HI Lisboa – Pousada de Juventude — Hotel in Lisbon

Being completely honest, my first impressions of Hi Lisboa were terrible.

The staff isn’t allowing anyone to go out, they do not allow you to have alcohol beverages inside the premises, you can’t leave you room between 10 to 12am, and cherry on the cake… the staff comes hammering your door every morning at 9am to serve you a very poor breakfast. All together it did reminded me of a prison.

However, call it Stockholm syndrome or not, but after a few days you start to appreciate the good parts of it. Meals aren’t exactly « gastronomic » but at least they are hot, the staff takes cleaning very seriously (they even went to the extent of using non reusable plastic bins), you get 4 hours of sun every day, and finally towards the end of our stay we even got to talk with someone of the staff.

Will I ever come back? No. Would I recommend it to someone? Never. But at least I can say that we haven’t suffered any physical violence.

Ps: I think the staff should give up the « breaking bad » costume theme, as it did make me feel...

This hostel isn't exactly instagrammable, but it's better for it! No guest kitchen, despite what their website claims. A possible inconvenience is boys and girls washrooms are on alternating floors. Halls and lounges are bare, TBH it looks a bit institutional, but if you're here to sleep and chill, you're in the right place. The breakfast (included) didn't start until 8am(!) Check in starts at 6pm(!!!) The location was good for me- not in the middle of all the tourists, but excellent transportation- the Picoas metro has an entrance right outside the front door! Parks, cafes, and a supermarket are all nearby. Lockers were nice and large, and rooms were spotless. Oh yes, no kitchen, but there are vending machines for snacks and coffee.|You can smoke or enjoy your breakfast in the concrete back yard.|Desk staff were friendly and helpful.|So if you're looking for a place to party (or cook), this ain't it. If you just need a clean and roomy...

6 days before arrival at the hostel, I paid and reserved a place with a "special need". I asked to reserve the bottom bunk bed I'm 61 years old and got confirmation of my request. Upon arrival, they gave me the top shelf and said that it was impossible to satisfy my request now. In addition, in the 6-bed room there are 2 sockets for charging mobile devices, the women's toilet is located on the 1st and 5th floors, all the other 4 floors have men's toilets, why is that? and the question is - how to be at night on the 3rd floor when the elevator is not working at this time? The room has wardrobes, but no locks, although it is declared in the services. One good thing about this place is a convenient location in the city center, not far from the metro station on the yellow line. But, be prepared for surprises in...