Music City Hostel

*Update: I'm sorry for the lack of posts in the past week. I'm currently in New Orleans enjoying Mardi Gras festivities and having a little too much fun to blog. But I promise as soon as I get out of the city, I'll be a blogging maniac.*

Coming to Nashville, I decided to stay at a hostel instead of couchsurfing. And quite honestly the main reason why I did not couchsurf is because I was staying for a week and that is a very lengthy commitment for a couchsurfing host. So...hostel it was. And that brought a slew of hesitations and anxiety:

1. How clean would this hostel be?
2. Could I trust to leave my valuables in my room?
3. Would I be welcomed or feel like an outsider?
4. Would I actually be able to get some sleep or would there be partying till wee hours of the morning?
5. Would this be a complete and total disaster?
6. etc. etc. etc. you get my drift...

So pulling up to the Music City Hostel as a single female traveler without anyone to share my anxieties with, was a little stressful. And scary. And I might have driven past it a few times just to "check things out".

Entry way to the hostel.

After finally confirming that it doesn't look so scary (and possibly receiving odd looks from the people watching my brightly colored yellow submarine pass by over, and over, and over again), I  parked, nervously fidgeted with unimportant things, and went in. And roughly 2.3 seconds after walking in, I made 7 instant friends.

• Music City Hostel has the friendliest, most welcoming staff that I have ever encountered. And that is not an exaggeration. 

After being shown to my bed/room, I couldn't help noticing that-

• Music City Hostel is clean. White bathrooms, empty garbage cans, mopped floors, dusted surfaces, no dirty dishes, doesn't smell like anything but clean. I was impressed.

I settled into my room, got my laptop and headed to the common room. (They have free WIFI, which is always a plus!) Now was the time to figure out if these people really wanted to know me or if their friendliness was just part of the job. Roughly 2.7 seconds after sitting down I had plans for the night. And I was asked all kinds of questions about myself, where I come from, and what I'm doing. It was lovely.

Kitchen!

Common room!

See that kitchen? It's free for you to use and aside from being able to buy groceries and cook for yourself, they also provide everything you need to make your own breakfast!

• Free breakfast and a place to cook your own food? Major money saver. In fact, I only went out to eat twice my entire week-long stay in Nashville.

That night, as we headed downtown for a night of live music and groovin', I noticed something essential-

• Music City Hostel is in a perfect location. It's close enough to downtown to make it walkable (roughly 20 minute walk), yet it's far away enough to stay quiet at night. AND-

• Everyone working and staying at the hostel is very respectful of keeping it quiet at night. I never had any problems falling/staying asleep.

Did I mention that the hostel is full of charm and character? Well it is!

I think the greatest aspect of this hostel is trust. Not once did I feel hesitant about leaving my laptop, camera, purse, etc. in my room unattended. In fact, I never bothered to lock my door and most of the time, all the doors would be open.

• There is a huge level of trust in this hostel, and that is extremely important, especially while traveling.

I can't say enough positive things about Music City Hostel. It's the best hostel that I have ever stayed at and it definitely goes beyond the "hostel" expectations. But I think what makes it truly special is the staff and the way they bring everyone together. I made some great friends at the hostel; so great that when four of us found out we were going to New Orleans, we coordinated to stay together! And, I had a travel companion and someone to split gas costs with during the 9 hour drive. The people at Music City Hostel are truly unique. You'll arrive a stranger but leave with a sense of community.