10 luxury hostels from around the world

by Jessica Festa on

While many people think of hostels as run down hotels with cramped rooms and few amenities, there are many properties that can actually make you feel as if you’re staying at a resort. For those who want comfort on a budget, here are 10 excellent luxury hostels from around the world.

Gilligan’s Backpackers Hotel and Resort Cairns
Cairns, Australia

Gilligan’s Backpackers Hotel and Resort in Cairns is without a doubt one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. And if you’re looking for something a little more luxurious than your average youth hostel, this is an excellent choice. Rooms offered include 4,6,8,10-bed dorms, 4 & 6-bed deluxe dorms, 6-bed all female dorms, and private rooms. The accommodation has a resort-type feel, with balconies, a lagoon-style pool with a waterfall and palm trees, a makeshift beach with volleyball nets, and even gym access. They also have swanky nightclub that often hosts theme parties and hot DJ’s.StayON Beverly
Los Angeles, California

The StayON Beverly is definitely a step up from your average hostel experience. While there are no chefs or personal butlers, the accommodation is lot more like a hotel stay at a hostel price ($50 per night). First of all, they only offer private rooms with full sized beds and memory foam mattresses, free Wi-Fi, a desk, mini fridge, iPod-compatible music player, and even a flat screen television. Free waterbottles and spacious and clean minimalist design will leave you comfortable on a budget.

Broadway Hotel and Hostel
New York, NY

As soon as you walk through the front doors of The Broadway Hotel and Hostel, you will be enveloped in a contemporary design. The ambiance in the lobby is created using rich browns, dim candle light, and a fireplace, with the atmosphere continuing into both the 2-bedroom dorms and private rooms with modern wall art, European bed linens, and polished dressers. There are no large dorms here, and single person bathrooms give guests the privacy they desire, while the massage and rain shower heads add a luxurious element to the stay.

The Backpack and Africa Travel Centre
Cape Town, South Africa

Not only has The Backpack and Africa Travel Centre been awarded a 5-star backpacker lodge rating, it’s also eco-friendly, as it’s been awarded a Fair Trade in Tourism trademark. The rooms are stylishly decorated in an “Afro-Chic” design, many with features like skylights, fire places, and wall art, and include in-room safes. Don’t expect the usual unmatched bedspread look as seen at most hostels, as The Backpack and Africa Travel Centre ensures that all the beds in the room not only look alike, but also go with the decor of the room as a whole. The best part about the hostel is actually outside, as it features an in-ground swimming pool that will literally put you in the center of nature as it is surrounded by unique flora and fauna and the breathtaking Table Mountain. Enjoy the outdoor tile mosaic designs around the pool while sipping a cocktail and soaking in the scenery.

The Seven Hostel
Sorrento, Italy

The Seven Hostel is a property that is nothing like a hostel, aside from the budget-friendly prices. Inside, the decor is modern and trendy infusing neutral and Earthy tones with unique textures and furnishings. The rooftop terrace and bar is similar to something you’d find in New York City, with plush white couches and breathtaking views of the city, Gulf of Naples, and nearby mountains. Other amenities of The Seven Hostel include a trendy bar, a 24-hour reception and concierge for tour booking, a library and game room, free internet and satellite TV, and an outdoor solarium on the top floor for sunbathing.

Oasis Palace Hostel Seville
Seville, Spain

I’ve actually stayed in both the Oasis Palace Hostel Seville as well as the Oasis Hostel Lisbon and found both to be both comfortable and luxurious. The Seville location gets extra points, however, as it has a rooftop terrace and pool. There are also a lot of free perks, like Wi-Fi, city and cultural tours, linens, luggage room, a welcome drink, and a delicious breakfast including pancakes, crepes, breads, spreads and cereals. At night for a small fee (about 5 Euros), the resident chef creates local dishes like paella and grilled meats.

The Green Saman
Cali, Colombia

The Green Saman is more than just a hostel; it’s also a spa, yoga center, and “gastronomic sanctuary”. The venue is actually a renovated mansion that features a swimming pool, sauna, and gardens for outdoor relaxation, while clean and spacious dorms and private rooms are available inside. The hostel also offers unique and worthwhile experiences, like language immersion courses, salsa dancing lessons, cooking classes, molecular gastronomy workshops, and free multicourse breakfasts served with upscale presentation during the week. Guests will also enjoy the healthy cuisine found at the on-site restaurant, which was voted one of the best backpacker restaurants in South America.

Hostel International Point
Calafate, Argentina

When staying at a luxury property most people expect great views, and Hostel International Point provides some of the best I’ve ever seen. What’s great about this hilltop hostel is that you don’t have to go outside to see the lake and countryside, but instead have access to panoramic views from everywhere in the hostel, including dorm rooms. The accommmodation offers spacious 4-bed dorms as well as private rooms, all with bathrooms so clean you won’t be affraid to soak in the bathtub. And in the morning, a delicious breakfast is literally served to guests, allowing them to eat without having to clean up or move from the table.

Eco Resort Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Eco Resort Chiang Mai is one of the most upscale hostels I have ever seen. It’s immersed in the center of a massive, jungle-like garden in a quiet setting, giving guests access to a peaceful, majestic atmosphere right at their doorstep. An expansive cystral-clear in-ground pool set among dangling palm trees add to the ambiance, which takes on a romantic atmosphere at night when everything is all lit up. Inside, the spacious and immpecibly clean rooms are decorated in a contemporary Thai design, and guests can choose from private spaces or small dorms. Free Wi-Fi, cooking classes, tour bookings, outdoor art sculptures, a movie theater, gym, and library are also offered on premises. In fact, the place is so luxurious they even offer wedding packages.

Siem Reap Hostel
Siem Reap, Cambodia

The Siem Reap Hostel is more like like a resort than a hostel, as it offers both dorms and private rooms as well as an on-site spa that features massages, facials, mani/pedis, body wraps, and scrubs for $35 or less. There is also a poolside bar and restaurant so that guests can go for a swim or relax in the water with a fruity cocktail, Asian-style meal, or Western comfort food. Other amenities and facilities include outdoor gardens, free airport pickup, free Wi-Fi, a game room, tour desk, daily happy hours in the on-site bar, and a $2 all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast each morning in a beautiful setting.

Gangi: The Italian hill town the guidebooks forgot to mention

by Dave Seminara on

Have you ever fallen in love with a place that doesn’t merit a mention in most guidebooks and felt conflicted about the its obscurity? On the one hand, you don’t want it to be “discovered,” but on the other, the snub feels like a bit of an insult, even for you, the newcomer who just fell for the place. This is how I feel about Gangi, an obscure, remote 12th century hill town tucked away near Sicily’s Madonie Mountains.

Gangi is well off the tourism trail, and only 24 people have bothered to “like it” on Facebook. But in my family, it is our Jerusalem, Mecca, and Athens. My grandfather, Carmelo Seminara, was born in the town in 1880 and lived there until emigrating to the U.S. in the early part of the 20th century. My father talked about Gangi so much during my childhood, that by the time I visited Gangi myself for the first time, I felt like I already knew the place.

Gangi’s old town hasn’t changed much since my grandfather left almost a century ago. You can see the town’s pyramid of stone buildings, newer ones on the bottom, older on top from miles away as you approach. The road that leads up into the ancient center is so steep, narrow and intimidating that only those who live in town, have raced the LeMans course before, or who have a death wish should consider driving up to the very top of the town. Want to walk up? Better have a damn good pair of shoes, strong calves and a clean pair of lungs. You’d have to be on crack to even try to read a street map of the place- just keep going up, up, up until you reach the town’s heart, the Piazza del Popolo, or collapse in exhaustion trying.

The first time I tried to drive up the center, I made it about half way and then chickened out. Even when you have the road to yourself, a simple trip is harrowing. When a car tries to come at you going in the opposite direction, one party needs to back up and come to some kind of agreement regarding how the situation will proceed. I would pay good money to see someone try to drive an Escalade up into the Piazza.

The modern traveler cannot help but notice what isn’t in the old town of Gangi- no restaurants, no internet cafes, art galleries, hotels, wine shops, tourist information offices, souvenir stands, or any other business that caters to those who don’t live in the immediate area. What Gangi does have is a tangle of ancient streets and narrow dwellings populated by proud people that all know each other and still buy their bread, milk and veggies from men who drive by in trucks and hawk their wares by broadcasting over makeshift bullhorns.The pace of life is glacial and no one would have it any other way. Life in ancient Gangi revolves around the picture-perfect Piazza del Popolo, which features the Chiesa Madre, a remarkable 17th century church that contains a few dozen mummified priests in its basement, and an attractive town hall building with a clock tower.

In the corner of the piazza sits the Seminara Bar, which is owned by Pino and Mimma Seminara, wonderful people who make what I consider to be the world’s most perfect homemade gelato, right in the small back room of their shop. My family has no connection to the Seminaras- in Gangi, the name Seminara is a bit like Smith- but they treated my wife and I like members of the family from the first time we walked in the door and introduced ourselves.

The weather can change very fast in Gangi, and at night, it can be a mysterious place. Fog often rolls into the upper town and enshrouds the whole place in a haze of mist so dense that you may not be able to find your car or the place you are staying in.

To really appreciate the town, you need to stay up in the old town overnight, and that means asking around for a room or apartment to rent. At night, you can trek up and down the quiet, ancient streets amongst medieval churches and old stone dwellings or you can make the passegiata along the town’s corso, nodding to the old men who sit in one part of the square and grinning at the teenagers who play with their cell phones and kiss their boyfriends with gusto.

As we said goodbye to the Seminaras and to Gangi, I felt as though we weren’t just outsiders passing through the place, but rather, descendants of Gangitanis returning home. But Carmelo made a choice to leave the place, and as a result, we could never really fit in there, no matter how long we stayed or how much Italian we learned.

Gangi- like many hill-towns all over rural Italy- is a place that does not embrace change or outsiders. Perhaps, this was precisely what Carmelo didn’t like about it, but Gangi’s stubborn refusal to change is also a great reason to check the place out before it’s too late. Or, better yet, find your own favorite hill town.

Visiting Gangi

Gangi is a scenic hour to hour-and-a-half drive from Cefalu. Bus service is infrequent, so it’s best to rent a car, park it at the base of the town and walk up to the old town. We asked around and rented an apartment in Gangi, but there are also at least three agriturismos that offer food and lodging in the vicinity of the town: Tenuta Castagna, Gangivecchio, and Casale Villa Raino‘. I’ve eaten at the first two establishments and they are both excellent. The gentleman we rented an apartment from is Vincenzo Blasco, who lives at 42 Via G.S. Antonio. (telephone- 339-643-2483) Don’t miss the otherworldly gelato at the Seminara Bar in the Piazza del Popolo. Within a short drive of Gangi, there are several other atmospheric hill towns that are well worth visiting: Polizzi Generosa, Petralia Soprana, Sperlinga and Nicosia to name a few.
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Upcoming travel blogger conferences for 2012

by Laurel Miller on

If the word “conference” immediately conjures images of tipsy, poly-suit clad conventioneers, comic book geeks, or coma-inducing workshops, you obviously haven’t attended a travel blogger gathering.

‘Tis the season for some of the year’s biggest travel industry blowouts. Each has a different focus–some are for accredited travel writers, others hone in on the burgeoning travel blogging industry or events tailored for the public. What they all share is an emphasis on networking with industry professionals, travel trends, and continuing education in the form of field trips, workshops, seminars, panel discussions, and yes, a fair bit of partying.

Below, our picks for the best in travel industry camaraderie and information exchange:

Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX)
The year’s most anticipated travel scribe gathering will be held June 15-17 in Keystone, Colorado. Expect a mix of over 350 fledgling and veteran writers, PR and travel industry experts, guest speakers, and workshops. In your downtime, take advantage of Keystone resort and environs by hiking, mountain biking, paddling, fly-fishing, or riding. Psst. Europe TBEX will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, October 11-13.

New York Times Travel Show (NYT)
Held March 2-4 at Manhattan’s Jacob C. Javits Convention Center, this is a great event if you’re an accredited writer with a specific niche (Industry Professional Sessions include topics like “Focus on Africa,” and “Focus on Travel Media”); there’s also a “trade-only” day. The public and and newbie writers can explore the Exhibition Hall, check out a variety of cultural events to be held on five stages, and let the kids run amok in the Family Fun Pavilion. Bonus: Accredited travel professionals can attend the Friday Exhibition Hall and travel industry welcome reception, and Saturday and Sunday seminars and Exhibition Hall free of charge.

Travel Bloggers Unite (TBU)
Feel like a tax write-off trip to Umbria, Italy (did I just say that)? From April 20-22, this UK-organized conference unites travel writers and bloggers with travel PR experts, tourism boards, and travel companies. Seminars include photo walks and workshops, and using social media. Best of all, delegates will be able take free post-conference tours of Umbria.

Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
Lonely Planet guru/Gadling editor Don George co-founded this renown industry event with Book Passage owner Elaine Petrocelli in 1991. Held annually at Petrocelli’s Marin County bookstore (located 15 minutes north of San Franciso; the other Book Passage is a tiny shop in San Francisco’s Ferry Building). The event has attracted in the past luminaries such as Tim Cahill, Larry Habegger, and Gadling’s David Farley. This year, esteemed writer Susan Orlean will be in attendance, and the schedule includes four days of seminars, workshops, panel discussions, and optional evening field trips. If you’re serious about travel writing–and few places provide as much topical diversity as the Bay Area–sign up, stat.

Be sure to check out Don’s article on “Top tips for TBEX and other writers’ conferences” before you sign up or get on a plane (they say advice doesn’t come cheap, but this is free, baby).

[Photo credit: Flickr user Dia™]

Presenting Xtranormal’s “I want to be a travel writer“


Cruise line makes offer, gets sued, waits

by Chris Owen on

The cruise line that owns Costa Concordia is trying to move forward, past recovery and initial assistance efforts to make an offer to non-injured passengers. Still without conclusive forensic reasons or blame placed for the tragic grounding of January 13, Costa Cruises faces legal action as it and the entire cruise industry review safety standards.

The families of those who died, passengers that were injured and crew members will be handled on a case by case basis. For everyone else, the line is offering:

  • A lump sum of 11,000 euros (about $14,500) per person as indemnification, covering all patrimonial and nonpatrimonial damages, including loss of baggage and personal effects, psychological distress and loss of enjoyment of the cruise vacation;
  • Reimbursement of the value of the cruise, including harbor taxes;
  • Reimbursement of air and bus transfers included in the cruise package
  • Full reimbursement of travel expenses to reach the port of embarkation and return home;
  • Reimbursement of any medical expenses resulting from the cruise;
  • Reimbursement of expenses incurred on board during the cruise.

Almost simultaneously, crew member Gary Lobaton off Costa Concordia has filed a complaint in the federal court of Chicago seeking class-action status in a $multi-million lawsuit.

“The defendants failed to properly and timely notify all plaintiffs on board of the deadly and dangerous condition of the cruise ship as to avoid injury and death,” Lobaton said in the complaint. The passengers and crew “were abandoned by the captain.”

Meanwhile, Fox News reports six passengers off the stricken cruise ship filed a complaint against Carnival Corporation, parent company of ship owner Costa Cruises, in a Miami court demanding $460 million in compensation.

Maritime law experts say such actions probably won’t go far. Similar attempts to sue in the U.S. have been turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court and the expense of filing in a foreign court is often too great. Between the liability limitation clauses of the passenger contract cruise travelers agree to by booking passage on a cruise ship and the nearly-exempt status of foreign flagged cruise ships, cruise lines have themselves covered.


“It’s well-settled law,” said Jerry Hamilton, a maritime attorney who regularly defends cruise lines against lawsuits in STLToday. “The Supreme Court has said those clauses are valid clauses. They will be upheld.”

Still, the cruise industry moves on and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a trade group that represents the interests of 26 member lines, announced a global safety review in answer to questions raised by the Costa Concordia grounding.

Key components of the Review include:

  1. An internal review by CLIA members of their own operational safety practices and procedures concerning issues of navigation, evacuation, emergency training, and related practices and procedures.
  2. Consultation with independent external experts.
  3. Identification and sharing of industry best practices and policies, as well as possible recommendations to the IMO for substantive regulatory changes to further improve the industry’s operational safety.
  4. Collaboration with the IMO, governments and regulatory bodies to implement any necessary regulatory changes.

“While the cruise industry has an outstanding safety record, CLIA is fully committed to understanding the factors that contributed to the Concordia incident and is proactively responding to all maritime safety issues,” the organization said in a statement, adding “The Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review will enable the industry to do so in a meaningful and expedited manner.”

How this story ends, how much compensation will be given or awarded, will have a lot to do with conclusive results of investigations underway involving the captain of the ship and black box evidence of what really happened.

For now, concerned parties wait while preliminary operations to pump fuel out of the cruise ship were suspended Saturday due to bad weather. Workers decided the sea was too rough to continue the salvage operation.


Flickr photo by Cyr0z

Untouched Italy: Exploring Basilicata through a dream

by Jessica Festa on


While many people go to Italy to explore the wonderful cities of Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan, there many off-the-radar areas also worth discovering. One of these regions is Basilicata, which Seattle, Washington, filmmaker Matthew Brown captures in this video. The project was part of a Digital Diary competition put on by the Italy Tourism Board, and ended up winning the Grand Prize. What’s really great about this video is that it doesn’t just take you on a tour of Italy, but instead tells a story as if the narrator has “awoke in a dream”, which you can actually feel throughout the whole video. Meet the people, see the landscape and architecture, taste the food, and get to know the culture through creative filmmaking.

The video was shot with a 7D and edited with a Sony Vegas. Music is by Reid Willis and includes the songs “Parachute” and “My sincerity”.