Lisbon Easy is lively, comfortable, attractive, and fun. With free laundry service, nightly activities, great location, and accommodating facilities, it is a fantastic temporary home while traveling around Lisbon, but you can have a great vacation just staying in the hostel itself.
The Location
This hostel is in a prime location north of Praca do Comercio, a major public transportation hub. Dozens of trams and buses transport you around the city or one stop west to major metro and train stations. The hostel is easy to find, requiring a quick walk through a safe and lively area of the city.
Lisbon Easy takes up two floors of a half-dozen-story building with stairs and an elevator providing access to the hostel. The front desk, kitchen, common area, computers, and dorms/bathrooms are located on the second floor with additional dorms/bathrooms on the fourth. To enter the hostel, guests must buzz in to the building and be seen by a video camera. Once inside, they have access to both floors and the rest of the building through the elevator and staircase.
Rooms and Bathrooms
We stayed on the second floor in a six-bed, coed dorm. For storage, each bed has an unsecured bin under the bunk as well as a large, sturdy locker. Hostelers get a key to their locker and a key to the room itself, so that roommates can lock up the dorm as well as their valuables. Each bed has a reading light, and each dorm contains a ceiling fan and a full-length mirror.
The second floor features one large, unisex bathroom with three showers. The sink area has a large mirror, plenty of counter space, soap, and hand dryers. This bathroom is kept very clean by the staff, with enough open space that it does not become musty after guests' showers. Each shower stall has an extra area with a bench for guests to change and store their clothes. Towels are available to rent at the front desk for a small deposit. This hostel's free laundry service covers the towels as well, and guests can trade a dirty towel for a clean one whenever desired.
Common Spaces
The second-floor reception area has two computers available with free internet. Residents respect the twenty-minute courtesy limit when other guests are waiting. This room epitomizes the nature of Lisbon Easy, featuring the drop-off point for free laundry service -- simply place your clothes in the dirty hamper and pick them up later from the clean hamper. Guests may store luggage securely in a room behind the front desk. Affordable beverages and pizza are available at the front desk for residents' convenience. The staff has also compiled lists of nearby supermarkets for hostelers who want to experience local flavor without overspending.
The nearby supermarkets encourage guests spend plenty of time in the kitchen, and the hostel has painted the recipe for bacalhau, a national dish of Portugal, on the wall. The kitchen is a friendly socializing area -- cozy, but well-appointed with full table service, cookware, and accessories. Coffee and tea are available all day, but the kitchen is closed from midnight until breakfast. Breakfast consists of delicious breads freshly baked in the hostel kitchen, Portuguese jams, cereal, juice, and hot beverages.
The second-floor common area is spacious and well-furnished. Comfortable couches, beanbag chairs, and a dining table provide plenty of space to socialize. This room features a nice television with an impressive DVD library and a PS2 with video games. Instead of running the TV, guests may opt to play on the guitar or mp3 jukebox. This room is a relaxing area with a book exchange and scrapbooks of personally compiled travel tips and suggestions and Portuguese language and etiquette.
Every night, a staff member organizes a free pub crawl leaving from the hostel. He prepares free shots at the hostel for everyone interested and then takes guests around to local hot spots. This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know the city make new friends.
Summary
This hostel truly lives up to its name, making it easy to explore Lisbon full-speed or just to kick back and enjoy meeting other hostelers. The great location, vibe, and energy, along with small touches like the free laundry service and freshly baked bread, made us hate to leave.
— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
July 2008
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