REVOLUTIONARY TALES – BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – HOSTEL INTERNATIONAL BOSTON

It’s  located  in the  heart  of  Boston ,  halfway  between Chinatown  and the  Theater District  of  the  city .

It’s  part  of  the  Hostelling   International  group ,  which  has hostels  all over  the  world .

This  hostel is  very  easy  to  get  to  by public  transportation .

If you’re  coming  from  Boston  Logan  Airport ,  you can take the  free Silver Line train to South  Station  and  walk a few blocks  down  to  the hostel  at 19 Stuart Street .

If you’re  arriving  by an Amtrak  train, Greyhound  or Megabus, you’ll  arrive  at South  Station  as well.

You have  two other options  besides walking  when you get to  South  Station .

You can either take the Silver Line bus, which isn’t  free, and drops you off across  the  street  from  the  hostel ,  or if  it’s  late at night ,  and you really  don’t  know  your way around  the  city, take one of  the  many cabs that wait  outside  the  terminal .

Have the  address  of the  hostel  handy just  in case  the  cab driver  claims  he doesn’t  know  how  to  get  there  and tries  to  overcharge  you .

I’m  very biased ,  but I  like  to think that  this  is  one of  the  nicest  hostels  in  the  country ,  and given  all  the  reviews  that this  hostel  receives  from many of  the  hostel  AND hotel booking  sites ,  I’m  not  the  only  one  who  feels  this  way .

The building  that  the  hostel  is located  in  was  once  an office  building .

It has  six floors  and  like  most  of  the  hostels  in  the  world ,  Hostel  International  Boston  has private  rooms ,  and dormitory  rooms  with four, six, and  eight  bunk beds .

You  have  male ,  female ,  and  coed rooms .

Each  room  has lockers, so remember  to  bring  your own  padlock .

If you don’t  have  one, you can buy one at the  front  desk .

Each bed also has a private lamp so you won’t  disturb your bunkmates.

There’s  no  curfew per say, but if you come  back late from partying  in the clubs on Lansdowne  Street  or those hockey ,  baseball ,  or basketball  games   at TD Gardens  or Fenway  Park ,  just remember  to  keep  the  noise  down  to  a  minimum .

When  you  first  check  into  the  hostel ,  you’ll  be  asked  if you  have  a Hosteling International  membership  card ,  and they also  want to  make  sure  that  you  don’t  live  less than  90  miles  away .

If do  live less than the 90 miles ,  you can’t  stay  at the hostel .

If you  don’t  have  a membership  card ,  they add three dollars  per night  to your bill.

That might  not  seem  like  much ,  but I  would  advise  getting  one.

The card doesn’t  only  work  for  this  hostel ,  but for  Hostel  International  branches  all over the  world .

Membership  is good  for  one year .

Check  in time  is  2pm or earlier ,  if beds are available .

If not, you can store your bags at the  hostel  and  explore  the  city  until  a bed is ready.

Check  out  time  is  11am .

There’s  a small  cafe  area  right  next  to  the  big  and spacious  lobby  area .

They  also  have  a  jar  of  cookies  right  at the  front  desk .

There’s  also free WiFi  in the hostel ,  they’ll  give  you  the  password  at the  front  desk  .

The elevator  is right  in front  of  you  as you  use your  key card  for  entrance  from the  lobby  into  the  hallway .

If your room  is  on the  second  floor ,  you can get your exercise  and walk up the  stairs ,  unless  your bags  are heavy.

All the  hallways  from  the  third  floor  all the  way  up to  the  six floor  might  look familiar  to some  of  you  if you’ve  been  to Boston  before .

The hallways  are  painted  in blue ,  orange ,  red, and  green .

That’s  right ,  those  are  the  colors  of  the  four  “T”  lines that  make  up  the Boston  subway .

If you  want  to   go sightseeing   in the  city  and aren’t  sure which  stops  are on what  train  line, you don’t  need  a  guide .

Just  look  at  the  shower curtains  in all of   the  bathrooms .

It’s  the map of all the  subway  stations  in the  city, including  the  commuter lines that run from South Station  and  North  Station ,  called  the Purple  line.

But please don’t  depend on the shower  curtain .

Get yourself  a  Boston  city  guide from  the  front  desk  if you didn’t  bring  one  with  you .

Like many hostels ,  they also have  free breakfast .

It runs from  7am until  10am, every day.

Coffee, tea, and water are free all day but for the daily  breakfast ,  there’s  white or wheat bread, bagels, fruit, hard boiled eggs ,  cereal, yogurt ,  as well as orange juice  and  apple juice .

The kitchen ,  which is  on the second  floor ,  has cooking  facilities ,  dishes, pots and  pans ,  cooking  utensils ,  condiments  and a place  to  store  your  food .

Just  remember to  label  your food  if you put it in the refrigerator  or pantry.

They provide  labels  for you.

If you don’t  label  your food ,  someone  might  take  it or worse, the staff will throw  it  away .

The second floor  also has a laundry room ,  reading  room ,  game room, and my favorites ,  the candy vending  machines  and  the  TV  room .

There’s  also computers so that you  can print  out  your boarding  pass  or  make  another  reservation  for  one of  the  other  Hostelling  International  locations .

The hostel  is   in  such a central  location ,  so you  can  walk  to  Chinatown  for  either  Chinese ,  Vietnamese , Malaysian ,  Japanese  or Thai  food .

There’s  even  fast  food  restaurants  close  enough  as bars and  pubs stay open fairly  late due  to  the  fact  that  this  is  the  Theater  District .

If you  don’t  want  to  have  take  out  food, Walgreens ,  CVS  and good  old  7-Eleven  are a block  or so  away  from  the  hostel for those groceries  that you might need.

Unlike  the Old  City  Hostel  in Philadelphia  that I  mentioned  in  an earlier  post , (  See  sportsandtravelblog.wordpress.com /  2017 / 05/ 05 Liberty  -Tales – Philadelphia  –  Pennsylvania  –  The  -House  -At-325-Cherry-Street), this hostel  is a  “dry” hostel .

Don’t  look  for  any alcohol ,  because  it’s  not  allowed  on the  premises  anywhere .

The rooms  have  bathrooms  right  outside  the room ,  so remember  to  bring  your  key  card  with you  .

The  most  nights  that  one  can  stay  in the  hostel  is 14 days  in a calendar  year.

Other hostels  have this  rule  as well .

The  hotels  in town  are fairly  expensive ,  but  this  hostel  is a very  affordable  option  for  you .

I  would  advise  though  booking  directly  on the  hostel’s own website  rather  than  on websites  such as Hostel  World or Booking . com.

One  more thing  about  the  kitchen .

There’s  communal  tables which  makes  it  easy  to  strike  up a  conversation  with  your fellow  travelers  .

If you  don’t  make new friends  or strike  up a conversation  with  at least  ONE  person  during  your time here, given  all the  activities  provided by  the  hostel ,  sorry, that’s  on you, boo.

Some of  those  travelers  might be  going  to  that  same  Red Sox  baseball  game  or Celtics  basketball  game  that  you’re  going  to .

I could  stay  anywhere  in the city  as I have  friends  and  family  here.

But is is my go to  place  when I’m  in town.

Make  the  Hostel  International  Boston  your place if you  come  here for a 30  Plus  Teams  Tour  or not.