Lisbon Destination Hostel

For guests on the market for a bright, social, budget property, the Lisbon Destination Hostel is hard to beat. The hostel was added to the beautiful Neo-Gothic Rossio Train Station in the summer of 2011, and guests arrive through a marble train station waiting area. The glass-walled entrance is covered in spunky white and yellow doodled art. Inside, the hostel is bright and welcoming. The main room, which includes the reception area and hangout spots, is dubbed the Inner Garden Lounge. With a large, glass skylight ceiling, green carpet, and plethora of potted plants, the spot indeed has a garden/greenhouse feel. It's filled with bright beanbag chairs, white and black couches, and some cool vintage pieces reupholstered in fun fabric. Industrial staircases with wood plank steps situated on either end of the lounge lead up to guest rooms. The hostel attracts mostly solo travelers and young groups of friends, though families and couples sometimes find their way here, too. Overall, the vibe is sociable, but not a crazy party scene. 

The Lisbon Destination Hostel is located within the Rossio Station, the city's central train station, and it overlooks a cobbled street in Lisbon's historic center. Right down the street, less than a minute's walk, is the beautiful and bustling Rossio Square. Here and on Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon's tree-lined main artery that's about two minutes away on foot, guests will find a plethora of restaurants, shops, and bars. The Restauradores Metro station is a three minutes' walk. The Gloria Funicular to the bustling and trendy Bairro Alto neighborhood can be reached in four minutes. The Santa Justa Elevator, a tourist attraction in its own right, is five minutes away on foot. Guests can also take a train from the Rossio station directly to Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the ride is about 40 minutes. Lisbon Portela Airport will take 20 to 30 minutes to reach by car, or about 30 minutes via public transport. Guests can rent bikes through the hostel as well.

Lisbon Destination Hostel has four mixed-gender and female-only dorms with 10 beds, in addition to private rooms that sleep one to four guests. Though simple, rooms are clean and comfortable with white walls and wooden bunks with privacy shades, cubbies, reading lights, and personal lockers. A few silk-screen-style prints of city maps hang on the walls. Private rooms feature rich wood floors, and some have wallpapered accent walls with graphic patterns from manga comics or subway maps. One big complaint is that some of the private rooms face the Inner Garden Lobby -- though shades offer privacy, there's no access to fresh air.

Rooms are cleaned daily by housekeeping and have air-conditioning that's controlled by staff. Guests are given keycard access to rooms and a personal locker that can also be accessed with the keycard. Wi-Fi is free. Bathrooms vary, but are cleaned and modern and tend to feature white tiled or cement walls. Private rooms and dorms may have either shared or en-suite bathrooms. All guests are given towels. Irons, ironing boards, and hairdryers are available on request. Rooms don't include coffee/tea service or mini-fridges, but these amenities are available in the shared kitchen. 

The hostel's amenities have two main goals: convenience for budget travelers and fostering a social atmosphere. There's a large, fully equipped communal kitchen and a dining area. Guests can make their own meals, or buy a reasonably priced dinner on-site. Every morning, a free breakfast is served, usually pancakes and fruit. Coffee and tea are free all day. The hotel also offers a 24-hour reception, free luggage storage, a computer for guest use, bike rentals, and laundry service. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hostel.

The skylight covered Inner Garden Lounge is the hotel's main hangout spot and includes beanbag chairs and hammocks, a Nintendo Wii, board games, a pool table, a ping-pong table, a piano, and a self-service bar. A separate cinema room, covered in movie posters, offers two tiny rows of movie-theater style seating, plus couch seating. The hotel organizes social events, like a weekly Portuguese buffet dinner and a weekly movie night. Bike tours and pub crawls are also organized. Guests of any of Lisbon's three Destination Hostels have access to facilities at all other hostels, like the rooftop terrace and pool at Sunset Destination Hostel.