To Stay or Not To Stay: Hollywood Beach Hotel

I come across many people who express their desire to have an extended stay at the beach or to journey to far flung places in the world. The number one obstacle to making their desire a reality is money.

I will be the first to admit. Travel and housing expenses can wipe out a budget depending on your destination and length of stay.

Well, I want to propose one way to reduce your housing expenses. Explore the option of staying in a hostel.

Like some of my readers, I had watched backpackers wander into interesting looking buildings with colorful signs that read “hostel”, but I had my own assumptions as to what these places entailed. Other readers do not have any idea about hostels whatsoever.

A hostel is a low cost, accommodation where travelers reside in “dorm style” rooms. Most of these rooms contain bunk beds and can hold up to 8-10 people, depending on the size of the room. The dorm rooms are can be single gender or mixed gender. Typically, mixed gender rooms are lower cost. In addition to the dorm style rooms, there are some private room options available at rates that are similar to that of a motel. Prices for the multi-bed options can range from $12-23.

Sounds like a steal, right? Well, I love the price too. However, I always wondered if the tradeoff of cleanliness, privacy, safety and who –knows-whatever-else was worth it.

So, how about a little experiment?

I had been doing a little research prior to my journey to Hollywood, Florida and located The Hollywood Beach Hotel. The owners have a number of traditional hotel properties on South Beach, and this Hollywood edition looked to be a really cool looking place. HBH has private rooms, family suites AND dorm style rooms on the site.

I took a visit last night, and I decided to take the plunge.

Although I had read rave reviews about the place online, I still had the slight, unsubstantiated fear that one of my dorm mates would try and harm me in the middle of the night. The self-concocted, horrific storyline fell flat. My three dorm mates are quiet, polite and European.

My sole disappointment thus far is that I can’t fully sit up straight while sitting on my bed. My head keeps hitting the base of the top bunk.

And…the most interesting encounter was with a guy who proudly announced to me (and everyone in the living room) that he was from East Point (near Atlanta) and that he The Hollywood Beach Hotel so much that he had been living there for 30 days. To learn more about HBH and all the freebies that they provide its lodgers, check out their web site.