My First Hostel

There is one main reason people stay at hostels – they are cheap. I’m traveling to some very expensive destinations, all seemingly at high season. I have to get creative at times to be able to find reasonable accommodations, including staying at the Dreamcatcher Hostel – my first hostel!

For those that aren’t familiar with hostels, many offer private rooms but they are most known for their shared dorm room sleeping arrangements and communal living spaces. Not always ideal, especially for someone like me who is still working full time. This is not the first hostel I looked at staying on my journey but it was the first one that I felt like was the right fit.

Once again, my hesitation is around work. If I wanted to stay in Banff or anywhere remotely close it was going to be $300+ / night. That just isn’t going to work for a potential 2 week stay.

I found this hostel an hour and a half from Banff in Golden BC. It looked like one of the cleanest hostels I’ve ever seen. Not to stereotype but hostels often have a reputation of being run down and dirty. On top of that it was literally the only reasonable accommodations I could find.

If I was going to go explore the Canadian Rockies, I was going to have to stay here for part of my stay. My plan was to then take some time off work and camp in both Jasper and Banff National Parks. After some email back and forth with the manager I felt pretty good about this option.

I initially had 2 concerns staying at a hostel:

#1 – The Shared Dorm Experience

Was I going to be able to get quality sleep in a room with potentially up to 5 other people?

#2 – The Work Situation

How was I going to be able to work while staying here?

Both those concerns ended up being non-issues. To my surprise, the shared sleeping arrangements were not a big deal at all. Everyone was respectful and I didn’t have a single issue the entire week.

Another great thing is that everyone who stays at a hostel leaves during the day to go hiking or exploring. I had the place completely to myself everyday. That was the best part I think – it was really nice and quiet and I could easily work from the large common area that had plenty of seating and lounge space.

The hostel was also conveniently located with a grocery story and several cafes and bars right down the street. I walked to the grocery store, bought a few things for the week, and was able to utilize their full kitchen for several meals. When I didn’t feel like making something I strolled to a nearby cafe.

One good thing about hostels is that they are filled with nomads and backpackers. We share something in common right off the bat. New people come and go every day. Most people kept to themselves but there was opportunity to talk to people and here there stories.

One surprise I found was the mix of people there. A lot of Europeans, but it was a mix of both young 20 somethings and older 50-60 somethings. Either I lucked out with my stay at this hostel, or hostels are something worth looking closer and more often at when considering lodging options.

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