Picture 205If you haven’t heard of Sighişoara, I will be posting an article about my own experiences there and a brief travel guide. Sighişoara is a town of about 32,000 located in the hills of Transylvania and is famous for being the birthplace of Vlad Ţepeş, the original inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. Though it does get touristy in high season, it is a particularly delightful place and is also a UNESCO world heritage site, providing plenty of historic interest. If you want to relax for a few days, or even a few weeks, as many people often do, then Sighişoara is a great place to take a break from the stresses of nonstop travelling. It is also a good opportunity to get away from the cities and see a bit more of the countryside.

I must admit, having travelled a great deal in Eastern Europe and spent a lot of time in various hostels, this is one of the few that I constantly return to. There are few hostels out there which are great party places but where you can also get some sleep and have a relaxing time if that’s what you prefer. Nathan’s Villa, Sighişoara pretty much has it all. I myself have spent several months there over the years (I travel slow!) and it is one place I will always returned to. Indeed, there are quite a few people who feel the same way and tend to go back there every summer.

The hostel is nominally part of a chain though it does not have the typical characteristics of many chain hostels. You can find other Nathan’s Villa hostels in various cities in Poland including Krakow, Warsaw and Wrocław. The Sighişoara hostel is a small place with only 26 beds, a nineteenth century building which the owner’s family used to live in. Partly because of this it has a homely atmosphere which makes it ideal if you want to spend a bit more time in the place.

This particular hostel has almost everything you could possibly need and most of the amenities are included in the modest price of approximately €10.00 per night. For that you get a basic breakfast, laundry when you need it, free use of Internet (including wireless) and various useful information about the town and daytrips. The staff, though often quite crazy, can be good fun and frequently throw some pretty good parties.

The best time to go there is the summer although the winter has its own attractions. Nathan’s Villa also has a great terrace with a barbecue and plenty of seating and even a ping pong table so you can spend a whole day outside enjoying the sunshine of which there tends to be plenty in the summer. Later in the evening, or if the weather is bad, you will no doubt ends up retreating to the common room which is in a wonderfully converted basement which is home to an amazing sound system, a large table with two long benches and a pool table. There are also plenty of board games available and television with cable and a DVD player.

The advantages the basement is that it is completely blocked off from the rest of the building and with the ceilings being so thick, you can make a fair bit of noise down there and enjoy a great party on a regular basis which is what people usually do when they come to this hostel. However, in spite of the parties, there isn’t any need to worry about noise since the basement is well sound proofed and you can happily get a good night’s sleep in one of the comfortable dormitories.

The hostel is also close to the train station, which is where almost everyone coming to Sighişoara arrives in town for the first time. The citadel is about a five to ten minute walk and although there is a hostel in the citadel too, it does not provide quite the level of the amenities and you also have to hike up a steep hill with your heavy backpacks.

I would honestly say after having spent so much time there, I cannot really think of any real faults with this hostel. Depending on which way you look at it, any faults that the hostel has can actually be considered as merits. It’s probably not very good for your health since the amount of partying that goes on there is pretty much unstoppable and you will probably end up getting dragged into it sooner or later.

In conclusion, I am sure that Sighişoara, in the unlikely event you have ever even heard of the town, will probably be a pleasant surprise if you were disappointed by the other places in Romania which a lot of people often are. There is plenty to do there and daytrips can be arranged for you at the hostel including the occasional trip to some of the nearby towns and villages or you can go horse riding for the day.

I certainly haven’t heard many complaints about this hostel and you will see from hostelworld.com that it is indeed the highest rated hostel in the town and for a good reason too!

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