Contiki Guides: European Accommodation Reviews

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Contiki trips are pre-organised for you and one of the included organised aspects is accommodation. They tell us "don't worry, all you will be using these rooms for is sleeping" and you should definitely try and make that happen. Be in your room as little as possible, use it only for sleeping (minimal sleeping- never miss a day of sightseeing for bed) and the occasional movie night with all the gang. If you're backpacking or travelling SOLO then you won't be too worried on accommodation since you'll be organising and choosing them yourself and will therefore know what the places will look like and what to expect. For Contiki goers, they have absolutely no idea unless someone from a previous trip has told them or they've been to them before. Otherwise, I bet if you are about to embark on a European Contiki, you're a little bit curious about the accommodation (I know I was). All Europe trips are different and all Contiki trips are different, however there are quite a few accommodation locations that match up so I'm going to list all the accommodation I stayed in on my Ultimate European Plus Greek Islands Contiki trip and give a little description as well as a review.

* Side note: A few weeks before your trip, Contiki will send you a little pack with all the info on your trip that you will need and included inside will be a booklet of all the accommodation names, addresses and contact information.

Starting Point- England

London- Royal National Hotel
If you're going to stay in London expect to pay a lot of money- it's not cheap.
The Royal National is home to the Contiki basement and is usually the starting/meeting point for most European Contiki trips. Staying here the night before your Contiki can be handy because you literally have to get up and go downstairs, you don't have to worry about travelling anywhere and being there on time or missing the bus. There's also usually a meeting the night before your trip followed by some drinks at the pub right next door called "The London Pub". So most people going on the Contiki's opt to stay here for those reasons- it's close and it's easy. However- the rooms are pretty average and not the cleanest from my experience. You also end up having a roommate so if you book a room, you think you've got it to yourself and then someone else you don't know shows up at whatever time and you had no idea. It might specify on their website but I went with a friend who booked it all and luckily we obviously roomed together, but heard from lots of people on our tour that they assumed they had their own room and either woke up to someone coming in or got back from a day out and found a random person in their room staying there too. So in that respect it can be a little odd and the people you share with aren't always other Contiki goers from your trip. It's in an alright location- you can hop on a tour bus to take you around the city and there is a train station close by.

France

Paris- Ibis Budget Hotel
This hotel is located quite far out of the main city. Contiki mostly always provide lifts into town so unless you want to get back early, transportation is sorted. Otherwise there's a metro which your tour guide will help you figure out. The area the hotel is located in is quite dodgy... it looks a bit like a ghetto and when we arrived there were hundreds of homeless/poor people crowding the streets and participating in some kind of market where they just laid all their belongings on the ground and it was hectic! You definitely wouldn't want to be walking alone around there. It does have a little supermarket close by which is really handy for wine and cheese buying if your tour manager takes you to a look out on one of the nights. There's also a restaurant next door which is lebanese or something along those lines and one of the dinners is held there as well as the Escargot tasting. The rooms are either 2 single beds and a "wet room" which is literally just a room with a sink and shower and the door is glass so you can kind of see your room mate showering.. and then there's a separate toilet. There's also rooms with a double bed and single above it like a bunk bed but not. They supply breakfast in the morning which is croissants, cereals, juice and some fruit. It wasn't too bad for a budget hotel and we literally were only there to sleep.

Beaujolais Wine Region- The Contiki Chateau
One of my favourite stops! The Chateau is owned by Contiki and used only by Contiki groups. It has cute ancient little rooms with bunk beds (that don't have ladders and are very wobbly and a little scary but comfy!) and old fireplaces. They have shared showers and toilets which can be a bit of a pain and sometimes you have to wait depending on how busy it gets but it's all part of the Contiki life! They cook amazing food and the grounds are incredible. They have a huge garden/grassy yard that has heaps of room for outdoor activities, a pool, an upstairs bar and a bomb shelter (known as "the cave") where epic parties are held. It also has amazing views and a friendly dog who helps you find your destination for a picnic called "On Top Of The World". You get to meet other Contiki groups and make new friends, party together and its almost like a school camp/huge sleepover. Definitely a fond memory! You feel like you're actually immersing yourself in the French culture rather than just staying at a hotel.

Antibes/French Riveria- Le Mistral Campsite
This is a little pit stop campsite. From here, you visit Nice and Monaco (The Monte Carlo Casino) and then move on to Italy. There's a cute little beach nearby and it's on a little farm. There's a bar area that sell hot dogs which were SO good and they also have pool tables and lots of outdoor seating. They do pretty cheap cocktails and beer. The rooms are cabins but they are set out so there are two rooms with a bunk bed in each (2 beds in each room) and you have a connecting bathroom that you share with the people in the room behind you (if that makes sense). The beds were alright but the rooms got REALLY cold. As I said it was only a pit stop so although the accommodation wasn't amazing, it was fine for the short time.

Spain

Barcelona- The Generator Hostel
This hostel was so unique and incredible to explore. It has an amazing foyer with swing chairs and wooden feature walls and these stairs that make you feel like you're climbing a tree. Upstairs they have a games room and there are heaps of book shelves and cool gadgets about. There's also a huge dining area which is designed in the same quirky style. They provide most of the breakfasts and they're usually hot breakfasts which by this time (partying hard the night before, in the biggest night club in Spain) you need it. All the rooms are quite different, depending on what you get. My room was a four bed (2 bunk) dorm room with an attached ensuite. The beds all had power points and lights so there was no fighting over charging points and they were super comfy (or I was just super drunk). They had huge draws/lockers underneath the beds to store valuables which was also handy and there was a grocery store and some little shops just down the road. The metro was also really close and easy to follow and the only bad point I can think of is that the lifts were always really slow or busy so we opted for the stairs (not really too bad a point).
 

Italy

Venice- Camping Fusina

This campsite was cabins like most of them are. They were three bed or two with attached bathroom which weren't too bad and the beds were pretty comfy. There was literally about 8 billion mosquitos at this campsite, probably because it's right near a huge city built on water where lots of stuff is dumped but whatever the cause- make sure you bring insect repellent and lots of it. The campsite isn't IN Venice as such but it's opposite a little ferry point where you get a twenty minute or so boat ride over to Venice. The cabins are located to the front of the campsite and it's quite a big site with other non-contiki residents. Contiki on-sites do live there however and they throw an awesome masquerade party as well as cook for you and the food is really nice! They have a bar with the worlds craziest bartender who literally tries hard to get you drunk by free pouring into your mouth and all sorts. We all got talked into doing way too many tequila shots on both nights. There's also a huge outdoor seating/party area for everyone to mingle and overall it was just a really fun stop.

Florence- Camping Internazionale Firenze
This campsite was quite cool as it was set up quite a steep hill/mountain and was literally in the middle of the woods. It has a big food area for breakfast and a little market that sells hot pizza which my friend and I really needed in our lives at the time! The rooms are quite cosy with two separate rooms, a small hallway and a bathroom in the middle. It also has a huge pool but at the time of our visit it wasn't open yet.

Rome- Seven Hills Camping
Another Contiki campsite that is very similar to the others, it also has a pool that was closed when my group visited. Cabins with two separate rooms (2 single beds in each room), a hallway and a bathroom in the middle. There's quite a steep hill that leads to the bar and party room, the laundry facilities and a minimart/cafe. You can get wifi in the cafe but not really in the cabins (which isn't really that big of a deal). You have to pay for laundry tokens as well. A dinner or two were included at this campsite, cooked by the Contiki on-sites and it was all really nice food as usual. The cabins are made of wood and did get FREEZING but it depends what time of year you go of course.

Overnight Ferry (to Greece)- Adriatic
To get to Greece we swapped the Coach for a HUGE ferry that we were lucky enough to get little cabins/rooms on. The beds were quite cramped with fold out bunks and tiny bathrooms-but it was a lot better than having to sit in an armchair the whole night like other people. We got dinner on the ferry and could wander about as we liked. It was kind of like a mini cruise ship but no where near as luxurious. The important thing is that it got us from A to B.

Greece

Corfu- Corfu Village Hotel

This hotel was AMAZING! I absolutely loved it. The rooms weren't 5 star or anything and the hotel was on a massive steep hill but the view we had from our balconies were incredible and my friend and I got super lucky and got a massive balcony that we took advantage of by inviting most of our group onto it for pre drinks and music before the TOGA PARTY! Another Contiki were staying here at the same time as us so the Toga party was great fun. They have a huge pool which we swam in even though it was slightly freezing as we went in April but we felt like we couldn't not take advantage of it. The rooms were quite spacious with (usually) three single beds and a bathroom. The only problem with Greece is that their plumbing isn't the greatest so you usually can't flush toilet paper and the showers didn't have brackets for the shower head so you just had to kind of hold it and spray yourself. The hotel was right on the beach though and near a tiny store that sold alcohol and bits and bobs. The pool area has a bar that also does amazing food, it has lots of sun lounges and chairs and even a ping pong table which entertained us for hours! If you're desperate for wi-fi then you can buy a code for a certain amount of hours and laundry is also available. The party room for the toga party also has a big bar, dance floor and outside area. Definitely a favourite!

Athens- Candia Hotel/Best Western
This hotel was a bit like a budget hotel. The rooms were average, the beds sucked and they put you in groups of four yet the fourth bed was a fold out bed that collapsed when my friend slept on it. Most rooms have balconies but they look out onto traffic ridden highways. It wasn't too bad for a night or two but I wouldn't stay there again. The only super plus which was incredible was that there was a rooftop pool and bar area which we all loved and spent quite a lot of time around. You could see the acropolis from the pool as well and by night it was all lit up and looked beautiful. 

Ios- Far Out Village/Hotel
Another all time favourite- this place is well known as a party place! We stayed here in the off season so the huge party area was closed/under renovation but I think that's almost why I loved it so much. It was the perfect getaway and relaxing three days ever. They were magical. The hotel is located right in front of the beach. You literally cross the road and are at the beach. There's an amazing pool surrounded by sun beds and a bar that does cocktails and food. There's a little supermarket and a shuttle bus that takes you into the main town. Or just down the road theres a store to hire ATV/Quad bikes for quite cheap and then you get to explore the whole island freely. They are also so much fun and the higher you go the better the views get. The hotel grounds are full of gardens and flowers and they range from typical greek style buildings to cute little huts and bungalows and you either get a few single beds, a double bed and a single bed or you can get really lucky and discover a whole other bedroom attached to your seemingly small one with a private double bed in it! You will never want to leave this place.


Santorini- New Haroula Hotel
Another Greek hotel meant the plumbing still wasn't great and the showers were still self-hold BUT it was a very cute little hotel with a nice pool and only a short walk into town. The beds were average but we really didn't spend much time in them and the rooms were the typical greek style- kind of tiled flooring and rocky walls. One day I got back to a herd of what looked like fire ants in my clothes and freaked out. There was a really cute dog that roamed about the premises which I believe belongs to the owner and to be honest anything with a dog involved instantly wins me over. Up the road there was a laundry mat and you literally turn down a few streets and you're in the central town where you can get lost in the steep winding roads, but fear not- no matter where you end up, you will probably be able to see the amazing views and the ocean down below. 

Kavala- Nefeli Hotel & Canakkale- Tuscan Hotel
Both of these hotels were one night stops on our way to Turkey. They were quite similar in that they were in random towns no one had ever heard of. There wasn't much to see or do as such that was classed as "sight seeing" but what made these places great were our group. In Kavala we found a tiny little fun fair nearby and gathered everyone together to have an epic bumper car battle and it was so much fun! We probably made the fun fair people the most money they've ever made that night because we all kept going back on the little games and dodgem cars. The hotel itself was ok, quite old but the beds were comfortable enough for one night and they had little bathrooms but the showers had no walls or curtains which was a bit odd. It was located in a dodgy looking neighbourhood but there were a few good food places nearby and the fun fair made it awesome! In Canakkale the hotel was quite cool. The rooms had more of a hotel feel and the premises were really nice. There was a pool and a cute little beach we all met up on in the afternoon and they provided dinner for us. The beds were really comfy and the bathrooms quite big. We had movie nights with everyone in both places as well which was nice bonding and chill out time.

Turkey

Istanbul- Erbil Hotel
Personally, Istanbul was not a favourite of mine. Firstly, I felt a little bit cautious as the men are quite scary and walking on your own as a woman can be confronting. The hotel has a restaurant/bar next door and my friends and I didn't have the best experience with the food (long waits followed by rushed meals followed by a bad outcome - from both ends of our bodies....). There was one night we all did shisha and then went out to a club/bar (which was also not a good experience in the end). The hotel staff spoke terrible English but were quite patient and helpful. The rooms were fine too with two single beds or three in most rooms, your own bathroom and little vanity tables. The elevators were tiny so everyone had to use the stairs mostly, which was fine unless you had a suitcase which weighed a tonne. The location was quite close to the main city and the hotel also had a top floor dining room which served breakfast every morning and dinner one night.

Bulgaria

Sofia- Montecito Hotel
This hotel was GRAND! It was almost like going back in time to a rich Bulgaria and you felt a bit like royalty. The rooms were huge with big beds and bathrooms and long hallways and a very grand looking dining room. It looked like it used to be a palace which was really cool! They served us some pretty standard food (like some roast chicken and lettuce) but the beds were honestly so comfy and it was really just a cool experience!

Serbia

Belgrade- Centar Balasevic Hotel
This hotel was really creepy but also really cool. There were two buildings, the old building and the new building- I bet you can guess which one was creepy. It felt a little bit haunted in the old building but the rooms were really cute and cosy. They were like wooden cabins but my friend and I got lucky and got a huge bathroom with a spa bath which we were so excited about (mainly me) and everyone else got tiny showers. The room had a double bed and a single bed and in some rooms they were sort of separate and in others they were close together. They were pretty spacious rooms but to get to them you had to go through these tunnel like hallways and then up really narrow wooden old staircases and thats one of the things that made it a bit creepy. It has tennis courts and quite a big lobby and eating area as well as a bar.

Hungary

Budapest- Wombats City Hostel

One of my favourite hostel chains, Wombats know how to accommodate! Since my Contiki trip I went back to Budapest for a week and stayed in this hostel again. The rooms are massive and the beds are quite wide with a little light and power point at every bed. They are bunk beds and most rooms with Contiki will be 4 bed dorms but there are bigger rooms (with more beds) available too. This hostel is so centrally located and the street it's on is filled with restaurants and bars and is only a short walk to the Ruin bars/clubs which Budapest are famous for. Down one end of the street is a tram stop and down the other is a train/metro stop which take you all round the city. The hostel has heaps of information on activities and tours and sights to see and all the staff were really friendly and helpful. You get your own bathroom which is quite nice and clean and the first floor has a huge "entertainment area" with a bar, kitchen, game tables and lots of seating. It was a really fun hostel and  had everything you would look for in one.

Austria

Vienna- The Naschmarkt Wombats Hostel
Another Wombats hotel which was much the same as the Budapest one- huge spacious rooms with nice bathrooms and friendly, helpful staff. The dining area was a bit odd with really low tables and "step" chairs that made you feel like you were eating on the ground, but it also had a really big bar area which looked amazing but unfortunately we never got to test it out. Vienna was only an overnight stop for us which was a bit disappointing but given everything else we got to see it was understandable. I feel like I can't give a genuine review on the beds because I seem to remember spending the night on the floor with four people on two mattresses because we had a movie night- well worth the aching back the next day!

Hopftgarten- Haus Sconeck
This little Contiki hut was so much fun! It looks so Austrian that you feel like you're in the Sound Of Music! There's a little river that runs past the back of the building and it's built almost like a cave in some parts. The food here was amazing and we even got a hot breakfast one morning of sausages, beans and hash browns. We had a really fun party - the tight, white and bright party- where we all dressed up in fluro or white tight clothing that glowed in the "party room" which was decked out with a bar, dance floor and even a strip pole. There was a little outside area with a ping pong table (which took us back to our Greece days!) and heaps of places to sit and chat and drink! The rooms were quite small with 4 beds/2 bunks and small bathrooms but went with the whole cosy vibe of the "Gasthof". We did a really cool bike tour there as well and then got to continue to use the bikes for the rest of the day to ride into town which was quite close.

Swizterland

Lauterbrunnen- Camping SCCV Jungfrau 
Another Contiki onsite base which was amazing. The rooms themselves were just little bunk rooms with a sink and a desk in (2 bunks along one wall) so weren't that amazing. It was quite cold there but it is Switzerland so you can't really expect it not to be. This little campsite had the Contiki side on one side of the river where it was mostly overrun by us wild party animals, as well as a huge "food hall" which is the only way I can think to describe it. It's literally located in the middle of a bunch of snowy mountains and right outside we had a massive mountain with a waterfall flowing off the edge which looked incredible. There was a little market across the river and the walk into town/to the train station wasn't very far. The train takes you up to the snow and is truly such an amazing experience- just for the train ride up (if you're not used to snow).

Germany

Munich- Haus International
This hostel was really far out of the city but obviously with our Contiki coach it wasn't such a bad thing as we had a shuttle bus to take us back and forth. The rooms were the same kind of style as most of the campsites with bunk beds and small bathrooms. Apparently the hotel/Germany are really strict on mixed sex rooms so we listed all the roommates as same sex but everyone moved around so it didn't really stay in place. Munich was another short one night stop for us so we had a brief check out of their basement bar/club which was quite cool with booths and a pool table but it was overrun by 12 year olds drinking which we found both hilarious and odd at the same time. Over all it was an average hostel.

Kobienz (St Goar)- Hotel Montag
This little hotel is located in a small picturesque town called St Goar. There is a huge lake with mountains surrounding it just by the back of the hotel. In the distance on one of the mountains you could see an epic looking castle that I wanted to go and explore so badly. This was another very short stop where we had a wine tasting in a cellar and then all met in the hotel bar which was very German looking. It was good fun chatting to everyone and drinking together. The rooms were quite big and had quite big comfy beds. It was either 2 or 3 to a room and had tiny bathrooms attached too. Breakfast and Dinner were both included and were standard but quite tasty meals. It was a scenic and cute little stopover.

The Netherlands

 Amsterdam- Nieuw Slotania Hotel
Lastly, we made it to Amsterdam. Our hotel was very far out of the main city and was a bit odd. It had lots of floors and stair cases and a basement dining area. The food was a bit like a buffet but with schnitzel and chips and juices, amongst other things. The rooms had 2 bunks (4 beds) and bathrooms like most rooms on the trip, but the hallways stretched on forever and it was really hard to locate your friends as the hotel was like a maze at times.




So, I hope I didn't do a terrible reviewing job and I hope I described the places so you could picture them in your minds. Hopefully this post has given you a rough idea of the kind of accommodation you'll be staying in for these kinds of tours! It really depends on what type of Contiki trip you choose to do but most of them are nice places and only used for one night so you don't have to stress. There were no places we stayed that I felt unsafe in or horrified at something gross or unclean. All of the accommodation provided what we needed which were bathrooms and beds and sometimes food, but all of them had different styles and qualities. Overall, just remember that you literally just use these places to sleep and regroup and it really is quite fun to get to experience all the different cultures through their accommodation and foods and its good for the soul! Before my trip I'd heard there was a lot of "bed bugs" on Contiki's so I was very worried but I didn't encounter any bed bugs the entire trip. Your tour guide will always be there to help you if you feel like something isn't right or feel unsafe or uncomfortable and most of the places you stay in have really friendly and helpful staff willing to do whatever it takes to make you feel happy about staying with them. Some of the places you stay are down right amazing, so get excited!!!


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