Fontaineblhostel Hostel & Camping (near Fontainebleau) — Hotel in Fontainebleau

Right, let's get down to brass tacks - if you're off to Fontainebleau, Fontainblhostel is the business. Our host, Patrick? Top bloke. He's a proper laugh and couldn't do enough for us.

The hostel's got all the mod cons - lovely warm showers, free coffee to kick-start your mornings, even crash pads for rent. We didn't have a motor, but it was no bother at all, thanks to Patrick's brilliant shuttle service to the crag each day.

We had a smashing time bouldering at Elephant, just a 35-minute stroll away. Loads of brilliant problems there - I cracked my first 6c on La Voie Michaud, and Beta Hunter (6a+) and La Sans Goulotte (a satisfying 5a traverse) were real corkers too. If you're heading this way, do yourself a favour and download the Boolder app. It's free and perfect for finding and saving routes.

On your off days? Have a gander around Fontainebleau-Avon, and don't miss the Wes Anderson-esque Jeu de Paumme courts at the Chateau de Fontainebleau. On my last day, I had a flight out of CDG at 1 pm, and Patrick sorted me out with a shuttle to Fontainebleau-Avon for the 7 am - even printed my travel plans. Absolute diamond, he is.

But the cherry on top at Fontainblhostel? The people. Met a bunch of solid, down-to-earth travellers who turned into mates and climbing partners for the trip. And if you've got a bit of work to do, no worries. I spent a week working remotely on US hours from the common area. Dead good to spend the morning climbing, then settle in for an evening of coding, all thanks to the somewhat intermittent but still workable Wi-Fi.

So, there you have it. Fontainblhostel is spot on. Top location, great facilities, a brilliant host, and a sound crowd. If you're looking for a bouldering adventure with some top-notch people, you've got to book this place. You won't be...

We camped in the hostel's garden for the first time. The garden is beautiful – blossom trees, birds chirping, nice grassy area. You can hear the nearby main road, though, especially during peak traffic, but that's a very minor concern.

The amenities are very basic. For the campers, there are only three showers and three working toilets. One kitchen tap for everyone in the crowded hostel, which isn't nearly enough – think about people cooking, washing up, filling water bottles, etc. all at the same time. To say something positive about the kitchen: it's quite well equipped.

The staff is friendly and tries hard to keep the hostel clean, but doesn't manage – I disliked the smell of the common room/kitchen area and avoided it whenever possible. The place gets dirty quickly, keeping it clean seems impossible. Yes, it's a hostel, you can say, what do you expect.

But for a hostel with these standards, I think, the place is highly overpriced. Would it be 5-10 Euro/night for camping per person, okay – but at almost 20 Euro per person and night (we paid ca. 112 Euro for three nights for the two of us camping in one car), it's not justifiable. There are much better places available for camping in this area that are cheaper, prettier, and cleaner than this.

Sorry, Fontainebleau Hostel & Camping, but we won't be coming back...

No clue why this hostel is so highly rated. Probably the dirtiest hostel I've ever visited. The pictures on Google come nowhere near how it actually looks. Seems like there's no staff, just the owner, who's barely around, so I couldn't tell him about the clogged shower. In the 6 days I was there nothing was cleaned even once. Showers have mud & hair everywhere. Every room has dust on the ceiling corners. There's random junk everywhere (old fitness equipment, piles of old magazines, clutter). Most shared student housing is cleaner than this. I would highly advise the owner to hire staff & actually spend time in the hostel to clean & organize a bit. The only thing I saw him do was turn off the lights to save money.

Other fun facts: -The lights in the bathroom are broken so there's just a standing lamp in the middle of the room (+ a piece of carpet for some reason) -There's a flyer warning you about ticks and Lyme disease, but a lot of the grass in the campsite is not mowed -The bathroom is poorly ventilated so your towel will never dry (if you're camping and hanging it there) -If you wanna do the dishes you probably need to wash the tea towels yourself -There are only two very small (uncomfortable & dirty) couches, so if you're waiting for rain there's a good chance the hostel is not the best...