Refreshingly good news
This page includes recent press about HI-USA Golden Gate Council’s network of hostels. Contact Us if you locate an article we should add to this page.
San Francisco Chronicle (September 14, 2006)
Betty Kam, a 30-year-old teacher from Hong Kong, carefully planned her July vacation in Scotland. She plotted a detailed itinerary and reserved accommodations for each leg of her journey.
The only unusual thing about her trip: She decided to stay in hostels, long the preserve of young and spontaneous backpackers.
Kam is among a growing number of people choosing to book stays at hostels in pre-planned vacations, a departure from the adventurous, happy-go-lucky ethos that has long defined backpacking culture.
The trend springs from older travelers looking for cheap deals, easy access to city centers where many hostels are located, and a desire to experience a laid-back atmosphere.
Los Angeles Times (August 21, 2006)
There are few choices in lodging along this part of the coast. On my first trip, my group stayed at the Costanoa eco-resort about 10 miles south of Pescadero. It has a 40-room lodge, cabins and tents scattered over 40 acres. Its location is incomparable, across Highway 1 from an untamed stretch of coast. But the service (unbused tables and rubbery eggs) and amenities (uncomfortable bunks in our family bungalow, saunas out of service) weren't worth the upscale prices. I considered the bargain-priced Pigeon Point Lighthouse hostel, which is perched next to a lighthouse on jagged cliffs above the Pacific. Its location alone would fetch triple-digit rates, and when we visited, its rooms were neat and the shared bathrooms clean.
Washington Post (August 6, 2006)
At 52, I'm no youth. But I'm hooked on hostels.
And I'm not alone. Mark Vidalin, marketing director of Hostelling International USA, says 17,000 adults over 55 are dues-paying members--about 12 percent of its 80,000 American members. About 10 percent of HI's 3.2 million members worldwide are over 55, he says.
San Francisco Bay Guardian (July 26, 2006)
Is your wanderlust and fiery thirst for life often dulled by the same group of friends voicing the same opinions about the same boss/fashion/war/gossip/reality television show at an interchangeable setting of hipsterclots? Break free of the predictable for a day or two and stay at Hostelling International in Union Square. The Grand Hilton it is not, but roughing it is, after all, part of the point. Share a clean and safe four-person dormitory for approximately $25--we recommend summer or a weekend, when it's likely to be more hopping--and make sure to sign up for the free pub crawl, usually held weekly. While stumbling from bar to bar with your newfound foreign friends, you can drink in the city along with the whiskey. Gaze at San Francisco through their eyes, as if it's your first--and perhaps last--time. (PS: Don't be shy; take advantage of your local knowledge and become the center of attention for a group of nubile French girls or tall, dark, and handsome Spaniards.) Call ahead for weekly events; reservations can also be made online.
Redding Record Searchlight (July 9, 2006)
The hostel idea was born in 1909 with Richard Schirrmann, a German schoolteacher, according to Hostel International's Web site. The kids of 1909 weren't unlike the ones of today: They wanted to travel. Their pockets had more lint than loot. And Schirrmann figured a way to bridge travel with economy with communal-style lodging.
Fast-forward to 2006 and Hostelling International dots more than 80 countries with 4,000 hostels. And it's not just for the young. You're as likely to see a teen as 40-something-year-olds, family in tow, who prefer the camaraderie and companionship of communal travels, as opposed to a strip-mall-style motel with a boxed-in room and TV for company.
Besides, did I mention they're cheap? And so am I?
Kiplinger's Personal Finance (June 2006)
1. PESCADERO, CAL.
You don't need to spend a mint to get exclusive ocean-view accommodations. Perched on a cliff of the central California coastline is the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, which runs an affordable hostel in the former keeper's quarters. A bed in a dorm-style room costs only $18 to $25, or you can book a private room for as low as $46 a night. The experience and the views are priceless. You can relax in a hot tub with a panoramic view of the ocean, explore nearby tide pools for treasures, view the wildlife in the Pescadero Marsh or hike the redwood canyons at Butano State Park.
Pigeon Point is located near Pescadero, about 50 miles south of San Francisco and 27 miles north of the Monterey Bay. Booking a private room may require some advance planning. However, we recently found a three-night stay in a private room on two-weeks' notice. Dorm-style rooms are more readily available. We found one for a three-night stay in early June on five-days' notice.
The Daily Triplicate (May 24, 2006)
Redwood Hostel was sited last year as one of the top five hostels in the United States and Canada by Lonely Planet, a travel guide publisher specializing in backpacking and budget travel.
In addition, this spring the hostel received a score of 102 percent in the annual review conducted by Hostelling International.
"The score was based on everything from our location across from the beach to cleanliness, safety, sanitation and guest friendliness," Elder said.
Guests at the facility, which can house up to 30 people, range from Girl Scouts to university students, locals wanting a weekend getaway to hikers one an adventure.
Daily Breeze (February 12, 2006)
The Pigeon Point Lighthouse hostel, perched on the cliffs about 50 miles south of San Francisco and nestled beside the 134-year-old lighthouse, is a budget travelerŠs paradise. Here, unlike some international hostels, which set an age cutoff at anywhere between 26 and 30, guests of any age can experience the isolated Northern California coastline for $18-$56 per night, depending on the kind of room (there are shared and private rooms).
Neighbored only by the Pacific Ocean and several miles of empty, winding roads, the 115-foot lighthouse stands as a symbol of the sort of solitude its guests seek.
Sometimes, peaceful contemplation must be forced upon us; that way, it canŠt be cut short by the modern travelerŠs urge to catch the latest episode of, say, "The Sopranos" or when the allure of checking e-mail becomes too tough to resist.
Staying inside one of four simply decorated cottages steps from the lighthouse, guests won't find TVs in their rooms. Mobile phones don't work (at least, mine didn't), so communication with the outside world can be found in a single phone booth near the driveway. And, if you want food, you've got to bring it with you since there is no restaurant anywhere for miles.
It is the kind of place where entertainment is had in the form of soaring sunsets and shooting stars, and where stories can be stretched and recited to strangers around a communal dining room table.
Collegian (Winter 2006)
Hostelling International operates three hostels in the City of San Francisco. The oldest and most popular is in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Fort Mason, a converted military base that's a few minutes walk away from Fisherman's Wharf and within eyeshot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The result is a combination of idyllic retreat and gritty urban experience with bars, clubs, and tourist haunts on one side and a vast bay-front park on the other.
Hostelling International's newest location is in the city's center. A recently converted hotel, this is the hostel for you if you'd like to stay in style. There's a marbled-floor atrium. The dining room is a converted wood-paneled barroom. Every bedroom has the same kind of key card entry a Marriott would have. The floors are still covered in the hotel's print carpeting and the whole place has a very elegant feel.
For a change of pace from city life, head south down California's coastal highway. Hostelling International has converted two lighthouses into cozy getaways that are about 20 miles apart on the coast. The lighthouse at Montara is closest to the city, but most evidence of the sprawling metropolitan area you just left behind completely vanishes once you hit the tiny town.
The Pigeon Point hostel sits about 20 feet from the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's too bad the Coast Guard has temporarily suspended lighthouse tours until completion of structural repairs, because the view from the top must be ridiculous. Fortunately the good folks at Hostelling International have installed a hot-tub at cliff's edge. For a small fee you can relax in the hot water as a beam of light sweeps overhead every 10 seconds and waves crash against the cliffs so violently, it seems like theyŠll wash the tub and everyone in it out to sea. If you're traveling with a sweetheart, beware. This stuff is awfully romantic.
San Francisco Chronicle (December 29, 2005)
Hostelling International provides low-cost lodgings (śhostelsī) in America and around the world, charging the most nominal amounts for rooms. These rooms are sometimes multi-bedded dorms, but often are private units housing two people. Contrary to a popular misconception, hostels are open to people of all ages. Especially during periods when young people are in school, hotels often are patronized by middle-aged and even elderly people.
The organization enables a great many people to travel who otherwise could not do so, and it is obviously dependent on grants and contributions for a large part of its expenses. Though you might never have thought of this institution as an object of charitable giving, you definitely should. Keep in mind that hostels are more than mere lodgings; they are warm gathering places where people mix and converse without barriers of race, religion age or income.
The New York Times (November 20, 2005)
Hostelling used to be so easy. Choose a place at random. Make a side trip to the drugstore for sleep aids and earplugs. Brace yourself for the 4 a.m. hip check from the guy who drank his weight in Guinness, and shuffle to the refrigerator at first light to see whether someone stole your food.
Now things are much more complicated. Should you spend the night in an English castle or opt for a place with WiFi? Choose a private suite with a Jacuzzi or a dorm room overlooking the walking garden? And just how many pancakes can you eat at breakfast?
After nearly 100 years on the lower rungs of the accommodation ladder, hostels are moving up. Hostel organizations are holding their members to higher standards than ever, and hostel owner are following suit as they serve a budget travel market that is increasingly thirsty for more diverse, and often fancier, accommodations than they will find at motels and low-cost hotels.
