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View Full Version : Woods Hole Hostel.... Honest opinnions



sloufy
06-02-2011, 19:38
i will reserve my submission for now as to not pursuade in one direction or the other.

~Still Steve

jbwood5
06-02-2011, 19:59
I stayed there quite some time ago when Tillie was alive and cooked us breakfast. I still voted in your pole based on that original stay, but I wonder if the place is still like it was 8-9 years ago? To have a pole like this suggests there could be problem. I look forward to more comments.

Ender
06-02-2011, 20:14
I stayed there in '98. It was great back then.

Bob McCaw
06-02-2011, 20:33
I haven't stayed there, but visited and was very impressed.

Del Q
06-02-2011, 21:28
I was there in March, AWESOME!

Took my 1st ever zero day, helped them load manure and work in the gardens.

Neville and Michael are amazing hosts, the place is really, really beautiful, tons of gardens in and more coming. Add Yoga and Massage, hot showers, great food, superb hospitality, etc...............what more could we want on our AT hikes than this?

brian039
06-02-2011, 22:59
It was a clean place with really good food and nice hosts. They run it like a business as it should be run if they want to stay in business.

wcgornto
06-03-2011, 00:23
Stayed there. Loved it. Neville & Michael are great hosts. I had great chilli, and lots of it, for dinner and availed myself of a massage.

The one photo in my gallery if you click on the link at the left is a sunrise photo that I took when I stayed there.

Dogwood
06-03-2011, 00:30
I stayed there one night in 2006 on my AT thru-hike. Tillie and her granddaughter were there. It was one of my most memorable, truly satisfying, and enlightening stays on my entire thru! Staying that one night and day enriched not only my hike but truely my entire life! I, and the the AT, surely miss you Tillie! Thank you! You made a difference and continue doing so to this day in my life!

4shot
06-03-2011, 07:58
I heard it was nice but I also heard that the "donations" are mandatory and managed in such a was as to really mean there was a fixed price for lodging, meals,etc. Nobody that I spoke with begrudges them the right to ask for and accept donations (after all, it is a priviledge to stay there), there were just some issues with the way the thing was marketed and handled. Again, this is second hand info so take it for what it's worth but I heard from 3 different guys that I felt like were reliable.

Spirit Walker
06-03-2011, 13:48
What's wrong with paying for your lodging? Given how cheap some hikers can be, making it clear up front the price for the service seems to me like a great idea. I've heard too many stories of 'donations' being considered totally unnecessary. There are trail angels and there are hostels. The first are in it for love, the second are trying to run a business. Some hostel owners are willing and able to be generous and offer a lot of services for little or no money - but not everybody can afford it and shouldn't be expected to.

Nean
06-03-2011, 14:24
The prices are fixed- posted- and up front. I don't remember anything being for donation. They do have a trust jar in the bunkhouse for sodas and snacks that some hikers seem to think is optional. One guy had- the day before I got there- helped himself to all he wanted- even took their deer meat from the freezer- along with all the money in the trust jar- stayed - ate- got a ride back to the trail- then refused to pay.:mad:

This has long been one of the special places along the trail and has only got better over time...;)

4shot
06-03-2011, 16:27
What's wrong with paying for your lodging? Given how cheap some hikers can be, making it clear up front the price for the service seems to me like a great idea. I've heard too many stories of 'donations' being considered totally unnecessary. There are trail angels and there are hostels. The first are in it for love, the second are trying to run a business. Some hostel owners are willing and able to be generous and offer a lot of services for little or no money - but not everybody can afford it and shouldn't be expected to.


post would be misconstrued. the issue was not about paying per se, it's just the issue seemed to be this: if there is indeed a fixed price for room or meal (rather than a donation which implies voluntary and/or variable amounts) it should be stated as such on the front end. Nean indicates in the post above that the issue has been resolved which is as it should be. Other than this issue, i heard nothing but good things about the place. As I stated, I did not stay there - just relaying trail scuttlebutt from people whom I felt were responsible and above board.

mrc237
06-03-2011, 16:50
Great kawfee!!!

The Old Chief
06-03-2011, 17:59
I stayed there in 03 in the bunkhouse and thought it was okay. Ms Tillie was wonderful and served a good breakfast for a small price. I stayed there about 3 weeks ago in the cabin and was very well pleased. The best I can remember the prices were given up front and they were reasonable. The food was "all you could eat" and the accommodations were comfortable and clean. I don't believe I would stay there in the tenting area because it was away from everything else and you would do just as well to stay in the woods off the trail. Michael and Neville are great hosts running a business, not a charity.

Dogwood
06-03-2011, 18:41
4shot, sometimes, AT hosts rely on the honesty, respectfulness, and awareness of AT hikers to make a donation because they don't want to feel like they are running a for-profit business! Some hosts still feel like all they are doing is assisting someone in need and they have some resources to help some of those in need. Some use the word "donations" to avoid complicating things with legal or economic issues, such as licensing, taxation, inspections, etc. which if some of these AT hosts had to adhere to, would seem too much hassle or unwanted expense. Hence, there would not be so many helpful AT hosts and not make the AT hiking experience what it is today!


I have not been there in several yrs, but I do recall things being made clear to me! I remember it all as Nean saying it currently is.


FWIW, I was on the last few dollars of alloted trail money for that section of the AT ending in Pearisburg Va. Neville, Tillie's grand daughter(great grandaughter?), was there too. Neville was giving well worth $10 foot massages to hikers. Tillie let me work off my ridicoulsly resonable costs by mowing some of the lawn. I think she expected me to only mow for about 15 -30 mins of the tall grass. She even said, "that's enough, you have worked for your stay!"


Tillie was extremely gracious, bright, alert, intelligent, and generous. She rightly corrected some of my mistaken plant identifications. She may have been a botanists or biologusts if I recall correctly!


Her husband and her were attracted to the region when he worked as Assistant to the Secretay of the Interior in the Carter Administration studying the then severly endangered Eastern Elk. Yes, elk used to roam the AT! In the log cabin, where hikers are treated to a sit down home cooked b-fast, there are two pics on each side of the fireplace. On one side is a pic of Tillie's husband the day before he passed. The other side, as Tillie recalled while sharing b-fast with all the hikers, was one of the last eastern elk that lived before they were permanently gone forever.


The next day Tillie and Neville were heading off to a doctor in Pearisburg. She agreed to slack pack some of us by dropping off our packs at the Catholic Hostel in Pearisburg. She would take no money from me for doing this! I stayed at the Hostel by myself even after everyone else, including Tillie and Neville left. In the humid hot VA summer I push mowed that entire field all the way up the hillside exposing several fruit trees that Tillie and her late husband had planted, but had long since been so overgrown so that not Tillie or anyone could get to the fruit trees anymore. I also saw where an old stone bench had formerly been stacked but was in ruin. I rebuilt the stone bench and cleaned up the wooded debris around the fruit trees too. It felt so satisfying to have built up a sweat doing manual labor, when in essence I was on vacation, doing a hike! I packed what little stuff I was hiking with and headed off.

Later, when I talked with Neville she told me how Tillie was so amazed all that had been done. She told me that Tillie had not seen that field mowed in years. Neville told me that as her grandmother walked up that field she noticed the fruit trees, fruit forming, and the repaired bench. Tillie sat down on that stone bench with her grandaughter, looked at the fruit trees, and that mowed field and remembered a time when it was like that when her late husband was alive and a few elk still roamed the woods. Tillie started to reminesce and well up. Tillie told her grand daughter of a time long ago when her husband and her had sat on that bench he built under those fruit trees.


I feel eternally blessed that I was able to to do that for Tillie! I feel eternally blessed that not only was I able to do something outside myself for this family but that Tillie and Neville increased my level of honesty, respect, kindness, generosity, and awarness that I carry with me to this day! Tillie, her late husband, who I never met, and Neville(I don't recall meeting Neville's husband/boyfriend) made my AT hike a BETTER hike!


These are the kinds of things we can be part of on an AT hike! These are the kind of memories we can leave with others or perhaps continue to experience with others, like Neville and Michael!

malowitz
06-03-2011, 19:28
I think what 4shot was getting at is that the term donation throws a loop. That makes it sound like we'd appreciate your $10 donation or whatever it was whereas other places have nightly rate.

I stayed in the shared room inside the house. It was a great place w/great ice cream.

The only thing I didn't like was the hand holding before dinner. I found that hokey. I would stay again, for certain.

They will also be more than happy to make meals for vegan or vegetarian diets. The brownies in the fridge were great too.

Red Hat
06-03-2011, 20:15
Stayed on my thru in 2010, and would stay again in a heartbeat! Next time I'd try to get one of the rooms inside instead of out in the loft. The food was fabulous and Neville and Michael are fantastic.

Sly
06-03-2011, 20:46
I heard it was nice but I also heard that the "donations" are mandatory and managed in such a was as to really mean there was a fixed price for lodging, meals,etc. Nobody that I spoke with begrudges them the right to ask for and accept donations (after all, it is a priviledge to stay there), there were just some issues with the way the thing was marketed and handled. Again, this is second hand info so take it for what it's worth but I heard from 3 different guys that I felt like were reliable.

(fixed) Donation ≠ Free

4shot
06-03-2011, 21:06
(fixed) Donation ≠ Free


please read the entire thread carefully before commenting. thanks

Old graymare
06-03-2011, 21:22
I stayed there a few weeks ago and loved it. I had no problem understanding the expected costs of staying and eating. I will go back again this summer, as I want my husband to come and enjoy it. Climbing into the loft was a bit difficult for this 68 year old. I wish the opening was a little bigger. But I was comfortable and happy.

WingedMonkey
06-04-2011, 00:39
My stay was back in the day of just Tillie and a relative, older woman not Neville. Breakfast was limited to the first eight that asked if that many were there and everyone slept in the loft. It was a highlight of my '95 hike.
Now I read accounts of twenty or thirty hikers staying there and folks driving there and using it as a base camp. Seems everyone still loves it but it does make me miss what my experience was.
As for the donation thing, I can understand the confusion and the mindset of the free load hikers. There are still those that think dinner is free at Neels Gap because they already pay so much at the outfitter, or think the church in Damascus can keep that old building standing from just the joy of hikers stopping there.
Maybe Woodshole makes it clear what it cost to stay there but the 2010 Companion still uses vague terms to let hikers know what is expected of them.


The bunkhouse, with mattresses in the loft for sleeping, and nearby solar shower are free. Donations appreciated.I know what that means to me, and I even carry checks in my wallet in case I'm out of cash, but maybe the guide should be more clear.

Rain Man
06-04-2011, 17:16
I led a section hike by there last fall. We stayed overnight and had dinner and breakfast too. We all loved it and some talk of returning just to stay there again.

As far as hostels asking for voluntary "donations" rather than "forcing" the payment of a fee, y'all might need to consider this is sometimes done because of laws governing restaurants and motels. Accepting donations means less stringent health, inspection, fire, etc. codes, and the like (thus, less costly for the owners and thus the hikers). Charging a fee means the opposite for everyone. Since AT hostels are often more like hobbies and labors of love than true for-profit enterprises, many choose the less "red tape" and less costly category for themselves. Has nothing to do with misleading sorry (in the true Southern sense of the word), complaining hikers.

Even though donations are voluntary, if hikers want a place to be there next year and in the future for others, they need to pitch in a generous voluntary donation "now," just as others in the past did for them. Pay it forward.

Rain Man

.

Serial 07
06-04-2011, 22:07
in 07 it was a very nice place...

dillard
09-23-2011, 20:37
Stayed there a few weeks ago and it was a very pleasant stay. Neville was very nice and gave great recommendations about where to stay and what to avoid on the trail ahead of us(sobo). Dinner and breakfast were both amazing and lots of the food came right from their garden. We opted to stay in the shared room since a cold snap had come through and it was the nicest place we stayed at on our trip. I would recommend this hostel to anyone going through the area... just like the book says, "a slice of heaven not to be missed".

Berry Belle
09-10-2012, 21:02
I could have stayed there this May, but didn't because:
1--They apparently don't do shuttles. They referred me to someone else. And from their website, I gathered that I'd have to pay to leave my car there.
2--I would have had to cut short one day of hiking to stay there, and then make up the distance with a longer day than I can comfortably hike.

Maybe some other time the Woods Hole might work out, but for this trip it basically seemed like an inconvenient, expensive side trip that wasn't worth the effort. I ended up using a shuttle service that was able to provide low cost lodging at a convenient location and a free, safe place to leave my car.

wornoutboots
09-10-2012, 22:06
Sorry didn't want to wade through all of the drama, I was there recently & they're an exceptional Hostel. The constant problem here on WB that I've been noticing is that some hikers think that hostles = an opportunity to freeload. If this is you, you know who you are, so please do us all a favor & just move on, camp, and then stop in a real hotel with a group of "like" hikers. Most of us want & enjoy patronizing these special places along the trail & really don't need your frugality & drama.

Bags4266
09-11-2012, 07:25
" Nobody goes there anymore its to crowded" Thats how I felt, I got there rather early and it seems like everyone is hanging out more than one day. Only tent sites were avail. Nice place good concept, had some ice cream and split.

WIAPilot
09-11-2012, 07:56
Dogwood: Thanks for sharing that amazing story. You're a good guy.

Rain Man
09-11-2012, 08:24
Sorry didn't want to wade through all of the drama, I was there recently & they're an exceptional Hostel. The constant problem here on WB that I've been noticing is that some hikers think that hostles = an opportunity to freeload. If this is you, you know who you are, so please do us all a favor & just move on, camp, and then stop in a real hotel with a group of "like" hikers. Most of us want & enjoy patronizing these special places along the trail & really don't need your frugality & drama.

Well said!

Except I would not have used the word "frugality." What those drama kings/queens do isn't merely frugality, it's often a sense of entitlement and self-indulgent freeloading.

Rain Man

.

Mfrenchy
09-11-2012, 11:33
I stayed, it was amazing. Great hosts.

Zipper
09-11-2012, 23:03
I loved loved loved Wood's Hole during my 2009 flip flop hike. Fabulous food, and sweet pets to cuddle, an incredible fire (it was October) and lovely company. I stayed inside and treated myself to a massage. Worth every penny. I was fortunate that I wasn't on a strict budget, but if I did do a hike on a strict budget, I would sleep in the woods and skip the hostels. I remember meeting a couple during my hike who never took a zero and never slept anywhere but their tent. They took neros in town, managed their errands, and hiked out. That's what Earl Shaffer did all those years ago too. If I were on a strict budget I would save my money to buy enough food and I wouldn't expect or rely on strangers to feed or house me for free. If free food came along in the form of trail magic cookouts and other wonderful things, I would enjoy it and I would get the name and address of the providers, when possible, so I could send them a thank you once I got home.

But this thread is not really about that- it's about Woods Hole which is absolutely a little slice of heaven. I look forward to returning!

Stalking Tortoise
03-17-2013, 00:27
I read all of these comments before my hike this past week and didn't know quite what to expect at Wood's Hole. But everyone I spoke to in the area strongly recommended that my buddy and I stop in for the night if we could fit it into our schedule. We did, and we were glad.

I consumed a few sodas, showered, enjoyed an excellent massage, helped prepare an outstanding dinner, slept inside in a comfortable bed, got a shuttle back up the hill to the AT and Neville slacked-packed our gear down to my car in Pearisburg so my buddy and I could hike quickly and make it to Dulles for an evening flight. We paid a fair rate for everything we received and got to chalk up a unique AT experience.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Carry-On
03-17-2013, 00:58
I stayed at Woods Hole the first week of Dec, 2012. They were wonderful and accommodating, even though the three of us arrived late for dinner. We still got to eat the fantastic dinner and have good conversation. Neville gave us a choice of a fancier breakfast or just eggs, toast and coffee for cheaper, and we all chose the simple breakfast. We knew the prices of everything and I very much enjoyed staying inside the house, visiting with Swami.

I would happily go there again, as part of a thruhike, section hike or otherwise. Dang, now I'm remembering Neville's homemade bread and drooling.

q-tip
03-17-2013, 12:43
An incredibly Spiritual experience......

Almost There
03-17-2013, 13:46
Simple enough...go to their website, www.woodsholehostel.com (http://www.woodsholehostel.com). They make pricing very clear for everything, including shuttles. As a section hiker, I have never understood why so many who have thru'd think that all hostels ask for "donations." I know Ms. Janet did, and so does Bob Peoples, but in the south for the most part, the price is the price...even these other two asked/ask for so little, that if you can't pay it, then don't stay in hostels, or get the "F" off the trail because you're too much of a deadbeat to be on it.

Almost There
03-17-2013, 13:48
BTW, was supposed to stay there back in 2011, but had to get off the trail at O'Lystery due to medical issues. I had parked my car at their place. Neville didn't charge me for late cancellation of my room, and they were very understanding/accommodating of my issue. When I finish that section (maybe this year), they'll definitely get my business again.

Sugarfoot
03-17-2013, 18:22
Simply put, I could live there. I admire Michael and Neville and enjoy watching them approach living off the grid. I look forward to staying with them this year!

Dogwood
03-17-2013, 20:36
Going on two yrs since I saw this thread and my last post on it. Wow, so much has changed in my life in the yrs since I was last at Woods Hole Hostel. Thank you so for pulling it up. STILL, my stay there makes me reminisce about the AT, VA in the mountains on old dirt roads grinding it out on a 2200 mile hike walking north with Spring on a dirt bag budget as a basically ignorant new long distance hiker yet with such a contrite satisfied feeling in my soul to this day is still one of the key driving factors why I continue to long distance hike, history of Woods Hole Hostel, how it came about, what has occurred there, now extinct Eastern Elk, thru-hiking the AT, east coast hiking, and HOW GRACIOUS HOW HUMANE HOW GENEROUS HOW GOOD PEOPLE CAN BE *LIKE TILLIE*. Truly touched by my stay there and the people of Woods Hole Hostel. NOTHING but good thoughts about all that occurred there. Saying that I was eternally blessed and truly touched is still the only adequate way I can describe my experiences there. In my heart and mind, at the very core of all that I am, I've been changed somehow lifted to a higher ground by my thru-hiker stay there which was MAINLY due to Tillie, Neville, what Tillie's husband had done and, in some way, are still doing there. I think that was Tillie and her husband's aim when they started assisting hikers so long ago. Perhaps, my attitude, something that I connected(reconnected?) to on my AT thru-hike had something to do with it. It may sound mushy or overly dramatic or be described as a spiritual experience by some but I don't care about those opinions. With all the seemingly endless chit chat about gear, MPD, shelter etiquette, speed hiking, cals/oz, how much to thru-hike the AT, wild animals, blah blah blah, which I too can certainly be a participant in, and a sense of selfish self absorbed entitlement I can often detect that's inherent in some attitudes, it's places and people and experiences like had at Woods Hole Hostel that are SO MUCH what thru-hiking the AT was about for me. Forever grateful.

wbrooks
05-26-2013, 16:42
After hiking 16 miles from Trents Grocery, I decided to stop at Woods Hostel for lodging and food. I walked down a steep hill that seemed to be at least 1 mile long. I was told "sorry, we are full." You may pitch your tent anywhere you choose for $10.00. One problem, there are no suitable tent spots unless you wish to sleep on the side of a hill. I inquired about food. I was told the evening meal consists of soup and salad for $13.00. Being irritated, to say the least, I hiked back up the steep hill and proceeded another 2 miles to Doc's shelter for a good night sleep. I feel the hostel should post a sigh at the AT when they filled to capacity to prevent a tired hiker from walking 2 additional, useless miles.

Drybones
05-26-2013, 17:50
I didn't spend the night but I did stop by to shower and wash clothes, i talked with the lady of the house a lot while waiting for the laundry to process, very nice lady, works her butt off. It's hard for me to see how they can survice financially with what they're doing but I hope they do, very nice, rustic place.

Del Q
05-26-2013, 20:00
Michael and Neville are AMAZING!

Woods Hole is one of the most special parts of the AT................Tillie is smiling down on them for sure.

Q

Grinder
05-26-2013, 20:44
I stayed there during my section hike last year. No complaints. I self shuttle with a van and small motorcycle. They were very accommodating about parking. Even had a massage.
There was no vagueness about pricing.
Good vibe there. I'd stay again and look forward to it.

Zigzag
09-02-2013, 20:16
Planning on staying there next week on a short overnight section. Missed it last year when I dropped out with a foot injury in Damascus. I saw on their Facebook page that they are in the process of replacing their septic system. Cost 17 grand. If you have stayed there & enjoyed it this is a chance to give back & help them out. You can get more info on their Facebook page or drop them a line.

geomaniac
09-02-2013, 20:28
Beautiful Story! Thanks for sharing with us.

SonrisaJo
09-02-2013, 21:24
My favorite hostel on the trail. Great people, very reasonable prices. If I could live at one hostel forever, it would be there.

Praha4
09-03-2013, 09:38
stayed there in early April this year on a section hike. Arrived as they were finishing up dinner and starting cleanup. Neville was very gracious and welcomed me and she and Steven (who was working there this season) took the effort to put food back out for me. There were only 2 other hikers there that night, so we had the loft to ourselves. I really liked the location and atmosphere and food. Neville offered to shuttle anyone to Pearisburg or take packs to Pearisburg the next morning for anyone wanting to slackpack. Can't say I had the chance to meet Michael, he was in the process of loading up a truck with tools to drive down to Dahlonega, GA that night to do some work on a rental house they had recently purchased. Looks like a lot of responsibility and work to run a hostel like that, with all the farm animals too. Overall I would give it a thumbs up and stay there again.

okiedude
05-07-2014, 15:39
I passed this hostel on the way to Pearisburg and wished I had stopped. They treated several friends who stopped very well and even offered work for stay to one who was recovering from some severe blisters.