The Hostelz.com Review
Paintshop Hostel is a perfect place to stay. Warm and friendly atmosphere, excellent location, and clean and tidy rooms are guaranteed in this place.
The Location
The hostel is situated in a perfect location. It's in five minutes' walk to the city center, beaches, and train station. There is a small car park in the beginning of the street (two to three minutes' walk from hostel). There is a bar in the hostel and there are some cafes, bars, and shops just in a few steps from hostel as well. Glass doors are very noticeable.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The two-tier beds are very comfy and bed linen is included. Dorms, toilets, and showers are reasonably spacious, very clean, and in good condition. There are only two bathrooms (with toilet, sink, and shower) and they become very busy in the mornings. Even if the bar is downstairs, dorms are very quiet (bar and dorms are on the different floors and in different corners of building, separated by sitting room, kitchen, and inner garden). Dorms have door locker and personal lockers are available in the reception.
Common Spaces
The hostel has all facilities you need. In reception room, hostel provides personal lockers, bicycle hiring, storage place for your surfboard or bike or whatever. Also there are two computers with free internet. Kitchen is clean and supplied with all necessary equipment (cooker, microwave, dishes, cutlery). Sitting room is very comfy with sofas and tables, pool table, and TV. There is a nice bar in inner garden. In other words they have almost everything. Reception is open twenty-four hours. The atmosphere in the Paintshop is very friendly and warm. You always can have some fun in the bar downstairs or with the pool table.
Summary
It's a perfect place to stay with excellent location and very friendly atmosphere. The only disadvantage is your own alcohol is not allowed in the sitting room, because there is a bar here. But prices in the bar are very reasonable.
The Location
The hostel is situated in a perfect location. It's in five minutes' walk to the city center, beaches, and train station. There is a small car park in the beginning of the street (two to three minutes' walk from hostel). There is a bar in the hostel and there are some cafes, bars, and shops just in a few steps from hostel as well. Glass doors are very noticeable.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The two-tier beds are very comfy and bed linen is included. Dorms, toilets, and showers are reasonably spacious, very clean, and in good condition. There are only two bathrooms (with toilet, sink, and shower) and they become very busy in the mornings. Even if the bar is downstairs, dorms are very quiet (bar and dorms are on the different floors and in different corners of building, separated by sitting room, kitchen, and inner garden). Dorms have door locker and personal lockers are available in the reception.
Common Spaces
The hostel has all facilities you need. In reception room, hostel provides personal lockers, bicycle hiring, storage place for your surfboard or bike or whatever. Also there are two computers with free internet. Kitchen is clean and supplied with all necessary equipment (cooker, microwave, dishes, cutlery). Sitting room is very comfy with sofas and tables, pool table, and TV. There is a nice bar in inner garden. In other words they have almost everything. Reception is open twenty-four hours. The atmosphere in the Paintshop is very friendly and warm. You always can have some fun in the bar downstairs or with the pool table.
Summary
It's a perfect place to stay with excellent location and very friendly atmosphere. The only disadvantage is your own alcohol is not allowed in the sitting room, because there is a bar here. But prices in the bar are very reasonable.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2008
Their Description
Paintshop Hostel Details
|
|
(To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.)
Map Location/ContactHow is Paintshop Hostel rated on other websites?
Not listed.
Paintshop Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Dirty and lazy staff Didn't like this place due to the rude and lazy two staff (Gemma, and another girl) who were on facebook and watching TV all the time. They weren't helpful apart from when we asked about surf lessons or renting things, and at checkin. One didn't even bother say adios when we leave, just stayed on facebook. The two showers and around the sinks is dirty, i guess from only being cleaned once in the morning. "Free breakfast" is a con as only instant coffee, white bread, and cornflake are available. If you buy your own food, don't bother to keep it in the kitchen because they lock it in the evening to morning so you can't use if at the times you want anyway. Also, no safety because the doors don't lock. The downstairs looks nice, but the actual management and upstairs are really bad. — Aly , spain (2009-08-10) Dreadful hostel. Do the owners know how it's being run? Disgusting. Apparently this was once a nice hostel. But the owners have gone back to Britain leaving lazy, bone idle, rude girls in charge. One bathroom between 22 guests is pretty tight to begin with, but if only cleaned (in a slapdash manner) once a day they get nasty fast. There is a bin in each toilet cubicle (apparently we are to deposit our used paper here -- it requires you to stand up and operate a pedal) but it wasn't emptied of sh*t-crusted paper throughout our stay. Not even a hook for your towel in the bathroom. Best bit is, the bathroom has no door. Hope you enjoy listening to anyone who returned after you making their ablutions. The bedroom doors all badly need oiling and the hinges squeak like in a vampire movie. So every time you open / close these, you wake up everybody else there, or get woken up yourself. Expect to sleep badly here, and to be abused by the staff in the morning. Breakfast is instant coffee, dry rolls, and margarine. The smoothies, cappuccinos, and so on advertised on website are nowhere to be seen. The public areas need cleaning and so on but are generally better than the dingy and depressing bedrooms and single bathroom. Towels cost 2EUR/day and are supplied damp and smelly (they don't seem to be washed between guest uses, only dried a little). The honour bar" is "attractively" priced at around 6x supermarket prices. But that's ok, because the previous guests apparently took offense at this markup and didn't pay for their beer. So now there is only a single bottle of mineral water (for €1.50) in the fridge at any time. The whole of the downstairs of the hostel is locked up at night, good luck if you want a drink or access to your food in the kitchen. Kate and Gemma seem to be running the place for absentee owners who used to run it themselves. The owners have lost interest and are unsuccessfully trying to sell this dump. I suspect they don't check up on their English fatties and are quite unaware that the girls they put in charge are bone idle and don't clean / maintain the place. But perhaps it's just a big scam. Never stay here. Tell your friends. Kate and Gemma at the paintship hostel in Figueira da Foz will make your stay hell. — Joel , British (2009-08-09) I have travelled the world and stayed in heaps of hostels, and this is by far the best. The hosts Ben and Kerry are amazing and nothing is too much trouble. The bedrooms and bathrooms are cleaner than mine at home! The town itself has plenty of late bars and fine places to eat. Fig de Foz also has the best beach i have seen in Europe! — Zoe and Kai from the UK (2006-08-16) Excellent hostel -- the best I have ever stayed in! The beds are so comfy and the showers are better than at home! Ben and Kerry are so friendly and make you feel really welcome -- definitely did not want to leave. — jessica (2006-08-12)