By far the worst hostel I stayed in during my travels was in Northern Ireland. The accommodations weren't particularly awful, but the environment soon turned out to be bewildering and unsafe…
My first night I went to bed before any of my roommates, despite it being well after midnight. There was quite the ruckus outside the window from a group of guys partying in the courtyard. Eventually the ruckus died down and I was hopeful to finally get some sleep…until the ruckus came in my room. Clearly the group of guys from the courtyard were my roommates. I lay still and hoped none of them would notice me, remembering what I'd learned from previous nights in hostels where I had all male roommates.
No such luck.
One of them shushed the others suddenly and another exclaimed "Holy f*** is that a girl?"
My heart was pounding in my chest as I held on to the swiss army knife I had purchased in Interlaken, but no one said anything else or approached me. They climbed into their bunks and I tried to slow my heart so I could fall asleep.
No such luck.
Slowly I realized what the repetitive wet noise from the other side of the room was. A couple other guys began chuckling as they too realized what was going on.
I'd had enough. I threw off my blanket, jumped off the top bunk, and stormed out the door. I relieved to find an American girl at the front desk so I didn't have to try and explain through a language barrier -- or worse, mime -- what I had just witnessed.
"Uhhhhhhhh, there's a guy in my room jacking off."
She was appropriately horrified, first apologizing and then offering to wake the owner and have him talk to the guys in the room.
I explained that I wouldn't be comfortable going back to sleep in that room, and also that I didn't want to wake the owner. If she could just put me in another room for the night, that would be acceptable.
She thanked me for not waking the owner because he frequently lost his temper with guests and the staff.
Great. This is just getting better and better.
Unfortunately there were no open rooms because the Police and Fire Games were going on and the hostel was booked, but she could give me a bunk in the staff quarters for the night, explaining that my roommates would be checking out the next day anyway. She also attempted to offer me some solace:
"They're all firemen and policemen at least."
Yeah. That does not make it any better.
I followed her to the staff quarters and was appalled to find that it was a dank, cellar-smelling room filled with over a dozen beds. The bedding felt damp and the air was thick. Still, it was that or sleep with my sexually deviant roommates who were used to being the final authority. I'll take mildewy safety thank you.
Over the next couple days I learned that the staff mistreatment didn't end with their horrible sleeping situation. A few of the girls explained that they were not paid on a regular schedule and had started sharing among them the food staples they still had, hoping to get paid for the last three weeks in the next couple days. I witnessed the man in charge throwing out racial slurs about a guest and her mother when they were out of earshot, and he was creepily "over-friendly" with a couple female guests.
I have never been more relieved to leave a hostel or a city. In a few days I'll tell the story of when I tried to leave negative reviews of the hostel, which will also explain why I haven't given the name of the hostel, despite my horrible experience.
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