Need Hostel recommendations per city

Hi RD, Check out www.HiHostels.com and enter your 3 cities of choice to see what they have. We have 6 nights in 3 different places booked in Holland for next week, so I can't tell you yet if the experience was fantastic, but they seem to have a good reputation and lots of locations. The hostel in Florence "Villa Cameratta", looks gorgeous in the photos. Good Luck

I have stayed in European hostels, but not in the cities you mention. I would check with a "Let's Go" book or www.hostelworld.com and www.hostelbookers.com. Look for central location and reviews of the hostels you are considering. Some are better than others. I don't expect grunge and excess noise in a hostel. You may get noise if the hostel uses the word "fun" in its description. Depending on your age and interests, look for features you want. Many hostels have internet access. Many have coed (mixed gender) rooms; most have single sex rooms. Many hostels have lock-out hours in the middle of the day. You will need to arrange your daily schedule around this. The last hostel I stayed in had lockout from about 9 am to 5 pm, but the public areas were open, so I could be in the building but not in my room.

St. Christophers in Paris, I've personally never stayed there, but I've only heard good things about it. Paris is generally not great with hostels, not a lot of selection, but try and avoid Friends Hostel at all costs, worst hostel expireince, and I don't complain much.

In Milan your choices are very limited, I think there are maybe two or three. I stayed at the Youth Hostel Piero Rotta, an HI hostel. It was ok, not fantastic, but decent. Its a bit out of the city, but is very close to a metro line. The dorms and bathrooms are segreated by sex. Bathrooms were large. The breakfast provided was pretty decent. There is a lockout from 9:30-3:00 I believe.

I didn't hostel in rome, so no recommendations there sorry.

I definitely recommend the MIJE hostels in Paris. They are 3 buildings in the Marais area - great location. http://www.mije.com/ About €30/night.

In Florence we stayed at Instituto Gould which was more of a hotel than a hostel. http://lnx.istitutogould.it/foresteria/index.php/en/

Hostel Lilliput in Rome was also very clean, friendly, and quiet. Only 4-6 beds per dorm. Two blocks from Termini. I think we paid around €22/night. http://www.lilliputhostel.com/

Another vote for the MIJE hostels in Paris! Both Rick Steves and Lonely Planet call them the best budget accommodations in Paris. How can you beat staying in any one of three renovated 17th-century private mansions in the section of Paris that still has a bit of a medieval look to it?

I highly recommend Archi Rossi hostel in Florence: http://www.hostelarchirossi.com/. It was walkable from the train station, close to sites, clean and friendly.

RD, in Rome you might consider Alessandro Palace Hostel. It's an easy 5-10 minute walk from Termini, and I found it to be a great place to stay. There's a Bar on the premises (which opens in the afternoon), as well as a Net Cafe. The Dorm rooms were clean and each room was equipped with electronic card access (which also activated the electrics in the room). There are lots of good restaurants in the immediate vicinity (some of which provide discounts for Hostel guest).

Note that there are two Alessandro properties, the downtown location and the Palace location.

Check their web site to see if that might work for you.

Happy travels!

Agree with Nicole, Archi Rossi - great location, clean, friendly, peaceful place, and an excellent value.