Auberge de Jeunesse HI Rouen

The location’s the only decent thing about this hostel. The rooms are tiny, smell bad, and are filthy. Even the toilets were gross, with brown stuff in one of the room toilets, and there was no hand soap at the sinks. Towels are a necessity, but they cost an absurd amount extra. The shower was awful too. You have to keep pressing a button to get a weak trickle of lukewarm water, and it cuts out after about two seconds, leaving you soaked above a floor stained brown with grime. The place is cheap, but the conditions are really poor. A hostel should at least make sure people have a suitable place to stay.

I’d strongly warn against booking here if you don’t want to risk being left out on the street. I had a confirmed bed in a four-bed women’s room. At 3 p.m. the staff said everything was fine, though check-in wasn’t until 5, so I left my bags in the luggage room and went for a walk. When I came back around 7 or 8, they said there was no bed for me. The older man at reception seemed drunk and smelled of alcohol. He first offered a bed in the men’s room. I was exhausted and had nowhere else to go, so I agreed, but then he said he had to ask a man staying there if I could join the room. That guest wasn’t at the hostel, and they had neither his phone number nor email. The receptionist called someone, maybe his boss, and then said mixed rooms weren’t allowed. The boss apparently suggested another option: an empty room with no bed, chair, or anything, just a roof over my head. I was shocked and felt completely broken. I was alone in an unfamiliar city and tired, but managed to pull myself together, collect my luggage, and leave. Once I’d calmed down, I booked an apartment for much more than I’d planned to spend. The hostel staff didn’t seem to care at all about how they’d treated me. They did cancel the booking and didn’t take the money, which I appreciate, but I can’t recommend a place that treats people so inhumanely.

There are 10 free parking spots, and the T2 and T3 buses stop right outside and go to the centre. A supermarket is just a two-minute walk away. It’s a big, convenient hostel. The kitchen has pretty much everything, though it could use a few more cutting knives. One thing to know: breakfast ends at 9 a.m., and several guests were caught out when they arrived a few minutes late.

I came with a couple of friends and wasn’t too impressed. The corners by our beds were unsanitary. Breakfast was alright, and most of the staff were kind. For a hostel, I guess it was decent.