Britain’s Telegraph had an excellent story about hostelling for families.  Why on earth would I care about that?   Stay tuned for dispatches next week when l’ll have tales of exploring Amsterdam – with my beautiful fourteen month old niece.

Yes its karma time for all the bitching I’ve ever done about kids on planes, kids in restaurants, kids stomping around in floors above you, and etcetera. 

Most British hotels that cater properly for children take the form of fancy country-house pads costing over £200 a night. Yet from our experience, cheaper places to stay rarely work well with young ones. So when we go away, like most families I know, we usually end up camping or renting a cottage.

But there is a promising-sounding alternative. Hostels may conjure up images of spartan, single-sex dorms and hardy backpackers, but at many properties this view is well out of date. Around two-thirds of the Youth Hostel Association’s 200 hostels in England and Wales offer private family rooms and about 50 have family rooms with ensuite bathrooms.

So, with family rooms costing from £36 a night, are hostels the budget accommodation answer? My partner Emily, our two boys (Edward aged two, and Arthur, five) and I thought we’d find out.

Full article “Bunking Down with the Family“