI experience -- boring decor to go with the boring staff, no guest kitchen, lots of kids and families, breakfast is included complete with miso soup and last night's leftovers. the showers where impressively bad. it reminds you of a movie that's set at a 1950s private school. they did let me use their phone for free when i lost my wallet, wow.
Comment by Becca R., American
August 2007
Overall, terrible
The rooms are cramped -- eight beds in one room. There are people of all genders, nationalities, and ages crammed into one building where the only entertainment is watching the Sound of Music nightly at 8. The shower and toilet facilities, however, exceed disgusting. Puddles of urine all over the floor and long, black hairs strewn across every imaginable surface put this place over the edge of grossness.
Comment by Belle, Taiwan
May 2007
This hostel is not as bad as the ratings might sound. Though I was only passing by and I've only spent five or six hours there, so my judgment may not be relevant for people looking for an accommodation where one can relax as one does at home. This hostel has twenty-four-hour reception -- very convenient (I had to check out at 5 a.m. to catch my train), bed linen readily available with no extra cost, internet and cafe next to reception, a rather convenient location. It's true that the bathroom is smelly and it tends to be a bit noisy even late into the night. Nevertheless it is a decent hostel -- the rooms themselves are clean and the cost is relatively lower.
Comment by Kim, Australia
April 2007
This place was over-run with out-of-control devil children playing musical instruments, they were horrendous. The dorms weren't particularly clean and the bathrooms I shudder to remember but i'm sure I broke a world record for fastest showering time. The only positives were the big breakfast (if you can fight a munchkin for a seat) and The Sound of Music played every night but good luck hearing it over the kids!
Comment by Dan
January 2007
This is a good hostel, it doesn't deserve the low ratings (I have stayed in much worst). The hostel could use a bit of a makeover to make it a bit nicer -- the furniture is a bit tatty in some rooms, but it's fine. Showers (single sex) and toilets were the best in any hostel I have stayed in. Free breakfast is good. It's about ten-minute walk to centre of town and about a twenty-minute walk to the station.
Comment by shue
December 2006
the room was small for six people -- more like crowded in with little walking space. the lockers were outside. the toilets smell. it's the noisiest hostel i've stayed in. you can hear people singing in the showers from your room, you can hear people talking outside of the hostel from your room. some of the computers don't work. the staff were quite unfriendly. it was in a good location though, if you don't have any other choices.
Comment by Suzaila
September 2006
I was unfortunate enough to get a small room with four bunk beds, a few lockers, and a chair. It was a narrow, long room of about fifteen feet by six feet. The beds are alright but the small room made it really difficult for you to move around. They serve good breakfast but there are always school groups around, so there were times when the queue was quite long. Location wise, it is really good. Walking distance from the old town. It is located in a very good and safe area near some schools. The bus stop is only three minutes walk away.
Comment by Daphne
August 2006
My God! There were so many twelve-year-old boy soccer players that I wish I was selling gatorade. The dorms are dark, crampt, and uncomfortable. The staff sucks and there is nothing really in walking distance. The rooms are coed and people of all ages stay here so there could literally be anyone in your room. This place definitely feels like a dorm that you are stuck in because your parents sent you to nerd camp one summer back in high school. I would avoid it if at all possible, but in Salzburg there are few hosteling options so who knows you may need to make the best of it.
Comment by Anonymous
July 2006
this place sucked! not only were there a heap of other kids there roaming the halls screaming at three in the morning but also the showers were gross and smelled of mould. alright for one night but avoid it if you can. and only one of the four computers actually worked properly.
Comment by Whirledpeas
June 2006
Please, do yourself a favor and do not even think of staying at this hostel. You'll cry if you do. It was overrun with kids all about twelve years old. They stay up until about five a.m. every day, running through the halls, yelling and playing music loud. They broke two of the four computers there, and they were so loud. Shrieking all night long. You cannot sleep. You cannot go to the food area to get food. Apparently, this hostel caters to these kid groups. Do not stay here.
Comment by Matt
January 2005
There was nothing overly disappointing but it was a rather boring place. It seemed to cater to groups and families more than lone travelers. The room was great however, very spacious and it had a great view of the fortress. The hostel has a poor common room and they didn't want to serve dinner because there weren't enough people, which was annoying. The staff were okay.
Comment by Anonymous
November 2004
This hostel was great. The staff was warm, welcoming and helpful. The breakfast was the best we had ever had at a hostel. Each night they play The Sound of Music, which is particularly helpful if you're going to go on one of the tours. The rooms were clean and roomy. It's in a nice, quiet location close to everything.
Comment by Claire
September 2004
Good hostel. It has clean rooms and fairly clean bathrooms. There were good, spacious lockers. The bunkbeds were annoyingly awkward to get into. This is not the place to go to meet people - people tend to come here in large groups and keep to themselves.
Comment by Ann
September 2004
In August 2004 we stayed here in an eight-bed dorm. However, nine people 'slept' in the room. The bedroom was covered in graffiti. My traveling companion said his room smelled like he didn't want to know what. The bathrooms were nasty, with so many people always using them, and the showers were not very accommodating. Furthermore, some people liked to stand around naked. There were always long lines at the reception, so in order to check out you need to get up extra early. The breakfast was minimal, and tasted like war-rations. There were people of all ages, who often came in large tour groups. When they hand you a locker key and expound to you on how to use it, you worry if anything would be safe here. Furthermore, it's overpriced for the poor quality it has. This was probably one of the two worst hostels I stayed in, in all my three months in Europe. It gives you a bad feeling, and makes you want to leave as soon as possible. You come away feeling uncomfortable and creeped out. Overall, it's rather sketchy.
Comment by Enzo, New York
September 2004
This is a nice place, reasonably clean. It has free parking and breakfast, always a plus.
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