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Emile Youth Hostel

Gibraltar (Montagy Bastion)

Address
Line Wall Road, Gibraltar (Montagy Bastion), Gibraltar
Location/Contact
Details
Online booking is not offered for this hostel, contact them for availability and reservations (any contact info we have is listed above).
Their Description

Features

  • Free Breakfast
  • Lounge / Common space
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Travel information provided
  • Phones (public or in room)
 
The Hostelz.com Review
Emile Hostel is privately run, with dorms and private rooms in a separate building. We stayed in the dormitory section and found it (and Gibraltar in general) to be a little island of Englishness in the middle of everything European.

Upon entering there is a small lobby with pamphlets about the local sights and activities. To your left are the toilets and to the right the dining room, showers, and bedrooms.

It's a small hostel with only three dorm rooms, each with two or three bunk beds with bedding provided. The rooms are spacious with lovely natural light and plenty of room for backpacks and bags (but unfortunately there are no lockers). The dining room has plenty of tables and chairs, reminiscent of an English lounge. Unfortunately the kitchen on the premises is the owner's personal kitchen and isn't for guests to use. However, breakfast is provided each morning (toast with jam, small cake, tea/coffee, or juice) between 8:30 and 9:30.

We recommend overcoming any shyness issues beforehand. The showers, whilst separated into male and female, are rather communal. There are two showers separated from the dressing area by one curtain, so women and men each have their own showering area.

The worst thing about this hostel is the daily lockout from 10:30 to 4:30. However, when we were staying there, the owner let us keep the key for the days we were there and we could come and go as needed. Be really nice and he might do the same for you. The showers are also locked between 10:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m., so plan accordingly.

While the price of this hostel is very reasonable, beware as Gibraltar itself is rather expensive, especially compared to Spain or Portugal.

Getting to the hostel is very easy. If you are walking or driving, just pass the frontier and continue straight across the airport runway and past the Elf service station (on your right) and the BP (left). At the Shell service station, continue ahead and the road veers right. About three hundred meters ahead you will see Pizza Hut on your right. Emile Hostel is on the very small street opposite this. It's about a fifteen-minute walk from the frontier.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2006


Ratings & Comments

2.7 Average from 10 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Martins, Latvia
March 2009
4 Better than I expected
I decided to check it out despite what I'd read. Hotel has got excellent location (hundred meters from main square, very easy to find), no lockout anymore. The staff was nice and polite enough. Price was as stated -- 15 punds. Leaving luggage etc could be easily arranged. No problems with utilization of showers. Room -- a typical dorm room with enough space. Breakfast -- small but ok. No particular complaints or disappointments. Right place to stay if you do backpacking in Gibraltar.
Comment by David Dawson, British.
September 2008
3 First Class Basic
First class. I stayed at this hostel in July 2004, and I vowed to return again one day -- and I did again in July 2008, I stayed here again and had my wife with me the second time round. I think the Emile hostel was super, a lot of hot water available, comfortable bedrooms and dorms. Only one bad point, it certainly wouldn't be recommended though for families because when we were there, there were families with screaming babies. Overall, we had a pleasant stay. Highly recommended for cheaper accommodation.
Comment by If you want to stay in the Hilton, pay for the Hilton., Pom.
July 2008
4 You get what you pay for.
When I go traveling, I don't go to sleep, or to hang around in the common room. I can do that at home. I want cheap digs, and the Emile supplies that. If you want luxurious rooms and steak and egg for breakfast, stay in a £100 a night hotel and you'll get them. If you want to spend your money having as much fun as you can have with your clothes on, then bollocks to the five stars, and stay in Emile's. I stayed there in 1985 and am going back in September this year.
Comment by Andre, Germany
September 2007
4 Nice and friendly hostel
Right in the the centre of town, of course with pros and cons. The staff was rather friendly, especially the young guy at the desk, really a good boy. I missed breakfast nearly all the time, one time I was able to be there right in time, hardly able to keep my eyes open. But I received what I paid for. Nice mentality of the owners and really nice visitors around. Also a pub is nearby. The owner of which is also a nice man. Nice visitors, too. I enjoyed the whole stay at Emile's youth hostel. Obviously the place was an old school building, perfectly situated in the middle of Gib. Cool. I want to come back. The hotels in Gib are much more expensive and Emile is right next to the big market place, where in summertime concerts are held, too. Cool Gibraltar, cool places to be. I miss the monkeys.
Comment by Jeanne
March 2007
3 This is probably your only budget option in Gibraltar, and for 15 pounds a night it is adequate. The beds have warm duvets for the winter. Trash cans would have been nice in the rooms and the bathrooms. There was plenty of hot water and the showers were free. The staff prepare your toast and coffee and bring it to you in the dining area, and if you want to do a tour of the Rock (highly recommended), just ask the hostel owner. They also let you store your things there while you look around on your check-out date. The lock-out from 12 to 4:30 was a pain, but overall a solid hostel.
Comment by David
September 2006
2 I stayed at this place several times -- summer of 1999 and 2002 as well as March 2004. It was the same everytime. A decent location by the main square at the end of the main pedrestrian street. The hostel itself, however, is quite expensive 15 pounds ($30+ USD) and is probably more now. The atmosphere is kind of dingy as well as the rooms. There is only one common area which is the dining room. It's okay (not great though) for meeting people. The staff is pretty average. One thing that kind of irked me is that you have to pay for the shower, and it requires a token (which you purchase) and only allows you five minutes of running water. There are other places (hotels) which are also in good locations and are much better for only a few more pounds.
Comment by Lauren
September 2005
1 I didn't like Gibraltar as a whole so that may influence my review! I thought this hostel was ridiculously overpriced, the toilets were dirty and smelly and the "breakfast" was awful. However you don't have a lot of choice, as this seems to be the only hostel on the island! Staff were helpful and it is quite central. Bedrooms were reasonably clean.
Comment by Jack Haas
August 2004
1 This is an abomination of an accommodation in a nation of frustration. The rooms were attrocious, the staff obnoxious and the city platitudinous! Never go here!!! They smell and their attitude stinks! It's also very expensive.
Comment by Andy
June 2004
3 Good friendly hostel, right in centre of town.
Comment by J. Vincent
September 2003
2 Bed n Breakfast. Bed was a bed. Breakfast was tea n toast. At that price I expected at least something on the toast other than jam, like an egg. Apart from that, lovely people.
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