Hostel Territory: St. Christopher's Inn Paris

As a solo traveler, and as someone who doesn't speak the native language, knowing where to go out on a Saturday night in Paris can be a daunting task.  After feeling like a zombie for a few days due to a bad bout of jet lag I was ready to have fun and be social. After my positive experience at The 3 Ducks, I decided to try out another hostel bar. Using hostelworld.com again, I decided on St. Christopher's Inn in the 19th arrondissement. I was excited by it's 82% approval rating, one of the highest of any in Paris, although many reviews cautioned that it could be difficult for a solo traveler given its size made the atmosphere more impersonal.  

As far as Hostel's go, St. Christopher's and the Three Ducks couldn't be more different. The Three Ducks might be closer to the stereotypical idea of a hostel as a small, questionably sanitary, but otherwise fun sort of place young people stay while traveling abroad. At three hundred rooms St. Christopher's is closer to a small hotel than a hostel.

Walking in, I was impressed by the clean modern aesthetic and the inviting youth oriented atmosphere.  The bar was large and open; there was good music playing and, while busy, the place was full without feeling packed. I made my way to the bar and was able to get a pint quickly as there were five multilingual bartenders taking orders and serving drinks. Beer in hand, I scanned the room and immediately understood what others had found intimidating.  This wasn't a hostel bar; this was a bar that happened to be inside of a Hostel. I could see how a solo traveler might have felt like an outsider looking in. The volume level was high, and people were congregating in large groups. Determined to have a good time, I decided to pick the best looking group and just go for it. There was a group of about eight beautiful people gathered around a round table towards the back of the Bar. After making sure they were speaking English I put on my best smile, walked right up and filled the last gap around the table.

Going out by myself is a new experience for me; back in the states I've only ever gone out with at least one other person, but usually with a whole group of friends. I have discovered that the best way to instantly become everybody's new best friend, and to turn a bunch of mostly strangers into a group, is to offer to buy a round of drinks. After toasting to "new friends" with a round of jagerbombs I spent the next few hours joking and getting to know my new acquaintances.  As a side note, the fringe benefit of buying that first round is that it's kind of like an investment. You get to look really magnanimous, but then get to enjoy everyone practically tripping over themselves to repay that initial act of generosity.  I didn't have to buy another drink the whole night!

After some good laughs and interesting conversation, it was 2:00 a.m. and we were all kicked down stairs to the nightclub that I had no idea had been beneath my feet that entire time. While it didn't have any coherent theme that I could understand, the dance club was a lot of fun and better than most I've ever been to in the states. The DJ was actually playing good music, and the girls were beautiful. What more could you ask for?  

Tasteful Decoration: Check.  

I'll have to visit a few more hostels before I can really have some context, but for now I'm going to give St. Christopher's Inn a tentative A -. I had a great time, I would go back in a heartbeat, and I while I've gathered that it is more expensive than your average hostel, I would recommend it to anyone who is planning on visting Paris. As I have an affection for bad puns, I've decided to make "Hostel Territory" a reoccurring column on this blog where I'll relate my experience and rate the hostel, so stay tuned.