Now I can say that I have been to Lisbon, Portugal twice. Looking back over my travels throughout Europe this past year, Lisbon is one of my favorite cities. It has this sort of gritty charm to it that I just love. Combine that with nice weather, friendly locals, amazing food and cheap prices, and it will be hard to find a city I like more.
On my second trip I again stayed with Destination Hostels. I had one night in between coming back from the Azores and going home to the United States for a bit. The first time I traveled to Lisbon, I stayed at Lisbon Destination Hostel which is located inside of a train station right in the center of the city. I wrote about my experience here. This time, however, I opted to stay at their Sunset Destination Hostel Lisbon location. It’s right by the water and has a rooftop pool. What more could you need for a June trip to Lisbon?
The location
Like Destination Hostel, Sunset is located inside of a train station. It made coming directly from the airport so easy. I simply took the metro. I had to transfer once. It being in a train station means your walk to your room looks like this …
Here’s where Sunset is on a map.
You are literally right in the center of it all.
A dorm that’s actually comfortable
I am a hostel traveler through and through. I’m sure people wonder how I travel so much as a teacher. After all, we all know that teachers don’t make lots of money. One big way that I save is by staying in hostels. I have no issues staying in the dorm rooms, especially when you compare the price of a dorm bed with that of a hotel. After all, I’m usually just in my room to sleep. The rest of the time I’m either hanging out in the common areas of the hostel or of course exploring the city.
A bed in the dorms at Sunset Destination Hostel is between 32-39 Euros per night, depending on how many beds the room has. There are also private room options for people who do not want to share. I stayed in a 6-bed female dorm room.
This was my view from the top. I loved how unique the bunk beds were. I’ve stayed in hostels with just normal bunk beds. While that is fine and all, Sunset made me feel like I was up in a treehouse!
This was my actual bed. A hostel like Sunset just thinks of everything. Each bed had it’s own plug. In this day and age, we all need to charge our smartphones, especially when were traveling. I know I’m constantly taking photos and adding things to Snapchat/Instagram stories. I drain my battery and use up more data when I travel. I also loved that each bed had it’s own lamp. That way if you needed some light, you don’t necessarily need to bother your dormmates.
Our room included a private bathroom, which was also nice. Each bed had it’s own cubby for storing suitcases. You just needed a lock. That was one difference between Sunset and Destination Hostel. At Destination, each locker was activated by your keycard. Luckily, however, I bought a lock at a hostel I stayed at in Glasgow months ago. I always bring it when I travel to hostels for this reason.
The rooftop
The rooftop was my favorite part of the hostel. I had actually been to Sunset Destination Hostel during my first Lisbon visit in February. Since both Sunset and Destination are a part of the same hostel family, they combine the groups for events. Sunset always seems to host the dinners and pub crawls, so I came for just that. During that time, the pool was covered up. So it was nice to experience the rooftop during the summer.
The rooftop has a bar where you can order all kinds of beverages and snacks. I ordered a mojito because it just made sense … what else do you drink in the sun?
I totally took a nap amongst all those pillows. This room is also where the pub crawls start. Just to the right there are a few tables where everyone plays flip cup. It always brings back those good ole’ college memories …. and makes me feel old.
The legendary flip cup tables. Also those are my toes. I was taking a nap.
Breakfast
Another thing I love about this hostel is that breakfast is included. The last thing you want to worry about when you wake up is where you’re going to eat. I’ve always been someone that has to eat when I wake up.
The dining room was such a neat place to eat. Destination Hostels must work with an amazing team of interior decorators because everything is just so well decorated and put-together. It has that hint of hip and quirky but doesn’t feel overdone in any way.
One of my favorites
Overall, I always have a wonderful time when I come to Lisbon. Both times that I’ve traveled there, I’ve traveled alone. However it’s never an issue because I always meet lots of wonderful people in my hostel. I would recommend Sunset Destination Hostel Lisbon for that reason alone. And of course the fact that it’s pretty, comfortable and has friendly staff helps as well!
I received a complimentary stay in exchange for a blog review. All opinions are my own.
