Hostel Tip #03: Try Before You Buy: The Community Bathroom
Posted on 13 March 2009 by Justin
Community Bathrooms are a way of life for backpackers looking to spend less than $25 a night for a bunk. A community bathroom can be a biohazard style experience to be endured as quickly as possible, or a pleasant, clean non scarring affair. In most cases, a community bathroom will fall between these two extremes. However, before plunking down hard earned travel money at the check in desk, a smart backpacker will take a look at the community bathrooms.
After examining your bunk, the hostel worker will likely attempt to steer you back towards the front desk. Don’t let them. Although it may be awkward, ask to look at the facilities and amenities. If your lucky, the front desk proctor will be rushed to get back to the desk and will send you off on a solo mission to examine the rest of the hostel at your leisure. Then again, the proctor may want to give you the guided tour. Either way, your next stop should be the closest bathroom to your room. If the proctor is performing a guided tour, ask the following questions.
Questions
- Is the community bathroom mix gender or segregated by sex?
- How often are the bathrooms cleaned? What time?
- How many bathrooms are available on your floor?
You could find these answers on your own, but if the proctor is playing the tour guide, tap into their extensive knowledge of the facilities and make them earn their paycheck.
When you arrive at the bathroom, look into the following.
Number of Showers: If 3 showers are available for you and the other 40 guys on the floor, it may be difficult to find a time to shower. Those showers also become really nasty really fast.
Soap?: Is soap provided at the sinks or will you need to bring your own? A hostel concerned about disease and 
infections will often provide soap in the hopes that 1 in 5 people will actually wash their hands in the bathroom. Lack of soap in the bathroom means that a lot of people are walking around the hostel with dirty hands. You have been warned.
Hand Towels: Some hostels put hand towels in the bathroom and others do not. If hand towels are changed regularly (at least once a day) this is a nice perk and will keep you from drying your hands on your pants. However, if it is possible to wring water from the hand towels than they are not actually clean and should be avoided at all costs.
Number of Stalls/Urinals: When you need to use the bathroom, standing in a line of 15 girls outside the one stall on your floor is going to be irritating.
Does It All Work?: Confirm that both hot and cold water flow into the sink. Make sure hot and cold water come out of the shower and test the water pressure. Look at the color of the water. Does it look like clean water or is it brown or rust colored? Does the water smell like sulfur or hard minerals? You are going to be soaking your hands and (hopefully) body in this water. Make sure you can stomach it.
Sink Size: How big are the sinks? Will the sinks make washing your laundry a torturous affair that involves spilling soapy water all over the floor, or are the sinks large enough to accommodate washing your pants. Some bathrooms even have a laundry sink (the big stainless steal tub capable of washing a St. Bernard) that makes this process very easy.
Toilet Paper: Is toilet paper provided or will you need to bring your own? Is the toilet paper dispensed in an easy to steal fashion or is it secure? In some places, non secured toilet paper will be quickly stolen. If it is not locked up, you may need to bring your own just to be safe.
Squeaky Clean or Biohazard: Look at the overall bathroom. Can you see hair all over the counters and floors? Are harden globs of toothpaste located around the rim of the sink? Can you see a brown residue in the shower head? Look carefully.
Most community bathrooms are livable and I have never left a hostel because the bathroom triggered my gag reflex. However, know what you can live with and what you cannot. If the bathroom is simply beyond you, move on to the next hostel. The condition of the bathroom may not help to negotiate a reduced nightly price but at least you know what your money is buying for the night.
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Tags | Hostel Tips
Hi again guys,
Thanks for all the hostel tips – they are becoming useful now that we will be soon living in hostel ourselves. Nothing like learning from other peoples mistakes! I have a question: Which on-line sites do use to choose your next hostel? How do you decide from all hostels available on any one site? I’m researching booking my very first hostel in Lima and am a little overwhelmed. I remember when you were just booking your first hostel…and thought you might have some advice?
Must be nice to be the ‘experienced ones’ now eh? Remember when you were still asking questions like these? Soon, I’ll have some experience too! Thanks in advance. G.
We are so excited that you are getting close to your departure.
To be honest, we do not tend to use the internet much for finding hostels. We usually rely more on word of mouth and our own instincts when we show up in town. At times, when we need to make a reservation, we will look up a hostel on hostelbookers.com, http://www.hostelworld.com , or hostelz.com. More often then not, I find that the best reviews are the ones that appear in google when I search for the hostel.
I don’t spend much time looking for hostels online because I do not usually know where I want to stay in a city until I get there. Plus, ownership changes so frequently that reviews can be out of date 1 month after they are written. Also, it is usually cheaper to show up and book the hostel than to book it online. If you are feeling uncomfortable (I know I did before leaving) make your first reservation online and hold off on the others. Try not to be overwhelmed as you will soon get the hang of how to live in hostels and how to find one that works for you. If you are feeling really stuck, get a recent addition of a guide book and only look at reviews for the hostels listed. That should narrow your search a bit.
Good Luck!
Thanks Justin. I agree, this is just beginners nerves – we’ll get the hang of it quickly and will, for the most part, just get into town and find one based on location and traveler recommendations. I am only looking to book our first 2 nights in Lima as we will arrive in the evening after travelling for almost 2 days.
We booked our first flight (we’re doing one way flights as we go) and our Inca Trail Trek yesterday – SOOOO excited!! Nothing makes it more real than plopping down a bunch of non refundable dough!!
Thanks again for the tips.
Cheers.
I am looking to start my travels in St. Petersburg in May 2010. Would you suggest booking online or just show up, I hear it is a ‘peak season’, I don’t want to show up and not have a bed.
Hey Rich, I think you are very wise for knowing it is the high season. Consider booking ahead, and making a reservation for at least the first night or 2. Then if you are unsatisfied, you may investigate alternative lodging after arrival. However, if you are satisfied with your sleeping arrangements simply ask to stay a few more nights. While traveling, you will find that the person at the front desk is more willing to give the person standing in front of them a bed for the night, compared to the person on the phone that “may” need a bed for the night.
At the same time, May 2010 is far away, you may want to wait several more months before booking anything. New accommodations can open overnight, and you may find exactly what you want, but it doesn’t open to the public until February 2010. Enjoy dreaming and planning!!!
Thank you, I don’t plan on making reservations any time soon. Anyone have suggestions on where to stay in St. Petersburg, so I can keep and eye on it?