This will be less a review than a love letter, but I needed someplace to stay for 30 days in…read moreLisbon, & every other hostel I contacted had a two week maximum. These people were kind enough to take a chance on me for that long, & even so, you know, here you show up the first nite in the pouring rain, not sure what to expect from the full month you signed up for... You go through this old green door & up the stairs, it's a building from deep in time, & your room is simple & sweet, just like the breakfast every morning, & week after week you fall into a rhythm with the hilarious kindhearted mother from Brazil who cleans out your room for instance, or the clever Canadian dude who does music, or the young Portuguese gal who watches MTV & loves poetry & ice cream, & her streetwise young friend who stops by to share food with her & also works the bar in the little concert hall downstairs. Ahh, & the concert hall downstairs...so much jammin' gorgeous awesome music comes out of that place, & sometimes it's packed to the gills, & better times it's more relaxed & open, & if you're in the mood you can put on shoes & go down & rock out a little, but either way you'll be standing at the tiny balcony waiting for your food to cook some nite, & the lilting strains of a world class cover of "So Rude" will come drifting up through the alleyway, & you'll wonder how you got to be this classy. I don't want to embarrass him, but there's a guy who works there with his wife, who looks herself like an icon of vintage Italian cinema...& it's the most touching thing, whether it's her, or one of several other employees who do the overnite shift, it doesn't matter what's going on or what kind of day you might be having, they are always, always sitting there in the front room in the dark, sometimes with a full nest of blankets gathered up around them, just there on hand to let you in. I think it's a little on the miraculous side, but in truth not once in all those 30 days was there even a hint that I was being a hassle to them, no matter what time of the night I might show up. You can hardly imagine it. My last nite a woman I'd spoken with a few times, who lived in the States in the 80s, she was the one on duty. It was 3 or 4 in the morning, I had to go get a cab for a very early flight. but she was still up & around to serve me a last beer from the little fridge & take my key & ease me through the pain of saying a very tough goodbye. But anyway this guy, we were watching Portuguese news around the TV one lunchtime, & it was the latest from D to the T, & then it was some shooting at a Black Friday whatever, & footage of all these Americans with shopping bags running through some retail landscape screaming, & I said to this guy, just half-jokingly like "Man, what must you think of us after all this, for real...?!" He responded with some candid & heavy words that I'll never forget, & he talked about some of the indignities of dealing directly with American tourists besides, which one can only imagine. Listen, the neighborhood goes late & loud, & it's definitely not ideal for young children & all that, but there's still a level of poise & decorum that I would assert is very native to Portugal & also very easy for Americans to blow past in their blind appetite for diversion & recreation overseas. Which is me trying to put it as diplomatically as possible. Graffiti from a wall down the block: ENJOY // BEHAVE So I would just say that this place gets 10 out of 5 stars for me, that they allowed my experience in Lisbon to be the life-changing period that it was, by so many simple steady acts of kindness & welcome, & I would ask that if you go there, that you treat the place & its people with your utmost goodness & respect. 'Alface' is the Portuguese word for lettuce, & the designation 'Lisboeta' for residents is typically supplanted by 'Alfacinha'. As I understand it the exact history is somewhat shrouded, but one theory is that in a time of war the city was barricaded by a hostile force & lettuce was the only way the trapped people could survive. That quiet strength & dignity I found among them, & it was so beautiful, & I drank it deep. I could have walked away with a much more mediocre experience & still been pretty happy, but instead, & massively because of Alface Hostel, it was perfection. Thank you. CR

Stunning! Excellent Music between 10-12 pm weekdays ( at…read moreleast on wednesdays :) Good cocrails, very cosy atmosphere and decoration Best Lisboa destination!

Great location,clean,good price,nice breakfast,wonderful employees and very nice owners!…read moreWould love to permanently live there! Joseph T. ,Oregon USA

The Sunset Destination Hostel is located right above the Cais do Sodre metro station. It has a…read moregreat view of the water and is located close to many food options. The hostel is fairly secure, with a doorbell with camera at the entrance. Just show your wristband and they'll let you in. Checkin was easy and the staff are very friendly. Your keycard requires a €5 refundable deposit. Access to the section of the hostel with rooms is controlled by the keycard, as is access to your room. The rooms consist of bunk beds. I was in a room with 6 bunk beds with a private bathroom. The bed was quite comfortable and I didn't have problems falling asleep, apart from the music from the roof and echoes from the train station. Each bed has a bed light attached to a single outlet. There isn't room to plug in anything else, so plan accordingly. Below the beds are lockers where you can store your belongings. You can rent a lock from the front desk, or bring your own. The bathroom is fairly small and the shower door is difficult to close, not to mention that you have to continually push a button on the shower faucet to get water. There are washrooms in the hallway that are available to all hostel guests. The communal kitchen is fairly nice. There are refrigerators where you can store your food. Just make sure to label them with your name and departure date. Next to the kitchen is the dining area, where everyone has complimentary breakfast. Breakfast usually consists of sliced bread, a couple of spreads (nutella, cream cheese, various jams), deli slices, fruits (apples, oranges, and kiwis), vegetables (tomatoes and cucumber), cereal with milk, yogurt, various juices, and pancakes. The coffee machine is also available for free during breakfast. It is an extra cost otherwise. Communal dinner is also available to all guests for a small fee. It always smelled delicious every night. There is a rooftop patio with a small pool. It also has a bar and a covered seating area for watching television. Near the front desk is a fridge with beverages. Just leave payment in the basket nearby. The hostel has free wifi throughout, but the wifi signal is much stronger closer to the front desk. There are organized events every day, including organized tours of various cities and neighborhoods, such as Alfama, Belem, and Sintra, surfing, pub crawls, etc. There were only a few inconveniences with this hostel. The first is that it can get noisy from the morning to night because it's located right above the train station and the station is an echo chamber. You'll hear announcement starting around 7 or 8 in the morning. Similarly, the music from the rooftop patio carries and will go until around 11 or 12 at night. Since the hostel is mainly occupied by 20-year-olds, you may hear the occasional woo girls in the middle of the night. The other inconvenience is that the front steps to the hostel always smells like urine. Other than that, though, this is a fairly nice hostel. The location is excellent and makes it a great starting point to explore Lisbon.

My friend who is a local recommended that I stay at Sunset Destination Hostel and I am glad that he…read moredid. I've been to hostels before, but this one is something special. It's located in the same building as the Metro station! That was super helpful because I had to go to the airport the next day quite early. In addition to it's convenience, to the metro and plenty of places to eat, it also had everything you want in a hostel, so I was lacking nothing. It is very big and my shared room was down a few long hallways, but there were not only showers and toilets along those hallways, but also one in the room. The bathrooms were never crowded. After staying on a farm I needed that shower! The hostel has a big kitchen with refrigerators that you can use and a coffee machine (regular, non-fancy coffee is free). They have an optional communal dinner available at either that location or their sister hostel, which costs about $10 Euro and a free European style breakfast (no eggs). As well as comfy loft beds they also have "lockers", big drawers beneath the beds that can fit a large suitcase and then some. You rent a lock and then don't have to worry about where to put your stuff or who has access to it. I was at the end of my trip, so it was important that my Spanish shoes were on lockdown! Also, several doors, including the room door have card key locks, so people outside of the hostel can't get in and you wear a wrist band that allows you access to either hostel. In addition to designing a good system for running the hostel, the owner also designed an amazing environment. The rooftop deck has a huge plastic dome with comfy chairs and bean bags and a bar that serves you a free drink at sunset. They play music while you charge your phone and talk to other travelers. There are lovely plants that line the edges of the deck, with stairs leading up to a pool that overlooks part of the harbor and skyline. If it hadn't been overcast and cooled down with the earlier rain, I would have been in that pool watching a golden sunset with my vino tinto. Truly, from cool loft beds, whose creative cut-outs create the beds' ladders, to special tiles in the bathroom, to a hanging dinner table that snakes around for more face to face with fellow diners, this hostel was a lovely experience. Thanks so much Sunset Destination!

Really simple hostel. The furniture is so old and cranky that it's charming. Really friendly host…read moreand cheap fares. Located in the middle of Lisbons party district. The rooms are a little bit loud, so you should have eartips with you for worst case.

Great place! Friendly staff, clean room daily, wonderful location, free internet... very easy to…read moreget to right near baixachiado metro station. On a street with nightlife that goes til 4 am (but still the room is quiet). I hear that booking in advance is the best way to get a lower rate. COME STAY HERE!!

Super cute place! Fresh bread on your door each morning. Good location to public transports and…read morethere is even a small grocery store on the same block. I opted for the rock and roll themed room with a private bathroom. Comfy bed and a spacious room. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone passing through!

A beautiful Hostel with comfortable beds, big rooms and great showers. The breakfast was amazing!…read morethe best breakfast I've ever had at a hostel...by far! The people working there are very friendly and helpful. The location was ideal as your a close walk to the university and other sites. I would love to come back and spend more time! Thanks

nice hostel in bairro alto. staff are extremely friendly,…read moreprices are cheap and the kitchen's good to cook your own stuff. free internet places available. why not 5 stars? i think they could invest a little to renovate some of the rooms, especially the bathrooms. and the breakfast was just breadrolls with marmelade and butter just a little bit more would be great.

We were SO impressed with this hostel! My brother and I took a cab from the airport and were a bit…read moresurprised when it pulled up to the side of the road because it was pretty unassuming and there wasn't really a big flashy sign or anything like that. We were slightly confused at first because when we walked through the doors, it seemed like a residential building. The hostel is located on the second floor, up the stairs, so not very accessible, but very convenient if you are able-bodied and a light packer. The doors were locked so we rang the doorbell - great first step for security. The first thing we smelled was clean! And by "clean", I mean they were actually cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming at the time, which is always a good sign. We found out later they clean twice a day, which is ah-mazing. We got there too early for check-in, but we were given a glass of water (tap water is fine to drink here) and able to lock our bags in the storage until check-in. We could even use the computer in the common area or just hang out if we wanted to, but we decided to explore a little and get some lunch. Once we were able to check-in, we paid the remaining balance for our beds (we booked with a deposit through Hostelworld), got our keys, and were shown the rest of the hostel. It's one floor, with a communal female bathroom and a communal male bathroom, with private showers and toilet stalls, plus a private single bathroom down the hall. Some toiletries are provided in the bathrooms, which you are welcome to use for free. We stayed in the 12-person mixed dorm for just 10 Euros per night. We originally only booked two nights, but loved it so much we decided to stay the whole week, and glad we did, because it's incredibly popular and filled up quickly. Our beds were comfy, with pillows and linens included, a privacy curtain, and a lamp, plug, and shelf, 3 beds stacked, with huge storage below (bring your own lock). There is also a kitchen with an oven, stove, pots, and pans, oils and spices, and fridge where you can store a few small groceries of your own, plus use some common ones, as well as laundry facilities, and option for dollar beers during happy hour. There is a free breakfast every morning, which consists of bread, cheese, ham, different jams and spreads (if you get the option to try the homemade tomato jam, DO IT!), cereal, coffee, tea, and juice. Every day/night, there are different events that are run by the staff or third-party partners, like dinners, pub crawls, and tours. We were able to try petiscos (kind of like tapas), Amarguinha almond liqueur, and go on a day trip to Sintra. Reception is open 24 hours and there's basically quiet time in the common area after 11pm, but most people go to their rooms/beds or go out, anyway. We met so many great people and fellow travellers, and the staff is amazingly down-to-earth and knowledgeable. The vibe matches the demographic - young and fresh, with people generally in their 20s. Location is fantastic, right at the top of Bairro Alto, where there are a ton of bars and restaurants, and a park/lookout directly across the street, Miradouro São Pedro de Alcântara. We had a wonderful time and would stay here again in a heartbeat. Highly recommended!

Great hostel in the heart of Lisbon. I stayed at the 6 person room and I think the 9 person one is…read morea lot cooler - bigger space and vibe. They have privacy curtains and a reading lamp. It's a 3 level junk, so be prepared for tight space. Breakfast is free and food. Overall, great hostel!