La Rochelle AJ Hostel

For one night this hostel was fine. Nice location within walking distance of the old port, the place was kept clean, and the rooms were fine.

This hostel is ok for somewhere to sleep. It was clean and secure, but no atmosphere at all, and it was a long deserted walk from town in the evening. La Rochelle is a lovely place so I would re-visit the hostel for that reason.

The location sucks. Walking alone at night from the city center, especially for a disoriented girl like me, is scary. Beware of the useless stuff. The museum of animated machines is really fun.

I want to note that there really aren't too many hostels worth staying at in France. I wonder why that is; I don't mean the service is rude, I just mean the building is crumbling.

I went to this hostel on an organised trip last summer (June 2003). Unfortunatly I was very unhappy with the standard of cleanlines. The toilets were cleaned very unregularly and the shower floors were black with mould and dirt. The toilets and showers are in a block at the end of each corridor, unless you are a lucky customer and get 1 of the 10 rooms with a shower and WC already installed! The food was very basic (French style). The resturant was rather big with a pleasant view of the harbour. Inside the rooms you have bunk beds with bright red frame work and grey duvet covers. The windows had shutters and opened all the way with no saftey catches. The room also included 2 sinks and 6 massive cupboards to be used as wardrobes. The room was very unwelcoming and rather dusty. Overall, La Rochelle was a lovely place but I do not recomend this hostel to you as it looked very unappealing from the outside and inside. I am sure it will lower your rating of the beautiful town.