O2 Hostel

The team were the best I’ve come across. The receptionists, cleaners, and other staff were all helpful, and the owner was nice too. We spent a week here and everything was great. It’s a large house with a big kitchen, a lovely garden, and excellent beds. The location is great, near Porto’s center and tourist spots, with the metro, markets, pharmacy, and butcher within walking distance.

There’s a pleasant outdoor area and a decent kitchen, though the kitchen is a bit small. The rooms were clean, and the basic essentials were provided, so it felt like good value. My main gripe was the Wi-Fi. The signal barely reached my room.

I left O2 Hostel feeling shocked and angry. After sleeping there for just one night, I woke with itchy red bites that got worse the following day. I told the staff right away. They said it couldn’t be bed bugs, or suggested I’d brought them myself. Before this, I’d been staying at a friend’s clean, well-kept home, where there were no pests, and I’d never had bed bugs before this stay. I can’t prove the source, but the bites began here. I asked to move rooms as soon as I noticed the bites. Staff said the hostel was full, although I saw other guests checking into rooms. One person did change my sheets, but that didn’t solve the problem. They said I was the only one affected and kept telling me it was probably mosquitoes instead. It felt like they were trying to protect the hostel’s image rather than address what I was reporting. I requested a refund for the nights I had to endure there and was refused. They returned only my €5 deposit, with no compensation or solution. I had to leave in the middle of my stay, find somewhere else urgently, and wash all my clothes and luggage in case I’d brought anything with me. It cost me extra money and caused a lot of stress and lost time. There was also construction in or around the building. Drilling and hammering started at 8 AM every day, so sleeping or resting in the morning was impossible. I’ve stayed in plenty of hostels around the world and know what budget places can be like. This felt like a serious failure of hygiene, customer care, and honesty. I wouldn’t wish this on another traveler. If something goes wrong, I didn’t feel I got real help from the staff, and I felt blamed. There are plenty of other hostels in the city, and I wouldn’t stay here again.

The staff were welcoming and helpful, but I still wouldn’t recommend this hostel. Our room was in the older section, where the bathrooms were in poor condition and the rooms hadn’t been well maintained. The four-person room was so cramped we could barely all stand, with only a few old lockers and no proper storage. The website and Google Maps photos show the newer side, which looks decent, but it seems you have to be lucky to get a room there. The worst part for me was the bed bugs. After four nights, I had lots of bite marks, and I’d seen earlier reviews from people describing the same experience.