I made an edit in my comment. Must be a US/Europe term difference. I don't know what the horror show you described is called in my part of Europe, but over here, hostels have nothing to do with shared fridge for 50 people, or limited privacy. They're just cheaper hotels. Kind of like a motel, except not optimized for cars, and usually in an apartment building.

Hmmm, unless things have changed since I backpacked western Europe, hostels in London|Barcelona|Florence|Paris are dorm-style with shared bathrooms and other facilities. So, it's not a "Europe" thing either. As a 40-something professional, I would never stay in a hostel - I'm too old for that crap. I want a nice bed, a small living room, and a small kitchen.

If it says "we have a lounge where you can meet people, and info on trips" it's a backpacker hostel.

If it says "we have a great atmosphere, and go clubbing every night" it's a party hostel.

If it says "we have family and dorm rooms, kitchens and car parking" it's probably for families or school trips.

There are also hostels used by people who are essentially homeless, though I've never seen one advertised. I knew someone who volunteered at one.

On hotels.com, what you're looking for is described as an "apart-hotel".

"apart-hotel" isn't really something that exists in the US. And I had no idea it was a searchable term in some online booking tools.

Somebody mentioned extended-stay hotels elsewhere as the closest analog in the US, but they tend to be focused on business travelers, and not always located in tourist areas. For example, there are a ton of extended-stay hotels near my office, but that's 30 miles outside Washington DC in the heart of the northern VA internet/tech zone (AWS, Google, the remnants of AOL, etc).

Edit - I'm looking at Hotels.com now, searching Inverness UK from the US site. "apart-hotel" is not an option under "Accommodation Type". Apartment is a distinct type from hotel, and it appears to be a mix of what you describe (bocks of apartments managed for vacation lets) and individual apartments (Airbnb-style).

Sometimes I stay at "apart'hotels" in Europe. At least at the chain I've used a number of times, it's really just a hotel with 1.) Some cooking facilities like an extended stay place in the US and 2.) Cleaning is just weekly. They also tend not to have features like bars and gyms that many hotels do. But, really, at least for my uses it's pretty much a hotel with a 24-hour front desk.

I stayed in one in Ottawa, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are only common in areas popular with families on holiday, and large cities.

Edinburgh has some.

https://www.adagio-city.com/gb/home/ has many across Europe (also listed on hotels.com).

Ohh! Yep, communication breakdown. What you describe certainly sounds much better than the hostels I'm familiar with.

Yeah, I started reading the comments in surprise, and immediately headed to English Wikipedia, which revealed the depth of the mistake I made.

Well, according to Wikipedia it's the same in polish: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel ;)

In a state of even greater surprise, I accept that the word "hostel" may in general mean something else than what I came to expect from staying in places calling themselves "hostels".

(Curiously, the Talk page of that article suggests that Polish law doesn't even recognize the term "hostel", so all those places - both defined here and the kinds I stayed in - must really be something else.)