Carpeted floors?

[Hostels]

What do people think about carpeted floors? I've recently seen an otherwise well-designed, custom-built hostel that has carpets. They are already stained even though they are new. I imagine a lot of backpackers drop things or throw up occasionally.

It seems like if an accident happens it's going to take longer to clean it out of a carpet than on a solid floor that can be mopped...

[Tim]

My house doesn't have carpet, which I am thankful for every time my cat throws up.

I think carpet is a really bad idea for hostels. They are difficult to clean and look dirty even in a new hostel. Also it is one more place where bed bugs and fleas can live.

[uktrail]

How about built-in kitchen units?

It is of course the fashion to replace open shelves with built-in cupboards, because they 'look better', and they reduce dust and fat accumulation. But how many times have you opened 6 cupboard doors in a hostel kitchen before you find the item you wanted? And have you noticed how a cupboard typically holds only about half as much as a shelf area of the same size (because shelving within fitted cupboards is prescribed, and leaves a lot of space).

[Hostels]

Here's a new hostel carpet that I photographed:



It's an otherwise well-designed hostel, but I'm not sure carpets were a good idea.

The shelves are a good idea too. I'll add it to the Start a Hostel guide. I've been updating it lately.

[gordo]

i've only worked in one hostel that didnt have carpetted floors - the globetrotter up here in edinburgh - and they had ugly ugly linolium flooring. hideous.

our carpets here are stained pretty badly in some places (when cleaners drop a bucket of bleach... it doesnt go well) and it doesnt look good. that said, any flooring in a hostel is going to be hard to keep unmarked and carpet feels nicer. im definately torn on this one; i think carpet is better from a guests point of view, but its bloody high maintenance and turns bad quickly. still havent made my mind up...

[Hostels]

It's probably expensive, but I think my ideal floor material is wood.

A hostel in Taiwan:

.

Here are some wood floors in Japan -- no shoes allowed indoors:



Not sure what these floors from Wombats are -- wood?

I've seen nice tile floors also...

[gordo]

looks like a wood laminate - but im sure klaus will correct me :P

id love to have real hardwood flooring but not, it aint cheap.

[lolli]

We have carpets in the rooms and are not unhappy with it. Cleaning with a vacuum cleaner is quick and easy and I think it makes the feeling of a room warmer and more homelike.
Bedbugs will find there space anyway, with or without carpets, with sleeping bags allowed or not.
We do once a year (in the winter time) a deep cleaning of the carpets and until now, despite of a few spots, our carpets look ok.
Wooden floors give the room a warm feeling as well, so this is a nice idea too. Depends on the country, in the warmer ones even tiles can be all right and still not converting the hostel into a hospital.

[santa klaus]

Originally Posted by hostels

not sure what these floors from wombats are -- wood?

pvc.

[Hostels]

I added a section to the How to Start a Hostel Guide about carpets. I only have a photo of a stained carpet, but if anyone wants to add another perspective or photo, feel free to edit the page. I haven't worked in hostels with carpets so I can't add anything about the cleaning and maintenance...

Feel free to add your opinions anywhere to that page...
The Start a Hostel Guide is out of "draft mode" so I'm going to mention something about it in the email newsletter next week.