A city of winding streets and steep hills, finding our way to the Luxembourg City Hostel wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. After disembarking bus no. 9 (taken from the central train station) at the Um Boc stop and looking at our map, the hostel appeared to be just a stone’s throw away. And it would have been had we known ahead of time that the short "500m from city center" distance stated on the hostel’s website consisted of a hike down into a ravine. After finally figuring out that we needed to descend a steep flight of stairs, followed by a steep and winding path, we arrived at the hostel, backpacks in tow, sweaty and exhausted.
Some of it still undergoing construction (it began a renovation project a few years back), the exterior of the hostel was refreshingly modern and painted in bold hues of yellow and red. Upon entering the somewhat sterile lobby area, we checked in only to find out that we were in a co-ed dorm. While this is something that may not bother everybody, as a woman, I prefer not to see strange men prancing around in front of me in only their tighty-whities. In any case, the staff at the front desk was very friendly, and I temporarily put aside any fears of seeing an old guy trotting around in tight briefs.
Arriving at the second floor, we were pleasantly surprised by the energy-saving lights in the hallways that only turned on upon detecting motion. Also, we were thrilled to see recycling bins, an amenity that we had not yet encountered in Europe. We entered the room, which, like the rest of the hostel, also turned out to be modern and clean, save for a few odd stains on my duvet and pillow (luckily, we were given duvet covers and linens to put over our duvets, mattresses, and pillows). The room contained a cabinet for each person and provided that one brought her or his own lock, it could be secured. The bathrooms (across the hall) were quite clean.
The hostel also included a cafeteria/bar with a less-than-impressive salad bar offering an array of canned vegetable salads and huge plates of lasagna for approximately 5€ (a little over 6€ with the salad bar). Breakfast was acceptable, with the usual assortment of meats, cheeses, breads, jams, and cereals.
For those wanting to check email, there were two unreliable Internet kiosks in the lobby area that had difficulty accessing the Internet and wouldn’t return the remaining balance of my money. I would recommend using the Internet café in town instead, where the computers and the ambience are better, as is the price.
Finally, an amenity I wish we had been aware of before our trek to the hostel was the shuttle that, for 2€ per person one-way, would take you to or from either the train station or the airport. Unfortunately, it only runs only Monday through Friday.