• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Here are the pros n' cons of staying in an Irish hostel, from the perspective of one mom and her American teen, both new to shared accommodations.

Have you ever been on a family trip, stayed up late, and been told it’s time for lights out? I have, and for the most part, it’s been from a concerned older relative. But on the first night of my vacation in Ireland with my mother and 16-year-old cousin Nicklaus in our hostel in Kilkenny, the request for me to go to bed (or at least turn off the lights) was from a young couple sharing our mixed-dorm room.

Since it had been a long day on a plane, followed by a bus, followed by getting lost on the way to the hostel -- and we were tired -- we complied with the request. It was just another foreign experience that came with being in a foreign country.

Kilkenny Tourist Hostel

We stayed two nights at the Kilkenny Tourist Hostel (35 Parliament Street Kilkenny City, Ireland, 353/56/7763541 or 353/56/23397; info@kilkennyhostel.ie). It had a wonderful exterior that made me think we were walking out of a painting or a postcard, with ivy climbing up the front of the building and a cheery décor. The inside was welcoming, lined with bulletin boards loaded with flyers and calendars inviting us to try this and explore that. There was a sitting room with couches and chairs where visitors could read travel guides, leftover novels, children’s books, and odd assortments of magazines. There was a guest book where guests left tips about the town—which I read and found interesting and helpful. There was a Rolodex with index cards, of a word, for instance “Kilkenny Castle,” and details about it.

The kitchen was free for us to roam. When our more adventurous roommates and hostel-mates cooked their meals, their seasonings sent flavorful aromas throughout the first floor.

The dorm rooms were less appealing. They were simple. Ours was a six-person, mixed-person dorm. It contained three bunk beds, a chair, a trashcan, a recycling receptacle and a window. The bedding was provided for us, as were towels (some hostels charge a Euro for such amenities). The Kilkenny Hostel’s water closet and showering room were equally simple and since I have no basis for comparison to other Irish accommodations, I will say they reminded me of Two-Star hotels where I have stayed in France. The showers had less water pressure than I am used to and the water closet was small. In general though, the hostel was clean and quiet, which was all we really required. We didn’t come to Ireland to watch television or to play videogames.

For us, the hostel was especially convenient because it was within easy ambling range of all the sites we wanted to see in Kilkenny, and within walking distance of where we caught our bus, which was important because we were traveling without a car, and we were told taxis in Ireland are unreliable. The hostel does laundry for 5 Euros and allowed us to store our luggage there after check-out on our last day of touring.

In all, I would say we got what we paid for, in the best possible meaning. We paid 16 Euros a night, per person, and considering that the Michelin Green Guide for Ireland recommended that we allow Euros 45-50 per night for a budget accommodation, we knew we had found a good deal.