Day 21: Lisbon... prelude

I shall digress to the hostel in Lisbon which, in my opinion, was my worst European experience.

Do not choose Pensão

New Aljubarrota hostel

in Lisbon!

I had booked the hostel via Hostelworld. The hostel caught my eye due to its excellent location, price and excellent ratings by previous guests.

Italian hostels are notoriously famous for being really bad. Especially the experience in Venice during my travels in the winter of 2004, the accomodation was a nightmare. We hit the jackpot once more when we realised the hostel in Lisbon was managed by an Italian. Prior to that, I had no idea that the hostel was managed by an Italian. The truth hit me hard on the day we arrived.

A long tiring day in Madeira, coupled with the flight to Lisbon, we were looking forward to a comfortable stay to rest our fatigued bodies. The hostel was located on the 4th floor of an old-looking building. With no elevators available, we had to drag our backpacks and luggages. Lights were so dim and it looked absolutely spooky. First impression had been tarnished.

As soon as we trudged to the 3rd staircase landing, something pungent stung my nose. It smelled of sewage. When I looked up, I was shocked to the core...



OMG! The whole wall seemed to be crumbling down at any moment. The plaster had come off, with parts of the wall badly chipped off. It exposed the water pipes, which dangled from shoddily constructed fittings. The internal wooden structure was also exposed, with some parts obviously rotting away due to the leaking pipes. And just in case you are wondering where the window belongs to: it belongs to the toilet. Disgustingly, It serves as a potential vintage point for voyeurs.



Initially, it was also curious as to where the window in the toilet will lead to. After hearing heavy footsteps echoing on the creaky wooden staircase, I peeped outside and realised that it was the staircase which we just ascended from.

The toilet was dirty. The shower curtain was old, dinky and badly stained. It emanated an odour which was repulsively similar to somebody who had accidentally splattered the outer rim of the toilet bowl.

Both the sink and the bath tub were so dreadfully stained that it made me wondered whether the cleaner had done a proper job in maintaining the hygiene.



Upon entering our room, it was a sight to behold. It perforated our sanity. The door was perhaps only 3cm thick. When firmly closed, a gap could be seen clearly, which allowed people to peep inside. No privacy at all.

The room reeked of an odour. It's those kind of smell when you get dry water stains on the carpet in a humid environment.



This old apartment had been converted into a hostel. This was pretty obvious with the beds stacked up not against the wall but against a door. When the girls were sleeping, they were awaken in the morning when the guest next door was taking a shower. Thankfully, the water didn't splatter onto the bed. Even the sink was awfully fitted onto a door.

We were promised a private shower and this was what we got...



What a private shower! Let's give a standing ovation.

Come on! You call that a private shower? Do you think conservative guests even dare to use this? I can't imagine what they'll do if they decided to fit private toilets in the rooms. I don't wish to wake up in the morning to see the girls sitting on the toilet bowl right at the side of my bed.

We were also promised a spectacular view of the castle from our room since it's located on the 4th floor. Guess what we saw?



Well done! Another round of applause.

From our experience, an atmosphere of distrust and disgust has permeated this management. I complained to the manager and I was greeted with disdain. Since we had Gonçalo to assist us, the manager spoke to Gonçalo in Portuguese.

That was the final straw that broke the camel's back. I slammed the manager, "You are so rude and ain't showing me respect.

Then she replied to Gonçalo in Portuguese, "Because you spoke so fast that i couldn't understand you."

She even added that she wasn't obliged to learn English! What the?!?!

In fact, I demanded a refund but the manager refused, emphasising that a 72 hr notice must be given. Since we were staying for 4 nights, there was no way we could argue. In the end, we had to stay for the 4 full nights in anguish agony.

Upon the end of my trip, I gave the hostel the worst possible ratings and submitted them on the internet via Hostelworld. On top of that, I added in distasteful comments which reflected our true experiences.

However, a few days later, a quick check on their website revealed that my comments had been removed. So how was that possible in giving future guests a fair assessment of the property in question? Obviously, that isn't fair when bad comments are removable by the hostel. A quick glance through the website also disclose the fact that there aren't any poor comments.

So for those who wish to visit Lisbon, avoid this hostel at all costs! Once again...

Do not choose Pensão

New Aljubarrota hostel

in Lisbon!