Senior Friendly Hostel Guide

You might begin looking for a guide to convents and monasteries taking paying guests. Your best bet for something like that would be Italy but there may be others in other European countries. There's one in Salzburg and here is the website:
http://www.christkoenig-kolleg.at/home.html?id=8 Convents often have before midnight curfews. Also, they may be spartan but are not as expensive as hotels. Just google Monastery Stays.

scott, I often stay at HI Hostels and haven't had any problems so far with other guests partying at 4:00 AM. As they're part of a chain, the standards are fairly consistent from one property to the next and they're well managed. In my experience, the other occupants of Dorm rooms have been considerate when coming in late, and have tried to be as quiet as possible. HI Hostels tend to be popular with school groups, but they Teachers and Chaperones usually monitor the behaviour. BTW, I'm a "senior" also. Cheers!

I'm a senior who agrees with Ken that HI hostels are a good choice. The site hostelz.com gives unbiased reviews and will note if a hostel has a "party" reputation.

HI hostels have got a dull reputation among the older-than-high-school, younger-than-30 crowd as places without much "action". For the better and for the worse, depending on each one's stake. There is some brouhaha about which should be HI public, as it is suffering from a tarnished imaged among the core hostel public, but at the same time catering to other groups. Once you mentioned "we", I assume you are travelling with another person. In such scenario, it is almost always possible to find a hotel, B&B or similar accommodation that will offer a double room of standards better than those of hostels for similar price of 2 beds in a (good) hostel.

Also take a look at hostelworld.com which includes reviews. The only hostel I've stayed at was in Florence and on my second visit, I didn't hesitate to go back. While most of the guests were youngsters in the dorm rooms, there were also families that took dorm rooms, and there were a few single and double rooms (some doubles are en suite) that attract the "mature" travelers. There were a lot of perks (free: wifi, walking tours, microwave and communal fridge, laundry soap, low cost: coin-op washers and dryers, snacks, frozen dinners, soft drinks, wine and beer). There was a well-enforced quiet rule (11 pm to 7 am). While several of the youngsters told me this was the best hostel they'd encountered, I think there are quite a few others that are similar.