HI - Harvard, Friendly Crossways Hostel

This is one of those hostels that immediately makes you feel at home the moment you walk in the door. A one-hundred year-old New England farmhouse, it sits about four miles off of Interstate 495 in a beautiful lush valley surrounded by trees and hills. As with most hostels of its size, it doesn't just attract the independent traveler, but can also be booked by groups for seminars, retreats, and conferences.

The sprawling farmhouse complex offers many homey facilities such as a well-stocked kitchen, a huge dining area that can seat up to 70 people, a large common room featuring comfy furniture and a fireplace, and a couple of shelves full of books that can be traded out and read. The décor is strictly "country farm" and the house features exposed wooden beams, colorful framed prints, antique furniture, and brightly colored handmade quilts on the beds.

The bedrooms range from two large rooms acting as dorm rooms and many smaller rooms that have one to three beds. The dorm rooms are of good size, and although one can sleep up to 25 people, they are not crowded. The private rooms all have extra blankets as well as individual climate controls, which is good in the winter and early spring since it can get chilly in the area. The beds are unusually comfortable for a hostel bed and the pillows large and fluffy. You are responsible for putting on your own sheets and taking them off at the end of your stay.

There are several bathrooms located at intermittent distances from the rooms. The showers get their water from a well and the hosts ask that you conserve water when using them. However, the pressure is good and strong and they heat up quickly. You must provide your own towel, or you can rent one for a nominal fee.

The kitchen is a great asset to the farm house. It has a great selection of cooking utensils and dinnerware available. It closes at 10:00 pm, presumably due to the fact that noise can carry from the kitchen to the rest of the house. One word of caution: the hostel is not close to any restaurants or grocery stores so you might want to eat or grocery shop before you arrive.

The facility itself is extremely clean - even the bathrooms sparkle. The house is in excellent condition and it's obvious that the owners take pride in it. A "to-do" list is posted on the refrigerator that outlines the maintenance responsibilities and it is extensive. It's not a party hostel by any means-but it's definitely a place to hang out and feel at home.

The location is superb if you are in the area to do some historical sightseeing. It's about a 30 minute drive to Concord where you can visit Louisa May Alcott's home, Ralph Waldo Emerson's home, and Walden Pond among other things. If you want to shop or catch a movie Leominster is just up the road as well off of the Interstate.

The only thing I would recommend to the hostel to consider in the future would be to have a travel information area where brochures and maps pointed out the local area's attractions. There are so many things to see and do, but it would have been nice to have something that points travelers in the right direction.

The hostess, Mary Helan, is friendly and helpful and the house amazing. If you're looking for a nice, quiet, getaway weekend then I would definitely recommend the Friendly Crossings Hostel.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review