Durban Beach Youth Hostel

We had booked using another website and already paid our deposit. We were amused to hear that the hostel was no longer affiliated with the YHA associated (and for the obvious reasons this was no suprise), and that our booking was nowhere in sight--neither was the deposit we had already paid. I asked to look at a double room, and to my horror it was a double bed, surrounded by 4 bunks; again, it stank of wee. The loitering people in the reception area made it a bit suspicious. To be honest, I thought it was a brothel. We stayed in the Holiday Inn, which (much to my relief) was only around the corner. Don't let this place spoil your South Africa trip--Durban is a great place with plenty of reputable and hard-working hosteliers. Don't let these lazy hostel owners take your hard-earned cash away this simply--there is a better way!!

We had booked the hostel on the internet and when we arrived, the receptionist didn't know we were coming, so made us wait in the lounge for and hour while he found someone that spoke English. The prices on the wall were half what we were to be charged and when we eventually shown to the rooms they were disgusting. They stunk of urine, the locks didn't work on several rooms, and the street guy lying half naked on the couch was enough. We eventually found a hotel in Morningside that was less than what we were to be paying, had 24 hour security, carparking and a whole street of popular bars about a 2 minute walk from the hotel.