Pop Hostel Madrid

A fairly new hostel (it opened in July 2005) and therefore not found in too many guides yet, Pop Hostel is a decent place to stay. Located close to Tribunal Metro station, the hostel takes up the entire first floor of an old apartment building.

The rooms have either four, six or ten beds each with en-suite bathrooms which are cleaned daily. Other facilities include two kitchens (although the main one is quite small) with a good range of pots/pans/plates, and cutlery. There's a microwave and two hot plates but no oven. There's a sign saying 'You use it, you wash it' in both English and Spanish but unfortunately some people seem hesitant to clean up after themselves.

There are two small common rooms, one with tables and chairs with a drink vending machine (soft drinks, water, and of course beer) and the other with sofas and a good sized TV. The TV room has cable television and a good selection of DVDs to watch (some Spanish, some English). The computer with free internet (twenty-minute limit per person) is located in the first common room.

Checkout is eleven-thirty a.m. and quiet time is from eleven p.m. to nine a.m. The lighting in the room is good, but with no lights our room was quite dark (therefore difficult to wake up in the morning -- this can be a good thing).

Security is ok, you have to push a buzzer to gain access to the building and another button to enter the front door of the hostel which puts directly in the reception. There are small security lockers for valuables in each room (one per room) but no lockers for your backpacks. Bags can be stored on the day of checkout in a locked room for a small, per bag fee.

Individual security lockers and bigger rubbish bins would make this hostel fantastic. All up, we enjoyed our stay and would definitely go back again.

-- Exklusive Hostelz.com Übersicht