Are older travelers welcome in hostels?

Correction. "ion" represents a word that is apparently forbidden by whoever. I meant to indicate that there was a choice of foods, such as cereal, toast, etc.

that is why many here spell it selektion so that the editor doesn't run it down the chute. Certain words are banned because they can be malicious to the software...

Not sure why some normal words get blocked? I stay in hostels often. They may have mostly younger people but I never really care. Lodging for me is simply a place to sleep and get a shower so I don't do much hanging out. Like you I review them and avoid the ones that include "party" or "dude" in the reviews. I do specifically remember gray haired locals staying at Burg Stahleck on the Rhine and I think a lot of the gray haired people I saw early at Montserrat were staying at the hostel.

My daughter and I have stayed in hostels in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic. We stayed in a small hotel in Paris and Brugge. I am a senior citizen and was never treated any different than the young guests. We always had a double private room in each one. It pays to do your research and homework and save money. Each hostel had breakfast. Staying in a hostel in Lauterbrunnen on the second floor...sitting on the balcony with coffee and viewing the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfra....was amazing. I believe it was 28 CHF at the time. We also stay away from the fun and party places. Been very lucky so far.

Many countries prohibit minors from sharing a same sleeping room in a commercial accommodation provider with people other than their relatives or people travelling with them. The idea of a child sharing a dorm with unrelated (to his/her parents) adults is quite worrying for the welfare of a child in my opinion. As I wrote on other thread: many hostels have private rooms (without bathroom). Dorms themselves belong to be <35 crowd in my personal opinion. As a former college student it was extremely awkward to have the occasional guest who had the age of my parents.

Andre, I don't understand why you are bringing up the worries about minors. Hostels put families with children in "family rooms" and school groups are always in their own rooms. An adult traveling on their own will not be placed in the same room as an unrelated minor child, so the concern you raise is not an issue. When I was a young adult, I had no problem being in a dorm room with an "older" adult. After all, I was traveling on a budget and just looking for a place to sleep. In my experience, other hostelers are typically travelers on a budget who are open-minded to sharing a room with people of various backgrounds. So in my opinion, older adults are welcome by the vast majority of people who stay in hostels. But regardless, if a young adult has a problem with an older adult in their dorm room, then that is their problem and that young person should not be staying in the dorm. I've spent dozens of nights in hostels and only recall two "unusual" incidents. One was in Bergen, Norway where two of the young women in the room slathered themselves in Dencorub(smells like BenGay) so the whole room smelled. The other unusual experience was at a Naturfreundhaus in Hallstatt about 20 years ago. I was the only person in a huge dorm room (20+ bunks) and I found that slightly disconcerting.

Almost all hostels welcome people of all ages. Maybe one in twenty that I've looked into expressly say they are for people under 30. Every hostel we have ever used as a family (currently 46, 45, 16, 14 & 9 years old) has had MANY customers there of an age similar to mine, including some much older. There are essentially three types of hostels and how common each type are depends on the city and country you are in; 1) Hostels run as a service (as in "we think it's nice to have a hostel available here") tend to attract a quieter crowd. This includes all HI/YHA hostels. These hostels might operate for profit. I don't know. But the "style" feels very much like a non-profit venture. 2) Hostels run as a business. These tend to be newer, larger, flashier, full of neon and group activities (sometimes involving alcohol). These attract a younger crowd. Their web sites often show people socializing in a bar-type atmosphere. If you are concerned about feeling too old, stay away from these. 3) "Independent" hostels range from a person's house with extra bedrooms to an urban apartment turned into a mini-hostel. These are more common the farther east you go in Europe (and in places outside Europe), and can be quite quirky, but also a great value if you find a good one. We stayed in on in Krakow where the beds were about $22/night and they provided three meals a day plus snacks and a washing machine with soap for no extra charge. It was indeed, very quirky, but it also became one of our favorite memories. No hostel puts minor children in with unrelated adults. Although many hostels in Australia and New Zealand do not take gender into any consideration, which I find.....interesting.....

The youngest non-related hosteler I've ever had to share a dorm room with was a 16 year old German boy who had somehow been allowed to get a pass on a hop-on/hop-off backpacking bus traveling the South Island of New Zealand solo. The majority of backpackers were in their mid 20s to mid 30s and while we all took the kid under our wing during the day when we would stop and hike different areas, at night the bus tended to stop at some of the newer, "flash packing" hostels and a group of us on the bus liked to get up early to hike or do adventure sports, and then stay up late drinking. So it was a bit awkward to have a 16 year old hanging about the dorm room while the rest of us were drinking and getting ready to go out to dinner and then the clubs. But younger than 16? No. I've seen very young kids in hostel common areas, but they have always been with their parents or grandparents and likely were staying in a family room or a 4 bedded "dorm" that they had booked out privately. I've never had any problem with sharing a hostel dorm with seniors. They are usually pretty great to have as roommates. They tend to be quiet, neat and polite. More than once, a 65+ year old has asked me if I would mind switching bunks with them as I was already set up in the lower bunk before they checked in, but knowing it would be hard for them to climb up and down in the middle of the night for bathroom breaks from the top bunk, I was happy to indulge their preference. Now if it was a 20 year old that asked me to do that, I'd tell her to piss off... I was there first.

I can't understand why Andre has such a problem with older people in a hostel. Have stayed in hotels, B&B and hostels with my parents and also with my college age son. What is the problem or,am I to old to comprehend a problem?

The age limit in HI hostels has been abolished since 2009. That was in Bavaria. Certain independent hostels have an age limit up to 35, which in my view is unfortunate, to say the least. When I stayed exclusively in HI hostels in the 1970s in Germany, there were times when the gray hairs were in the same dorm room. It didn't surprise me seeing that the first time since I knew that outside of Bavaria no age limit applied in the rest of W. Germany. Now forty years later I still stay at hostels,... depending, but not at HI ones mainly because of school groups. If I choose to stay at a hostel, it's an independent one, the ones with no curfew, etc. Normally I choose to be in an en suite dorm room, coed or not, makes no difference. Paying for private room solo costs more than staying at a Pension. As to how you are viewed by your roomies, all in their 20s, only once in the last few years did I get the feeling that I wasn't wanted there. The rest were all cordial, if not friendly. If someone doesn't want an older traveler because of age in the same room, he/she can request another room, otherwise tough luck, and I couldn't care less about their sensitivities.

I think Andre was referring to children, not teens or adults, anyway, it's an opinion, not a law. I don't stay in hostels any more, but I know lots of people in their 50s-60s or older who do; some hostels will assign beds by age group if space permits (a friend in his 70s tends to get rooms to himself about half the time and can choose from four beds, same as you mention in your post). You can check in advance to see if private rooms are available.

The UK Youth Hostel Association has welcomed family groups and adults for many years now. http://www.yha.org.uk/

In my last 35 years of traveling quite extensively, I have always used hostels as one very convenient option, especially for the times that I am alone. Never has my age been an issue, except in my own head, LOL! Here's what I mean: I stayed in a nice hostel in Vienna, in a quad female room. One roommate (all great girls!) was an appalling slob, scattering her belongings EVERYWHERE. But the problem was mine... I remember being quite a slob when I was 19-20 too! If anything, my snoring probably bothered my roommates far more ;-) Here are some of my favorite recent hostel stays: The Swiss Star in St. Petersburg (Russia) Academy Hostel in Florence Wombats - The Lounge hostel in Vienna Elephant on the Moon Hostel in Krakow Tulip Guesthouse hostel in Istanbul
Albergue Miraflores hostel in Lima I have exclusively turned to private, smaller hostels. I read reviews carefully and always book a room category that I'd be comfortable in, in advance. I try for an ensuite and find that a quad is the limit of my comfort level. I will pay for two beds, in order to get a private room, if I need too. Here's the best example of what can happen in a hostel: at the Swiss Star this April, I was the only guest that was not part of a high school group. The first day, I negotiated the quiet hour (11pm) with the teachers/leaders and the group invited me to tag along with them on a special tour that they had arranged at the Hermitage. The group was split into two, each sub-group (8-9 people) with a private museum guide to the Gold Room. Each evening, I would leave a treat for the kids on the table before I went to my room early, and each morning, a treat was left for me as I was the first to rise. We shared the hostel for 5 days. So, even the presence of a school group can be a positive experience; I was really impressed with these kids, each spoke 3 to 6 languages!

I second your opinion on Vienna's Wombats The Lounge, my favourite hostel thus far in both the independent and HI types, have stayed in both mixed dorms and a private room. It depends on how much you want to pay. You do see guests "of a certain age" stay there too but the vast majority are in their early twenties regardless of nationality.