I Stayed At A Hostel And Didn’t Die [PHOTOS]

When people say the word "hostel," images of dirty cult-like hippies or a secret murder palace are immediately conjured. In all truthfulness, that is hardly ever the case in real life hostels (hopefully NEVER in the case of the latter). I recently stayed in a hostel in Fort Collins, Colorado, and not only was it clean, comfortable, and accommodating, but it was also friendly to tourists who visit Colorado for its relaxed view of a certain plant.

The Solarium International Hostel is a converted private home off the beaten path of Fort Collins. It is walking distance to the edge of downtown, which features restaurants, bars, brew houses, and gorgeous little shops. It's also about two miles from the closest recreational dispensary in which you can legally buy cannabis to take back to the Solarium and smoke in a tepee.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Hostels have a bad rep in this country. I think that we, as Americans, are so driven to comfort that we default to a hotel just because that's what we are used to. Think of a hostel as a hotel, but with a more community vibe to it. The Solarium was amazingly comfortable in our private room. We had a memory foam bed, a spacious private bath, a TV with all the cable channels you could want, and did I mention the tepee? We'll get to that in a sec.

If you are travelling in a group, or if you are more adventurous, you can stay in one of the dorm rooms. They are filled with comfy bunk-beds in a beautifully appointed room.

All prices are PER GUEST, so you can stay at the hostel for a little less than $40 a day, and it has all the comforts you need. There are other services that include laundry, bike rental, and recreational tours at additional prices.

The Solarium also features a HUGE community kitchen with three refrigerators so that you can go shopping locally, cook your own meals in the kitchen (with the provided cookware) and share it among other guests, or just label the leftovers as yours and stick them back in the fridge. Every morning fresh coffee and waffle batter await the guests, who can make their own Belgian waffle in the provided waffle iron, then sit out under the solarium or on the deck as the morning creeps up.

Now, inside the rooms, under the solarium, and on the deck are all smoke free areas. You can't smoke cigarettes or any other combustible plant matter in any of those areas. You can smoke cigarettes on the grounds, but you can't smoke any tobacco product in the tepee. That's for other things.

Yes...The Solarium International Hostel has a weed-only tepee. It's filled with comfy deck chairs, a fire pit, a community guitar, and a sign that says "Weed - Yes, Ciggs - No" in glorious pictograph.  If you partake in the Devil's lettuce and want a place to feel absolutely FREE...visit The Solarium International Hostel in Fort Collins, Co. It is a very surreal experience, but a worthwhile one. Plus, The Solarium is one of the very few 420-Friendly accommodations around, so treat her with respect so you don't screw it up for the rest of us.

All in all, I had a great stay at The Solarium, and the next time I go to FoCo, you better believe I'm booking a room. And one of the hammocks by the tepee. I already feel a nap coming on...as soon as I finish this cookie.