Modern open-air for $120 per night, or transformed Victorian house for $10 a night. $10 a night will get you a place with little soap, yes, but soap does not cost $110 a bar, so you still come out ahead. Hostel pluses also include impromptu lessons in Portuguese and Spanish, and conversation in French and English. As opposed to the hotel, which comes with … well, really nothing that the hostel doesn’t offer, other than more quiet, more seclusion and more spit shine. I tried talking to a guy from London at breakfast today at the hotel, and he looked at me like I was crazy.
I thought the point of going places was to plunge oneself into interesting and slightly uncomfortable situations and learn in so doing. Unless, of course, you’re traveling for business and need to sleep before 4 a.m. (which is only 10 p.m. Idaho time; fairly reasonable, really)
However, I’m actually enjoying the hotel, too, so I must be reaching middle age.
Botkin Creative 
Your hostel logic is impeccable. Americans, such as myself, have been getting ripped off for years for what more than spit-shine.
dear Kate: this is your dad. If you run across any good tango CDs I need one. The good stuff is hard to get here. I love you.