A Party Hostel That’s Clean and Comfy…Is That Even Possible?
In conquering the world one hostel bed at a time, backpackers are often faced with a difficult decision: A good party hostel usually rides on the fun factor and neglects to wash all the splooge of its sheets, while a clean hostel is often too stuck up to throw a decent party. We’re here to find you a happy medium.
In Buenos Aires, OTP put Milhouse, a popular party hostel, to the test.
SNOTTY FOUL
You know this scene: People are reading books in the common area. Sure the thing is pristine but all the dead silence makes you want to stab yourself in the eye. Come 10 pm, the whole place goes to bed and if you even attempt to ruffle a plastic bag, eight sets of stink-eye immediately fixate on your face. The smell of liquor on your breath comes with judgment and should you find yourself outside past communal bedtime, you can consider yourself homeless for the night.
HOW MILHOUSE SCORED:
Far from the geeky friend its name evokes, Milhouse’s two locations have a proper bar, with five affordable beers on tap and noise-levels are just right if you’re looking to get rowdy. Operated by a staff that’s hand-picked to be well-versed in party logistics, Milhouse goes off every night so you can have your pre-game, main event and post-party all in the hostel lobby. There is no stick up this ass; at Milhouse, your drunken loudness is never confronted with animosity or the infamous curfew lockout. They also hook you up with graffiti tours, tango excursions and attract a club-hopping worthy crowd.
You also know the scene: Hostel bar, filled with backpackers looking to drink themselves pukeless and chicks spilling out into the common areas professing their love for everything with a heartbeat. A place where beer cans grow feet and form sticky structures near the couch, odd goo creeps into the kitchen and bathroom crevices and 48 hours of wordless, blaring beats keep your under-pillow ears at painful attention.
HOW MILHOUSE SCORED:
Through the beer goggles, it has struck a sacred balance that few hostels live to see: A crazy fun time but without the vomit in the corner and hobo on the couch. Here, while you won’t find a mint on your pillow, you will get clean sheets and well-groomed common areas that are far enough from the rooms to dull the noise level so you can sleep peacefully. The grime-free showers make it almost okay to remove your beat up sandals. The in-house cafe serves up healthier food at prices that rival those of BsAs’ street eats, without the random rodents that find their way to your plate when things get cheap.
Backpackers aren’t looking for a five star hotel but it seems that a clean party hostel is often as illusive as a unicorn. Places like Milhouse get our attention because they prove that a balanced hostel is possible. The perfect hostel shouldn’t feel like the library, nor a perpetual cracked-out rave. Where have you found your level ground?
Head Writer/Editor-in-Chief of Off Track Planet. Pescatarians are not just cheating vegetarians; we're our own breed and the extra protein makes us more feisty! Rawr
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I found a few hostels with a really good balance of fun and cleanliness in Europe! Some of the best:
Valencia- Purple Nest
Madrid- Hostel Cat
Edinburgh- Caledonian Backpackers
Amsterdam- Flying Pig Uptown
Great review of Milhouse.