As far as hostel experiences go (and I have had many hostel experiences over the past several years), we ended up in the best Zaragoza hostel last weekend. Zaragoza in October is cold, but the hostel was a nice, comfortable place out of the elements. A place to catch up on some rest and connect with other travelers.
Last weekend, I traveled to Zaragoza, Spain for a few nights with my friend Anjie. Since both of us work as teachers, we attempt to travel on a budget. This often means staying in hostels. When looking at the different options in Zaragoza, Albergue Zaragoza Hostel jumped out at me. It’s located in a historic building and houses a jazz club in the basement. Furthermore, it’s location is right in the middle of the city. It seemed to be the best Zaragoza hostel for what we needed that weekend.
Zaragoza? Where is that?
Zaragoza is actually the fifth largest city in Spain. It is located in the northern region of Aragón. It is famous for it’s cathedrals, palace and bridges. It’s a city full of history and charm, and yet it also seems to get looked over. I suppose when people only have a few weeks to spend in Spain, cities like Granada, Barcelona and Valencia seem more appealing. This year I’m living just a few hours from Zaragoza, so it was at the top of my list! The city did not let me down.
The hostel
Our stay at the hostel was very comfortable. We had a room and a bathroom to ourselves, which was super nice! The Albergue Zaragoza Hostel has both private rooms and dorm beds, allowing you to book whichever fits your budget. The heating in our room was amazing. That honestly made all the difference. When people think of Spain, they think of sun and good weather. That is absolutely true during the summer and in the South of Spain. However Zaragoza is located in the North and it’s rather windy. Combine that with the cold and that means that you need to bundle up for time spent outside. Basically every time we returned to our hostel room, it was a nice relief.
Of course within minutes … we had made ourselves at home.
Each bed came with it’s own locker that was activated by our key. One common concern I hear a lot about hostels is “what do I do with my stuff?” I get the worry, especially if you are sharing the space with people you’ve never met before. However most hostels offer a space to lock up your stuff. Some allow you to bring your own lock and also sell locks at the front desk. Others are like this hostel where they give you one activated by your key. I loved it since I often don’t like to just leave my camera out when I go out for the evening. I was able to lock it up and not worry about it.
As you can see, it’s big enough to fit all of your belongings. I personally don’t worry about people stealing my clothing, but if you do, there’s space for your entire suitcase.
The bathrooms
We had an attached, private bathroom. It was a pretty standard bathroom that was clean.
The common areas
One of my favorite things about staying in hostels is the people you meet. Often just sitting around or eating breakfast in the morning, you meet and converse with other travelers. Zaragoza is a stop on the Camino de Santiago, so there are a lot of people stopping in for a night or two.
The breakfast each day was also free and consisted of cereal, toast, juice and coffee. In Spain, people don’t really eat big breakfasts. It’s usually just a piece of toast, some juice and coffee.
The jazz club in the basement
By far one of the coolest parts of the hostel was the jazz club in the basement. During your stay, you can also catch a show. It’s called La Boveda.
The staff
We had several different experiences with the staff at this hostel. The girl who checked us in was named Isa and she was super nice. Before going out to eat, we asked her for some restaurant recommendations and she eagerly had a lot to share with us. She also spoke some English, which was nice since the friend I was traveling with is still learning Spanish. There was another employee named David who turned the heat on for us after we had been out … that was a lifesaver!
However there was another employee (I didn’t catch his name) who was rather rude. I speak fluent Spanish, so whenever I interacted with him, I would do so in Spanish. On our last day, I simply had a question about where to catch the bus to the bus station and which bus was the best to catch. Questions about transportation seem like pretty normal questions that hostel guests would ask. While he answered the questions and provided us with information, he seemed rather annoyed that we were talking to him. Even my friend who doesn’t really speak Spanish could sense that he seemed rather annoyed to simply do his job.
The best Zaragoza hostel
Overall, we had a pleasant experience in the Abergue Zaragoza Hostel. The hostel was centrally-located and the space we stayed in was very comfortable. After a long day of exploring, it was nice to return to a comfortable space.
Have you traveled to Zaragoza? Would you look to stay in a hostel during your stay there?
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My friend and I were guests of the Albergue Zaragoza Hostel. All opinions are 100% my own.
