HI Aveiro - Pousada de Juventude - Hostel

The breakfast was tasty, with a good range of choices, and €39 for two people was very cheap. For that price, it was perfectly fine for one night, though you shouldn't expect luxury. We were only passing through and wanted an inexpensive night. We'd expected a hotel, so finding out on arrival that it was a youth hostel was a surprise, just an observation, not a complaint. The rooms were basic, and in the summer heat it was unpleasant that the windows only tilted open. The showers were dirty, smelled bad, and didn't drain properly. The rest of the place was clean, though some guests didn't always keep to quiet hours. We also found it odd that we were asked to leave our room key in a basket at reception whenever we went out. After we raised the security concern that someone could take a random key and enter another guest's room, they let us keep ours.

For one night and the price, the six-bed dorm was manageable. The room was really warm because there was no air conditioning, and the bathrooms could have been cleaner. At check-in, the woman seemed unsure whether my bed had already been used, but she gave it to me anyway. There was just one key for the room, which had to be left at reception whenever you went out. Otherwise the room stayed open overnight, so anyone could come in while you slept.

The breakfast was okay, and the front desk staff were okay too, but I'd recommend staying somewhere else. I spent two nights here in September 2023, after a year of travelling, and this was the dirtiest hostel I'd stayed in. There was mould in the common room corners and water on the hostel floors. My six-bed dorm had just two electrical outlets, both behind bunks. To reach them, you had to pull a bunk about two inches from the wall, blocking the passageway. There was only one outlet in the common room. With no air conditioning, the only option was opening the windows, but the room was on the ground floor beside an open field.

The staff were generally nice and helpful, and breakfast was the best part. It wasn't amazing, but there was plenty to eat and it was included in the price. The bathroom was okay too. Still, unless you just want somewhere really cheap, I'd spend a little more elsewhere. The shared bedrooms were uncomfortable, with mould by the window and ceiling, awful lighting, cold rooms in winter, and very wobbly top bunks. There were very few outlets and barely any room to walk between the beds. There weren't lockers in the bedrooms, and guests couldn't use a kitchen to prepare food. The common room was dull and uncomfortable, and the building overall felt ugly, dark, cramped, and unpleasant. Wi-Fi only worked in the common room and didn't reach the bedrooms.