Top 10 hostels around the world

Hostels are no longer just grotty dives for skint backpackers. Benji Lanyado recommends 10 stylish sleeps that won't break the budget.

Bunking up in a castle

Georgia Brown braves the castle ghosts when she checks into probably the most opulent youth hostel in the world, in the Scottish Highlands.

Bed and bored? Not a chance

Forget boring chores and rock-hard bunk beds, youth hostels now guarantee adventure - and comfort - for all the family, writes Nicola Baird.

The bunks stop here

English youth hostels may be going soft with posh food and en suites, but in the Hebrides bunkhouses are as no nonsense as ever.

Clean break

Milia Traditional Settlement was an abandoned village in the western foothills of Crete's White Mountains, now restored as a hikers' hostel and organic farm.

Trips and tips

Ski lift | YHA relaunch | Japan for less | China-on-sea | Rough Guide winners

Oops, there goes another bit of Britain

A wild weekend is more likely to involve a trip to the city these days - which is why some remote YHA hostels are facing the chop, reports Martin Wainwright.

In praise of … youth hostels

Leader: For years there has been something oddly dear to the national psyche about shared chores, spartan dormitories and the espionage of hiding the car out of sight of the warden - all characteristics of the traditional family visit to a youth hostel.

Stay at YHA

Letters: The Youth Hostels Association still has a lot to offer, as your leader observes (August 16).

Onwards and upwards

Leader: The Youth Hostels Association is celebrating its 75th anniversary - if "celebrating" is the right word, given that it is mulling over whether to sell off a tranche of properties.