HI - St. Goar - Loreley-Jugendherberge St. Goar/Rhein Hostel

HI - St. Goar - Loreley-Jugendherberge St. Goar/Rhein Hostel is very child-and school-group friendly, as are most HI affiliated hostels in Germany. This place is sometimes described as institutional, and there could not possibly be a more fitting word to describe it.

The Location

The hostel is nothing more than a ten-minute walk from the train station or the boat dock, but it requires some uphill walking along the side of the road. To get to the hostel from the train station, you walk down (literally) past the church to the main road. From the boat dock you walk to the main road and head into town following the signs marked Jugendherberge. Follow the main road, Oberstrasse, and turn left onto the Schlossberg walk uphill under the train overpass and turn right at the first intersection which should be the Bismarckweg. Follow that along the train tracks until you are in front of the hostel.

Rooms and Bathrooms

To even get to reception, you must walk up a flight of stairs, and then there is another flight or two of stairs to the rooms -- there is no elevator. The rooms themselves are very small. They use a standard key for entry. We booked a dorm and ended up in the "summer house" in a small room with one bunk bed, two lockers, and a small table with two chairs. There is hardly any space left in the room for yourself and your luggage. The only window in the room borders along the top of a high ceiling -- the room itself is like a cell. Sheets are free from reception, but you must make your own bed.

The bathrooms are along the corridor -- the toilets are single gender but the washrooms are unisex. In the washroom, there are four showers with a separate small section for changing including a little stool. In the other half of the room are about a dozen sinks and mirrors.

Common Spaces

The common rooms are used mainly for dining. Breakfast is included with the bed and consists of rolls with jam and butter; some cold cuts; cheese; and coffee, tea, or juice served until 9:30. There is also an optional dinner available from the hostel, as well as a sort of bistro with drinks and snacks for purchase. The reception desk, when it is open, sells a few souvenirs and other things hostelers might need, like batteries. It is very important to take note of when the reception desk will be open for check-in -- HI hostels in our experience could not give us a definitive answer as to the latest check-in time.

Summary

This hostel definitely lacks character or atmosphere of any kind. It's really just a place to sleep and do nothing else. We're not sure there was anyone else staying at the hostel besides us and a school group (which, by the way, can be really loud). The only attraction is that the hostel is literally in the shadow of the St. Goar Rhinefelds castle. Because this is an HI hostel, HI members get a better rate than non-members.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review