Carcassonne AJ - Cité Médiévale Hostel

Good hostel, great location, and value for money
This was a good hostel in a great location. The lady from the front desk is not really interested in you if you are not French and rushes around helping everyone else even if in the middle of serving you. They are very strict about you arriving prior to 3 p.m. or they may give you room away but check in doesn't commence until 3 p.m. Rooms are locked between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rooms are very hot through summer even at night, showers are push button -- one I used only lasted two seconds before needing the button pushed again! The hostel has a great, very well equipped kitchen. Not so social if you're not so good with your French as most guests are French, many middle aged, and lots of cyclists. Nonetheless, great value for money at less than 17 Euros for members including breakfast and sheets. Internet is 1 euro per twenty minutes.

Good but boring
This hostel does have a great location, if you'd like to be right in the medieval city. Which is fine for one night. But if you would like to spend some time with people younger than forty-five, you may only want to stay that one night in this hostel. It has a bar downstairs, but half the time we were there it was closed, and it had little selection. When we were there, hardly anyone was hanging out at the bar at all, and those that were were reading. The showers were so-so, and one of the two desk people i met were quite rude. Good hot chocolate in the morning though. So, if you want a quiet (very quiet) night in, as there is no nightlife for young people in carcassonne, and to be in the medieval city, stay here. If you want to stay awake past 9, make carcassonne a day trip and sleep elsewhere.

I stayed here for two nights and was very pleased overall. everything was very clean, the guy at the desk let me use the internet for free (although technically it's 1E per twenty minutes), and I've never felt so safe staying at a hostel by myself. I stayed in a four-bed dorm the first night and then was moved to a six-bed dorm, I think technically mixed but I was with all women both times. Beds had individual lights. Breakfast was fine -- baguettes, jam, coffee, tea, cereal (cornflakes and granola), and sometimes some weird pound cake-type stuff, and you could take as much as you wanted. The showers were annoying -- you have to hold down on the button the whole time, quite a feat if you're trying to wash your hair -- but for no lockout, keycard entry, and 19E a night to stay inside the fortress, it's a great deal.

A VERY NICE PLACE! As far as hostels go, especially some in France, it is quite clean. Breakfast is included and filling. The staff were very kind to us, allowing my friend and me to keep our bags onsite Friday afternoon before check in and after check out on Saturday, even though we only stayed in the hostel on Friday night. I might add that the area where we were allowed to keep our bags was not locked. You can rent bikes for 8 euros from the hostel, which is a lot of fun. Very friendly, most of the staff speak English or Spanish. Great location. If you are not looking to be around a lot of little kids, you may want to book elsewhere, although it wasn't a huge issue.

We stayed here for two nights at the start of September (2005). I can't recommend the place more. Rooms were a reasonable size and there is an actual ladder to top bunks! Bright and clean. And we never made use of the lockers because there are actual keys with which to lock your room (gasp!). But the best thing was the atmosphere. It was relaxed and sociable due to the place having a bar and a courtyard, and the staff were friendly and helpful. They do very substantial snacks for good prices (they satisfied me as a whole meal, the salads are huge!), including veggie options. There is also a chess set you can get out in the bar, which I'd recommend to attempt to play while drinking wine. Breakfast is on offer in the morning. There are only three cons that I can think of, which are: You do need a hostelling card, they check for everybody who stays there, and not just the person who made the booking either. This isn't a problem because the cards are cheap, just make sure you've got one. The rooms all have windows looking out onto the courtyard, which means if you want your window open at night (and in summer you will) you can hear everyone's conversations. For us it was hardly raucous though and we had no trouble getting to sleep — also the sound of laughter and glasses clinking isn't exactly disagreeable. And it's in the Cité Medievale, which is VERY touristy. This is good in that you don't have to walk anywhere to see the old town, and there are loads of places to eat, but throngs of tourists are a downside, and staying there all day you can feel like you're in a theme park village. It's easy to escape however– the center of Carcassonne is only about a half-hour (?) walk, with fairly regular shuttles to and from, and it's nice walking round the ramparts at dusk after the day-trippers have gone home. If I'd stayed longer I'd also have taken advantage of the bike hire services offered nearby, to get out and see some of the surrounding countryside.

Even though it is a rather big hostel, the staff always added that personal touch. There is no need to go downtown for a drink or something to eat; both the cuisine and the bar are excellent and the courtyard is a perfect place to meet the other visitors. Another bonus is the free parking lot that the hostel shares with the other hotels from the medieval city (which is at maximum a 5-minute walk from the hostel; ask for a ticket at reception or else access will be denied). If you want to have a quiet visit, you'd better avoid the school holidays and bank holidays because it will surely be too crowded, not only in the hostel but also in the medieval city. It is also best to book in advance because it is a very popular hostel for young (mainly Spanish) families. If you're not booked in advance, you'd better arrive close to opening of reception (3 p.m.), or else all the beds might be taken, or the staff might claim that they are taken. (A roommate who asked at 5 p.m. to prolong his visit for an extra night was told that all beds where occupied but only three of the six beds in my room where used that night — maybe for security reasons?). Because the hostel is very popular, the showers and toilets might get messy in the morning... This hostel is surely worth spending 1 or 2 nights.

This place was great. :D Amazing location for walking around "la cite", though it's quite a walk from the train station (or, when it's raining at least) so we took a cab, which was maybe 6 euros. It's a really big hostel, really clean and everything, with a great breakfast, and clean rooms and showers. Too bad lockout is at 10 a.m., though. There is a shared unisex bathroom, with 2 showers and 2 toilets (in separate walled rooms, though, that was good). I think they have 2 bathrooms like that on each floor, but I'm not sure. Warning: There was a huge group of REALLY LOUD kids when I was there. They were loud all the time — woke us up really early, etc. That was kind of unpleasant but I don't know how often they have kids like that. I was there in mid-June. Also, the place was booked solid so we were very glad we'd made reservations. Highly recommended!

Great place to stay but a warning — if you are going to arrive after 5 p.m. make sure you call and confirm your reservation the same day or your room may go bye-bye. There was a couple in the lobby crying their eyes out (their train was late).

I stayed here in May and August of 2003. Not even a Hilton has such a location in Carcassone. It's definitely worth it to go there. The location is the best part of this hostel, but inside it is good also, with new furniture and friendly people at the reception. This is probably the best hostel I have ever stayed at!! Really!

Clean, friendly, and fun hostel! It's in a beautiful city, and it's worth it to stay on the inside of the wall. You're in the city before and after the tourists for the day. And the hostel has a wonderful courtyard to chill out in (and good house wine!).

This is a hostel located inside the stone walls of the medieval old town. The location is really the best feature of this hostel. There is a large center courtyard, and a kitchen and dining area. Breakfast is included, and dinner is extra. The rooms include sinks, and some of the rooms also have showers.

This place has an excellent location in the middle of the Old City. It's clean and the kitchen is okay (stove, no oven). Like many HI hostels, it's full of school groups.

WOW, it's like a trip back in time, and the vine they sell is magnifique. U have to go there!

This is a tiny slice of heaven! The location cannot be beat, the staff (ask for Sebastien!) are wonderful, and the bar is a blast at night! Through the University of Houston, I have stayed at this hostel twice (2000 & 2002), and everything only gets better and better! Our group meals were wonderful, especially a particular lamb stew they made for us. I highly recommend this hostel, and plan to stay there again next summer--sans l'universite.