La Perla de Lujo - Hostel

Everything ok

This was by far the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed in. The posting is very misleading as the hostel doesn’t look anything like the photos provided. There is no signage or indication of the hostel from the street. You have to knock on a door and you’re let into what looks like someone’s personal kitchen. There's a small, dirty kitchen with the owners sitting in folding chairs, 2 dorms, and 2 bathrooms. Both dorms are extremely crammed in with almost no space. Your head will be directly against someone’s foot in an adjacent bed. Any time someone moves the entire bunk bed structure shakes violently. The entire hostel is infested with bugs and mold. Turning the light on in the bathroom and kitchen during the night, I was surprised to see dozens of insects scatter. There are dead bugs smashed into the ceiling. Additionally, there’s no lock on the hostel door so anyone from the street can walk in any time. You are not given a key. There is nowhere to store your belongings as well. Very unsafe. When I stayed, there was a woman who appeared to be homeless awake from 3:30 to 7:30 in the morning loudly cooking in the kitchen, producing a putrid and rotting smell of meat throughout the entire hostel. I have video and photo evidence of mold covering ceilings, insects, and intolerable living conditions. I will be seeking out a refund from *******. This is an absolute embarrassment to the platform and I’m sure violates many Spanish health codes.

I didn't believe the bad reviews, because there are always people who complain. I've travelled around the world for 15 years and spent countless nights in the cheapest hostels, so I don't mind where I sleep one night. Only this time it was impossible to sleep. This place is not a hostel. It's nine people in three bunk beds in a tiny room behind this guy's kitchen. The experience reminds me of sleeping in a sailing boat in the Pacific in rough weather. Every few minutes someone moves and the whole bed is shaking. Throughout the night a new person arrives and the owner turns the lights on and starts explaining something. There are no lockers. The toilet is behind a sliding door right next to the beds. I'll give one star for his sense of humor. The place has been named sarcastically "the pearl of luxury". If you have a car, there's plenty of parking space next to the place, which is rare so close to Madrid. But you'll sleep better in your car.