Auberge de Jeunesse de Lausanne

Incredibly dirty shower and toilet. There was only one toilet/shower for our hallway of 4 rooms (5 bed dorms). It looked like a scene from a SAW movie. Everything is just old, scratched and banged up. The cold water tap barely functioned so the only option was a blisteringly hot shower or barely any water pressure. The breakfast was extremely basic, not even a boiled egg in sight. The dining room smelt incredibly foul, dirty cutlery and plates/dishes with remnants of salt or soap on them. A cushion was flipped upside down, there were still breadcrumbs on the sitting pillows and rings from glasses on the tables. The rooms were serviceable, basic bed without any frills.

BE CAREFUL. I booked and paid for a private single room via Agoda at Lausanne Youth Hostel Jeunotel, but on arrival I was only given a bed in a shared dormitory. The Swiss Youth Hostel head office later confirmed in writing that the booking transmitted by Agoda (via Expedia) was for a dorm bed, not the private room shown and paid for on Agoda. This shows a clear mismatch between Agoda’s listing and what the property actually received. On site, staff were unhelpful and refused to take responsibility. Agoda delayed the case for over months, then marked it as “resolved” in the app without providing any explanation. I ultimately had to escalate through my bank and only received a partial refund. After this, I attempted to leave a review in the Agoda app, but the system repeatedly displayed an error stating that my stay had “already been reviewed,” even though I had not submitted any review. This experience raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and how customer feedback is handled. I strongly advise travellers to be cautious when booking this hostel( especially via Agoda).

I'd opted for a private room and was quite happy with what I got (see video). I had a decent nights sleep, followed by a simple breakfast in the morning. The hostel was some way out of the centre (I took a tram to get there) and there didn't seem much around the locality, so for something to eat in the evening I headed back on the tram to the city centre. You get free travel on public transport whilst staying here.