Cache House

The free breakfast and coffee from 7 AM–10 AM were a great convenience, and I really liked the common area, with its good music and respectful atmosphere from staff and travelers. The bathrooms were clean too. I'm two nights from finishing a nine-night stay, and it's worked very well for traveling solo. The temperature in the cubbies changed from night to night. Mine was sometimes freezing, which I preferred, and other times quite stuffy. The lights dim at 9 PM but don't go fully dark. The curtain blocks most of the light, though you might want an eye mask if you need complete darkness. For longer stays of five nights or more, I wish they had laundry service. It's a clean, well-run place, and I'd stay again.

It's hard to find the hostel when you arrive, since it's managed through the Anvil Hotel and there's no clear sign. The service was the worst part of our stay. My partner and I checked into our bunk and found just one pillow for both of us. I went to the front desk, explained what was missing, and gave the woman our bunk number. She hesitated and said she'd do her best, but we never got a second pillow, and she didn't follow up or explain why. There are some good points: The Cache is centrally located, so it's easy to explore town on foot. For a hostel, the bathrooms are impressive, with lots of private rooms that have their own toilets and showers. But there's no kitchen equipment at all, which makes it much harder to travel on a budget or store food. The bunk fan didn't stop it getting hot behind the curtains, and the foot locker assigned to our bunk wouldn't lock.

I didn't have a car, so being just a block from the shopping and restaurants was really convenient. The Visitor Center is across the street, where lots of tour guides meet their groups, and the hotel parking lot above the hostel was an easy spot to meet my guide. Free coffee was pretty good, and the paid drinks like lattes were even better. The common area was a nice place to relax, though not many people were socializing there when I visited. It was such good value for an expensive area, where other places cost three or four times as much. The bed linens and comforter were more comfortable than I expected, and the space was bigger than I thought it would be. I could charge my phone, use the fan, and adjust the light as a night light. Dark curtains at the foot of the bed worked well. Towels were in a storage drawer, and there's also a large locker with a combination lock. Each shower had a private attached toilet, all behind a locked door. The liquid shower soaps were surprisingly fancy.

I had a super comfy bed with plenty of room to stretch out, and the hostel area was really nice. It was quiet in the off season and close to the square. I brought a small portable heater with a safety shutoff and a fan, which made the sleeping area comfortable. If you're not used to cooler temperatures, having those along is nice, though the whole place was at a good temperature anyway.