The Boc Hostels - City — Hotel in Palma

If you are considering staying at BOC Hostel - especially during high season - think twice — and then think again. I spent 10 days in Mallorca, and unfortunately, my experience at BOC completely ruined my trip.

First, the prices are outrageous: 65-80 euros per bed per night in a shared dorm and 360 euros for a private room — not including all the hidden fees they aggressively tack on at their discretion.

Rent a towel? That’s 5 euros.

Late checkout? 15 euros — even if you extend your stay for another night!

30 Euros if you mistakenly choose the wrong bed (a common mistake since the bed numbers are placed confusingly between top and bottom bunks without clear labels).

In my case - I was yelled at in the most unprofessional manner I have ever encountered in an accommodation because I was begging not to impose the fee as it was a simple mistake.

The "hostels" of this chain do not have any A/C but the BOC City location is especially bad because - as you'll read in many of the lowest ratings - there is outside patio in the middle of all the 10 person rooms that's open all night - where you're treated to the smell of cigarette smoke and shouting well past 3 AM— every night.

Forget about getting any sleep. Even worse, the beds, capsules, and rooms become extremely hot — no proper ventilation, and you will likely wake up sweating.

Hands down the most disappointing part is that if one staff member decides they don't like or decide that you did something wrong - the entire team of about 12+ persons will make your stay miserable.

In my case, they suddenly enforced every petty fee imaginable, made me feel completely unwelcome, and ultimately invited me not to come back because my "attitude" didn’t match their "vibe"which is ironic considering it’s a huge 200+ bed hostel with exactly one weekly activity that costs 30+ euros to join.

They seem to enforce rules at the discretion. I've seen them tell people over 45 they can't stay because of their "rules" but you'll find plenty of people over the age of 60 sleeping there.

To top it off, the hostel's locations are far from the city center and located in sketchy areas. I spoke to several women travelers who said they felt unsafe walking around the neighborhood at night.

One thing that really ticked me off was that someone stole all my food from fridges in the kitchen which was about 70 Euros worth of groceries.

If you come during the off-season and snag a bed for around 30 euros, you might find the gym to be nice. But even then, you’d have to be willing to deal with everything mentioned above, the hidden charges, unsafe surroundings, extreme noise, heat, smells and possibly hostile treatment.

Save yourself the headache and read the lowest ratings carefully — the nightmare is real. Mallorca is beautiful; don’t let BOC Hostel ruin it for you like it did for me.

Do yourself a favor and book a...

Good points:||The hostel is meticulously clean. The quiet room was very peaceful and I slept well. The sleeping area has great curtains and they are black out. The swimming pool and area is absolutely fantastic, the water is not cold mid-May and the bar is good at €3 for a beer or sangria. They also serve cold drinks and snacks. There is a luggage area to store your belongings at reception. You can hire beach parasols. Excellent waterfall and separate handheld shower. Lockers are huge, you can fit a large backpackers rucksack or small case in it. The shared kitchen has fridges for your food and there are 2 'left over food' containers which helped me with free food. It's about 10 minute walk to the beach. The road rooms are off is quiet at night (quiet room anyway.) Reception staff are happy to answer questions in a friendly manner and are really nice people. They organise a pub crawl followed by a nightclub if that's your sort of thing on a Tuesday and Thursday. ||Bad points:||The corridors smell of smoke. The products cleaners use are very potent and my pillow didn't smell fresh. It was obvious a cleaning spray had been sprayed onto it and it was overpowering and made me cough. When you enter the room all the curtains are drawn so even when there is no one there you don't know if you are alone - I stayed in the quiet room hence this point. There are mosquitoes. The sinks are not in the bathroom they are open in the room. The door is a fire door so unless you press the handle it bangs shut very loudly. Pool area only open 10-6 but they had problems with neighbours in the past so had to enforce this rule. They charge €5 for a towel. Keep your towel before you leave if you shower in the communal shower before you go because they will charge you for another. No ventilation in toilet. They play loud music all the time during the day in reception and lounge areas. I thought sometimes would be ok but it was all the time. They charge also €5 for a parasol and the left luggage area. I was rearranging my bag before check out in the luggage room and I was told to leave after 5 minutes because they needed the door closed. I wasn't ready so had to make it clear I needed more time. The area the hostel is in is not pretty in any way but you're sleeping there so no big deal, just mentioning. It is a bit too far from the centre but you know how far off you research it before. Given all the extras, it's...

TLDR: come here to party at the 'lawless' hostel.

This hostel opened on March 31st 2022 (as confirmed by staff) yet there are many 5 star reviews from weeks before. Maybe the owner prepared some fake reviews for the launch? It's the same on Booking.com as well.

The facilities are new, hygienic and generally excellent. The mattress is comfortable, the showers are '4 star hotel level', the lounge area is like a university campus with big TV screens, a large kitchen and ample comfortable seating for lounging and working. There is great attention to detail like a dual light system for each bed, USB wall chargers, a hair dryer in the bathroom, sinks with mirrors in the dormitories and card reading vending and coffee machines by reception.

They have a few problems such as the laundry facilities are not yet complete, the roof area is not complete and internet is a struggle as the wi-fi and cell towers cannot handle the large quantity of devices. But these are small issues.

The location is fairly good being a 15 minute walk to Plaza de España and the central station. However, it's a 45 minute walk to the party areas on the other side of the port.

The price is good for Palma de Mallorca but expensive on a European scale.

My personal experience has been mixed. This youth hostel is so big it loses the community style atmosphere I have often experienced in other hostels.

Upon arrival I was told alcohol is not permitted yet I saw alcohol being consumed all over the place. This lack of rules continued as large groups continued to shout, drink and play music until 3am with many guests in my dormitory complaining about the noise at night due to partying and the noise in the morning as early birds started their day. Good luck trying to sleep, here.

This lack of rules escalated into lawlessness as one of the guests punched me to resolve a bed assignment dispute. The hotel staff seemed confused with the protocol here, but thankfully worked out the assaulter was mistaken.

My stay was finalised with my towel mysteriously disappearing from a common area where it was drying. Reception said it was not handed in.

Although it has its downsides, the lack of rules meant we could enjoy ourselves without over-policing. I had a good time overall and met some lovely people. I recommend this for young people. Come here to party at the...