This is a toughie. If it were me I'd get the hell out of Dodge.

I don't see any other way around it, apart from inviting them to a swimming hole with a bar of Dial.

Maybe you could douse a facecloth with an essential oil like peppermint and leave it on your face at night.

I'd say switch hostels. Or get some Vaporub to put under your nose?

Talk to them about the problem. privately. If you are male, get another woman to do it.

Better yet, get hostel management to deal with it.

it would probably be bad traveller etiquette to be all 'switch my room, these people reek'.

The real violators of traveller etiquette are the two stinkpots imposing themselves on you. They've disrupted your sleep. They've made you feel uncomfortable. They've made it impossible to enjoy a room you paid for because they couldn't be bothered to spend a couple of hours at the laundromat.

In shared quarters, tight quarters, good personal hygeine is crucial. Failure to attend to this is selfish. And quite rude.

You wouldn't be violating etiquette at all. You'd be asserting yourself. Talk to hostel management about the problem. It might help if all of the non-stinkpots join you in this little discussion.

If they're "travellers" (as in that burgeoning global youth culture featuring heavily anarchic anti-nationalism and lots of wandering and all that) - they might not be able to afford laundry and/or toiletries.


Or they might not care to in the first place. Some don't.

If so, they may be equally offended by the use of heavily scented or even mildly scented products and/or by the use of antibacterial products.

I'm personallly offended by the wanton, thoughtless use of antibacterial products, for example. I can tolerate industrial fragrances for the most part, but "Air Freshner" being sprayed in an enclosed space usually evokes a vocal "Why are you doing that? Please don't!" from me and an evacuation from the room.

Personally, I'd rather smell some BO rather than most industrial-grade artificial scents and perfumes.


And rationally, logically speaking - of the two conditions (exposure to body odor OR exposure to perfumes) - BO should win and be more acceptable.

BO is natural, and isn't going to kill anyone. Barring potential hygiene or disease issues, it's harmless. However, industrial scents can kill someone, and many have proven to be very harmful even with limited exposure.


However, none of that helps if your roommate stinks like the bloated corpse of a long-beached sturgeon.

Talk to them. Establish a rapport. Try and figure out what the background is, and by then asking "Hey, go take a shower" isn't such a big deal, nor is offering help if you've got the means and the methods.

This is kind of the point of hostels, remember? Meeting people of varied backgrounds and sharing the load and burden of travel.

They are both at least 50 years old. And Dutch. And are not here to meet other people.

The vapo rub or the cloth with essential oil idea may win out. At least that's another excuse to go to the awesomeness that is SHOPPERS DRUG MART.

You know what? They're open until midnight. Off I go.

They are both at least 50 years old. And Dutch. And are not here to meet other people.

Oof. They should be old enough to not being offended by being told to take a damn shower.

Maybe they got stuck in a torrential downpour and had mildew take hold in their clothes and luggage and haven't been able to correct it yet.

Maybe they smoke lots of stinky pot.

Oooh Toronto! Go to Tim's and have an extra large coffee with cream, double cup, for me please. And, if you're in any of these three places, have a chicken shawarma or a falafel for me. I miss Toronto...

Dang, looks like the Yummi's by Yonge and Eglington closed down. I hope the others are just as good!

Which hostel are you at? Global Village, which is either on or near Spadina and King (I know the King bit- right at the intersection where East and West meet), is nice, has private rooms, and pretty darn cheap.

Just to clarify, the Global Village hostel is indeed on the corner of King and Spadina, but that isn't where King St. West turns to East. Most streets in Toronto going east-west make the switch at Yonge Street.

Maybe Kellydamnit meant "east meets west" in the figurative sense, ie: Chinatown? Just helping a sister out, darlin'.

No, literal. like so:


_____________| |__________________
....KING WEST..| |...KING EAST
_____________| |__________________
| |


Whereas the vertical is Yonge (Not Spadina like I thought).
But now I'm trying to recall if the hostel is on Spadina and King St. W.

Just to clarify, the Global Village hostel is indeed on the corner of King and Spadina, but that isn't where King St. West turns to East. Most streets in Toronto going east-west make the switch at Yonge Street.

Thanks! I have no idea why I was so sure it was at that intersection.
Maybe I stayed near there last time I was in Toronto. Is there a Mariott near there? (if so, yep, that's the more recent place I've stayed. Having a sister work for a major hotel chain means I pay hostel prices for rooms. so awesome)

I'm at Canadianabackpackers off Adelaide and Widmer.

So I went to awesome SHOPPERS DRUG MART and they had those renuzit things on sale. Got one, came back, and the Van Stynkens were in the room so I just popped it open and set it on top of my luggage and came back into the common room. I'm sitting here dicking around on the internet because I can't bear to be in there. I have to wait until I'm really really tired.

Oh man. I love Tim Hortons. I could eat toasted coconut Timbits all the time. I have been. I've had three of their coffees today.

Global Villagers is on King and Spadina.

I am tired. It is time to brave stankroom.

Perhaps I can import the doorman who sprays an entire bottle of Axe over himself up north? I told him sometime ago that the person interested in him will want to know how HE smells...to no effect. I get the reek from the elevator lobby 50 feet away.

The Golden Griddle across from the hockey stadium is where the Arab cashier smirked that the US got what it deserved a few days after 9-11...and then leered at me, cooing: "was the food good?"

They have internet in hostels? Geez, I'm gettin' old.

O wow, brujita, there's a security guy at my office drenched in Ax body spray. He's not here yet, but I'll know as soon as he arrives and does his rounds. He uses so much that you can smell him coming up the elevator.

I want to go up to him and say, "You stink real purty. Whud you roll in?" but he's a security guy, carefully trained to kick my everlovin' ass straight to hell.