This post is a work in progress, with updates coming as I leave new hostels. They will be in order of favourites -> lesser favs.
To date my absolute favourite hostel has been:
GOODMORNING SOLO TRAVELLER HOSTEL – Lisbon *9.5/10*
While many hostels advertise that they have been designed for travellers by travellers, this hostel has pulled this off so well. I stayed for 5 nights in a 10-bed, mixed dorm, which overlooked Praça dos Restauradores (one of many plazas). I also opted for the “all inclusive” option that they offer. It is more expensive, but 100% worth it in my opinion. With this option, you get 3x home cooked meals a day, and free beer and sangria from 8-10:30pm. The food was incredible, and you can’t go wrong with sangria on tap. This option also provided further opportunity to socialise during meals.
The hostel was very social, everyone was there to make new friends and hang out. Every night at 11pm pub crawls were held, they definitely provided some entertainment. However, for those who didn’t want to go out, after 11pm it was quiet and you could easily still get a good nights rest. The staff and volunteers were incredible, they were friendly, accomodating and wanted to make friends too.
The location of the hostel was very central, close to both bus stops and the metro, but at first glance the hostel can be hard to find as the entrance is located within a souvenir shop, but it’s not bad. The location felt very secure, with a 24/7 reception you had to buzz in at the front door and show your wristband to get let in, and then you had a key card to enter your bedroom, and a key for your locker.
The rooms were spacious, clean, and nice. All beds had curtains and powerplugs next to the bed. I didn’t find the beds to be particularly comfortable but maybe that’s just me. They also offered a laundry service for 8€ where they washed and dried your laundry within the day for you.
I met the most amazing people here and had a great time. I would not hesitate to stay here again.
5 TERRE BACKPACKERS – La Spezia *9/10*
This hostel in La Spezia was a unique experience! Somehow I didn’t realise when I booked, but the hostel only sleeps around 14 people split across two bedrooms. This wasn’t a bad thing though! The host, Francesco was so lovely and welcoming, you get free breakfast at his brothers cafe next door. And the the facilities were great.
The rooms were clean, beds comfy, each bunk had a charging point, light and mini shelf. I was the unfortunate person who ended up on the top of the only triple bunk which I didn’t love, but there was nothing wrong with – it was just very high.
The location of the hostel, couldn’t be better, less than 5 minutes away from the train station makes it so easy to visit the towns of Cinque Terre (which for most people is the goal when staying in La Spezia).
I highly recommend this hostel and would most definitely stay here again!
BLACK SWAN HOSTEL – Barcelona *9/10*
I had seen so many recommendations online (TikTok mostly) for the Black Swan Hostel and that led to me booking it. It was surprisingly cheap for Barcelona and I had a great time there.
The hostel offered free family dinners every night, which were good, the food wasn’t the best, but it was free and the dinners were social! Following on from this, free shots were offered around the hostel, and a pub crawl runs every night for 20€. Overall the hostel was fairly social, and obviously with Barcelonas party reputation, many people want to go out. But on the other hand, it was easy enough to get a good nights sleep if you wanted to stay out. The hostel also offered free walking tours in the morning, and then daily activities in the afternoon such as trips to the Bunkers, salsa dancing, etc.
The rooms were nice. I stayed in an 8-bed mixed dorm and it wasn’t huge, but there was enough space. Each bed had a curtain, PowerPoint and locker. The lockers were metal and under the bunks so they were a bit loud, and mine would not lock. All rooms had functioning air con which was a great bonus. One weird thing was that the toilets were on the second floor, and showers on the first, so you always had to go up and down the stairs. It was fine, just a bit annoying. The showers were clean but very small and tight.
There were facilities to cook your own food, and a couple of common spaces but overall these spaces were all a bit small and awkward. Similarly, there was only 1 washing machine and 1 dryer for the whole hostel, which wasn’t quite enough.
All that being said, I enjoyed my stay, met some cool people and had a great couple of nights out at this hostel. It’s a good mix of party, social and chill!
OK HOSTEL – Madrid *8.5/10*
I had a great time here at OK Hostel. The location was fantastic and the amenities clean and pleasant. The staff were friendly, they remembered my name from the moment I checked in.
The rooms were spacious, clean and modern. They were accessed using a wristband that scanned to unlock the door. This wasn’t the most practical option, I think a keycard would work better and also the unlocking system was quite loud and noisy. The beds seemed wider than other hostel beds? Im not sure if this is actually true though. The bottom bunks had curtains, while the top bunks had a wooden railing as such providing privacy. Within each bunk was a powerpoint and small shelf. There were also large drawers for your stuff, which could be locked using your own lock. The aircon worked fantastically, which was a great bonus. Each dorm room had an ensuite, they were a bit small and less clean/modern than everywhere else but still nice.
Breakfast was offered each morning for 6€, with a range of food options. Every night they offered a dinner for 12€, which included an entree salad, main, and then dessert, as well as free sangria or beer for the duration of the meal (9-10pm). For 12€ you got your moneys worth. Following on from this, they offered a pub crawl every night for another 15€, if you signed up for this the free sangria/beer was extended until 11pm. The pub crawl was fun, and included two bars (which you got a free shot at each) and then entry to a club and discounted drinks.
I really enjoyed my stay here and would easily consider staying here again. However, if you’re after a super social environment, this is not for you. While there were some opportunities for socialising (breakfast/dinner/pub crawl) the large size of the hostel, and hotel like vibe of the rooms meant it wasn’t super social. There were many families staying while I was there, and the common space was filled with people working/studying.
WOMBATS CITY HOSTEL – London *8/10*
This was my first ever hostel experience and I had a great time. I stayed in this hostel for 5 nights, in an 8-bed, mixed dorm. The hostel was on the pricier side, but that seems typical for London.
The rooms were basic but clean. The bunks did not have curtains, but they had powerpoints, and there were big lockers. Key cards were used to access the building, bedrooms and lockers. The rooms also got very hot, with no aircon, and little window ventilation it got stuffy very quickly.
The location of the hostel was not particularly central, but it was close to two metro stops, which made it easy to move about London city. It was also located close to the London Tower Bridge and many food/eateries.
With an in-house bar, and social events most nights, this hostel was very social. I made some good friends, and we had some fun times. The bar area is large, and allows for plenty of fun and games, while keeping the rest of the hostel relatively quiet.
A kitchen was available for guests to cook, this was really useful. Breakfast was available to purchase at a rate of 7.5£ per day, which was very expensive for very basic breakfast food options (toast/cereal/etc).
Overall I would stay here again, I did enjoy my stay and the Wombats franchise made the experience smooth and seamless.
VILLA SAINT EXUPÉRY BEACH – Nice *8/10*
There aren’t a lot of hostel options in Nice, I tossed up between Villa Saint Exupery Beach and Hostel Ozz, ultimately I decided on the former solely because it was cheaper. It definitely wasn’t super flash, but it was alright. But definitely on the more expensive side for what you actually get.
The rooms were pretty basic, the bunks didn’t have curtains, only some had power points, and the lockers weren’t big enough for a lot of bags. However, the rooms were clean, and had ensuites which were also clean but not particularly well designed. I’m not sure if it was just the ensuite in my room but there was nowhere to put your stuff, no shower door, and the shower didn’t drain well. Plus there was no shower mat, so you ended up with water everywhere no matter what you do.
The location of the hostel was great, a 15min walk from the train station and only 5 minutes from the beach. There was a downstairs common space a bar area which was pretty social until about 10pm when most people left on the bar crawl. The bar crawl was 20€, and included other hostels/public. Obviously I can’t speak for other hostels in the area but I would stay here again, even with the basic facilities.
LOST INN – Porto *7.5/10*
For a few reasons I feel like the Lost Inn Porto just missed the mark, even though it had a lot of potential to be a great hostel experience. I know that this is a newer addition to the hostel group, an expansion of the Lost Inn Lisbon but it didn’t really meet my vibe.
Don’t get me wrong the hostel was nice and clean, the bunks had curtains, big lockers and charger points (which were on the roof? my adapter plug kept falling out). Keycards were used to access the building, dorm rooms and lockers. There was aircon but it did not work consistently or often, which was a problem in the middle of a European heatwave. The location was also good, it was pretty central.
Most of the people staying were either travellers in groups, or older people, mostly older people. Which i don’t have a problem with but it meant there was so little socialising. Breakfast was offered for 3€ which is cheap, but also the selection was terrible. Otherwise there was a small kitchen to cook your own meals.
A pub crawl was offered, but I didn’t attend it, it was offered by an external company through the hostel which i thought was kinda odd. There were also free walking tours everyday, I attended one and it was sort of useful. The guide was young, it was only his third week and he just wanted to know if we wanted to go and smoke weed with him and his friends later. So a bit of a random vibe.
This is a nice hostel to stay in if you want some peace and quiet, to just chill and enjoy Porto. If you want to meet new people and go out, this probably isn’t the hostel for you.
SOL A SOL HOSTEL – Lagos *6/10*
This hostel for me wasn’t the greatest, especially considering the price. But that being said, it was a safe bed for the night, so i’m not complaining that much. I stayed for 3 nights in a 4-bed, mixed dorm. My first issue came when checking in and they only accepted cash payment, which had not been mentioned in any of my booking documents. Strangely conveniently there was an atm located outside. My next issue was that the receptionist was telling me that after one night, i would have to check out tomorrow morning, store my bags, and then re check in in the afternoon as they wanted me to move rooms. I was quite confused about this as I had booked all 3 nights together so didn’t understand why I had to be shifted, + the hassle was inconvenient for me. But it was whatever, and I went with it anyway.
The rooms were so so basic, very small, outdated, and didn’t feel particularly clean. Curtains were present on the bottom bunks, but they were effectively useless, i’ve never seen more see through curtains. There was no aircon, a fan was provided, but this did little to nothing in 30+ degree weather.
The hostel did attempt to be social, however the travellers seemed to mostly be groups and couples. The social spaces were not well designed either. There was a rooftop terrace which was cool, and they had a bbq up there on Saturday nights which I attended, it was fun. Honestly, the lesser social vibes was kind of nice as it offered a break from the last couple of weeks of active socialising. They also offered a lot of different activities you could book through them, for example kayaking, boat tours, Benagil Cave excursions.
Location-wise, the hostel was in a good spot, it was close enough to walk everywhere and only about a 20min walk from the train/bus stations. With the hostel being in the centre of the old town lagos, it could get very noisy at night which wasn’t great.
Before staying here again I would definitely look at other options, but i wouldn’t completely rule out staying here again.
Nikita’s Nomadic Notes 