JOST Bordeaux

Location: It's a 15-minute walk from the train station. The tram only goes as far as the station, so you still have to walk the rest of the way. The road is quite quiet; I walked it at night and early in the morning and didn't see many people, so I assume it's relatively safe. Amenities: The hotel lobby is super fashionable—I wouldn't have guessed it was a hostel! The room decor is also quite unique. The only thing I didn't like was having to crawl into the bunk bed from the foot end, like a worm trying to get into bed. 😂 Overall, the cleanliness and facilities are excellent. If you don't mind the distance, it's definitely worth recommending.

The bunks offer a lot of privacy. There's a 16 Euro deposit that *must* be paid by credit card. It's an 8-minute walk from the train station. The platform number isn't displayed until 20 minutes before departure. The bathrooms and showers are quite spacious, but there's no shower gel provided. There are lockers with combination locks. To turn on the lights, you first need to press a master switch with a blue light. The window faces the train tracks, so there's some noise from the road. The window curtains are very good at blocking out light. There's a small shelf with a light and charging port above the bed. You don't need to make your own bed. There's a bar on the top floor, and directly opposite downstairs, you can find places to eat with areas for kids to play. The nearby apartments and a small church have a really local, authentic vibe. It was more interesting to watch people walking their dogs, kids playing, and rolling metal balls than visiting tourist spots. I even saw an Indian little girl celebrating her birthday near the church!

They weren't aware of the booking site (Trip.com, I assume), and tried to charge me again upon arrival. The same thing happened at breakfast. The atmosphere is nice and the hotel is charming, just a minor issue with the cleanliness of the windows. Overall, it was good.