Loft Hostel in Budapest

Loft Hostel in Budapest

“The job of the staff of a hostel is to make the guest feel at home. To do this, I make sure that I, myself, feel at home. So I put on music and light incense.”
-Kaitie from the Loft Hostel in Budapest

I walked into a stone-old building in the downtown heart of Budapest and up a stairwell that had obviously seen the passing of many men and knew the beat of time. Gloom and doom were adjectives to describe my entrance into the ages-old residential building that houses the Loft Hostel, but upon walking in through the hostel doors all shrouds of melancholy rapidly dispersed. As I was again in the presence of friends and in a hostel that was as bright as a smiling day.

Well Kaitie then introduced me to the rest of the Loft Hostel staff. There was Cliff, her redheaded crew-cutted saving grace of a boyfriend and a young Englishman by the name of Tom. Tom wore a big black cowboy hat, was from the Isle of Man , admitted to being inbred (as is all of his fellow islanders), and perpetually wore an ear to ear school boy smile. He owned the Loft Hostel

I gave them all the Hobohideout wrap and they agreed to give me a week in their hostel as a trade for putting them up on the site. This was a real Ace in the hole, as there would be no way that I could afford to shelter myself in Budapest without trading Hobohideout.com pages.

Nearly a month passed since I saw the Loft Hostel bunch in Olomouc, but I was welcomed as an old friend as I walked through their door in downtown Budapest. Luke the Fruit Pirate (aptly renamed Ass Pirate by Kaitie) preceded me to the Loft, and I was given a bed next to his. I then put my gear away and laid down upon the bed and basked in the good graces of friends.

I have now been at the Loft Hostel for five days listening to music in the smoke of incense and good company.

I am now putting up the Hobohideout.com pages for the Loft Hostel and enjoying the hostel living. Which means late nights, cheap wine, sleeping next to idiots, talking to good people from around the world, picking up pieces of new languages, wild talk, bad jokes, funny smells, no privacy, odd looks, and getting to know people that I will soon leave if they do not leave me first.

Hostel living.

But the Loft Hostel is good, though it is a Hostel World Hostel and has a predominately Hostel World crowd. It is in fact the highest rated hostel in the city of Budapest.

They have me here in hopes that Hobohideout.com could bring them in more hobos and travelers than tourists with backpacks. I too, share this hope.

*If you are interested in trading internet pages on Hobohideout.com for free accommodation go to, Hobohideout Traveling Webmasters.

Links to previous travelogue entries:
Around the World Travel to China
Hennessey Hammocks
Cheap Travel Means Studying Foreign Language