Tilia Hostel

I loved the character tucked into the building, and as a solo traveler the place was just right. The common area has the sort of feel where you could hang out all day, and the kitchen is genuinely good, with lots of fridge space. Both the bus and train stations are an easy walk away, which made getting in, leaving, and exploring very simple. I had no issues and would happily return.

Stayed for a couple of nights and everything was good. There are nice little details everywhere, friendly staff, and a great location in Faro’s old town. The terrace is really cool and an easy place to meet other travellers. I was there off-season, so the hostel wasn’t very busy, but I imagine it’s fun in main season.

I came into this Faro hostel with a slightly worn holiday plea, asking, “Is there any room at the inn?” A woman came to the counter after someone rang a bell and seemed to take ages checking something before saying they were full. I thanked her, walked down the road, and started searching on my phone for somewhere else to stay. As it happened, I’d stopped right outside an open window. Then I heard the clerk come in and laugh with a colleague. She was telling her, gleefully, that she’d just “screwed out an American for 'being weird'.” What followed was an astonishingly broad verbal takedown. From that one-minute interaction, she seemed to have judged my manners, morals, intelligence, and appearance. It went on so long and covered so much that the only good thing a listener could say about me was that, as far as they knew, I hadn’t murdered anyone or set fire to an orphanage. I stood there quietly, wondering how strange the whole thing was, then interrupted her monologue. I apologized for anything I might have done or said to turn her to the dark side of the force, and told her I wasn’t American after all, not that there’s anything wrong with that. My sister died last month. Portugal was her favourite country, and I came here hoping to travel from border to border and get to know her a little better. I’m glad this happened, and that this woman had the nerve to vandalize my soul. It gave me a clarity I’d been missing. My sister loved Portugal in Spite of people like her, not because of them.

I spent five days here in February and had an awesome stay. Everything was really clean, the amenities were great, and the hostel staff were very friendly. Highly recommend.