Hello, this is Kaye . I will be traveling with my family including 13 and 15 yo daughters to St. Gallen in June. I am finding the hotel prices are very high . So we are considering youth hostels. Has anyone stayed at the youth hostel in St. Gallen? I can't tell online if there is one or two...two names but the picture of the building looks the same. I would really love input about the safety of doing this. We are used to camping so I don't think lack of luxury will be a problem. =) Thanks in advance for any help.
Kaye, I haven't stayed in Hostels in St. Gallen, but have stayed at other Hostels in Switzerland. I tend to prefer HI Hostels as they're well run and the facilities are fairly consistent from one location to another. I wouldn't have any hesitation in staying there, and it might be a bit of an "adventure" for your daughters. One point to mention is that you may need an HI membership for booking their Hostels in Switzerland. I found that was the case on my last stay. The memberships are not expensive, so I don't find that to be a problem. Although I'm 60+, I don't mind staying in Hostels on occasion. I checked briefly using an arbitrary date in June, and the Hostel has a variety of rooms available, including a 4-bed private room with washbasin for CHF$154.95 per night. Rates are less expensive in 6-bed Dorm rooms at CHF$34.95 per night (per person), which includes a buffet breakfast. Have a look at Their Website for all the details. If you do decide to stay there, note that Reception is only staffed for limited hours, so you'd have to time your arrival accordingly. After check-in, there's no problem with access. Be sure to take one or more small (but robust) Padlocks for the Lockers. As you've discovered, travel in Switzerland is expensive! Happy travels!