Help Yourself Hostels Parede

I’ve stayed in countless hostels, and this was easily the worst. We arrived late after our flight was delayed, having emailed, called, and messaged ahead. Even after they checked our booking and saw our messages, we were left begging on the street for 1.5 hours before they let us in. It felt like they were prepared to make us sleep outside. On day two, we asked to speak to the manager. I never met her in person, only spoke by phone. She confirmed she’d seen our emails, calls, and texts, but said she was too busy. When we said that wasn’t acceptable, she called the police and kicked us out. We lost the booking money and had to pay a crazy amount for a last-minute place. It’s supposedly the cheapest hostel in Portugal, yet gets 6/10 stars for value. Make sense of that. If you get into a jam, don’t expect help. Stay away and don’t wreck your holiday.

Outside of one disturbing night, the hostel is about five minutes from the beach and has a great chicken spot two doors down at a very good price. The staff were extremely kind when I arrived, carrying my bags up the stairs and showing me the room and around the hostel. The place is basic, not very spacious, and has a mix of personalities. The room didn’t smell great, possibly because six people shared a small space. The bunks have three levels, and the narrow ladder could hurt to climb. Some guests are residents or staying there out of necessity, which is worth keeping in mind. I wasn’t lucky with the person below my bunk, who was “self-pleasuring” and shaking my bed for part of the night. They seemed young and unaware of how to share a space. I wouldn’t recommend it to a young woman. There were more than six men and I was one of only two women, so it felt very male-dominated.

I’ve stayed in hundreds of hostels, and this was the worst. The rooms and bathrooms were dirty, with hair everywhere and a broken cigarette under the pillow. Staff were rude and seemed unsure what they were doing. Our flight was delayed, so we missed the check-in time, though we’d emailed ahead. The staff were at reception talking to us face to face, but still wouldn’t turn on the computer to check us in. We begged for 50 minutes. Once they finally let us in, they wouldn’t hand over the locker keys because the manager wasn’t there, and we never got them. For the next two days we tried repeatedly to contact the manager to complain, but got no reply from the online number or email, and staff refused to help. We eventually reached her on another phone number. She heard our complaint and apologized, then said we weren’t welcome and had to leave right away. We had to pay much more for last-minute accommodation because nothing else was available. I expect someone may reply with excuses, as they have before. I hope they take the serious improvements this place needs to heart. At the moment it isn’t worth a dollar, and young solo travelers especially should avoid it.

I was worried after reading the reviews, but everything turned out fine for our one-night stay. There were three women pilgrims, and it was totally okay. Recommended 👌