The end of the hostel has come
If before the word 'lodging house' (either 'hostel' in its international version) was synonymous with comfortable, affordable and central, today it also implies glamour, sophistication and design. Who would have told the twentysomethings of that time. If you are one of those who long ago stopped taking them into consideration for your getaways, maybe you should give them a second chance. And we tell you why.
- They are located in historic buildings. Nothing to be hidden on the fourth floor of an ancient building in the city, in a hidden alley of the historic center. Now, the more eye-catching and the more windows they have towards the street, the better. Some, like cool! Hostel _(Atocha, 16) _, have rehabilitated historic buildings in the city to transform them into design hostels. In addition, this one in particular is located a stone's throw from the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor.
unbeatable location
- Cleaning. If the memory you have of the last hostel you stayed in leaves a lot to be desired in the cleanliness section, forget it, because in the poshtels hygiene is taken care of to the extreme, just as it happens in a hotel. Bathrooms, rooms and common areas are cleaned regularly.
- Amplitude in rooms. As luxurious and designer as it may be, the essence of a poshtel remains the same as that of a hostel: shared bedrooms , both for those who travel in a group and for those who travel alone. That is grace. Except that instead of everyone being crowded together like in a military recruiting camp, everyone is expected to have their intact living space . Large, spacious and even rooms private suites for up to four or five people, because they also think of those who travel as a family.
The bathroom as a way of life
- Private bathroom. How do you stay? One of the great handicaps of traveling in hostels and pensions was having to use the shared bathroom, especially in those cases of more scrupulous people. Something that in this new era has gone down in history. Most of them have private bathrooms in rooms, such as the ultra-modern ** Artrip de Lavapiés ** _(Valencia, 11) _, where you don't have to go out into the corridor wrapped in a towel and wearing flip-flops to go to the shower.
- Of design. The all-terrain traveler going from city to city just needed to have a bed to spend the night in after touring the city, not caring if the curtains in the room were designer. Now things have changed, and if you can stay in a nice hostel, careful and with a retro, industrial or vintage aesthetic of the one that you would be instagraming all the time, better.
Attic of Arttrip de Lavapiés
- There is even talk of a luxury hostel . There are so many services it provides to the traveler - cleaning, 24-hour reception, gastronomy, internet connection, design, avant-garde …-, that some even speak of the category of luxury hostel . The pioneer in this sense was ** U Hostel ** _(Sagasta, 22) _, who brought this trend that emerged in England a few years ago to the city.
- Plans . The offer of activities to do for the city is infinite and this type of hostels has been proposed to connect travelers with all that infinity of plans. It does it by gastronomic routes , meetings in unique places and other actions to enjoy the city in the company of others who, like you, have traveled alone here. Although if you want you can visit it at your free will.
Design and luxury in the hostel: it is possible
- Free WIFI. Okay, 20 years ago maybe it wasn't a problem that a hostel didn't have Wi-Fi... but today it's an essential requirement to be connected at all times. Either to keep up to date with the latest news, to check routes, to buy the next bus ticket or to upload a photo to your social network on duty. If you also add the freedom of being able to access Spotify and your playlists freely, much better. so it is in Sleep'n Atocha _(Doctor Drumen, 4) _, which even has a speaker system with Bluetooth and access to Spotify.
Technology and design in the poshtel
- Gasbrobar. Always, especially in European hostels, it has been common for it to have some kind of bar or canteen among its common areas to have a drink and, incidentally, socialize. But now they have gone much further, opening more desirable spaces even for those who are not staying, lounge bar type, located both inside and on the roof terraces. One of the most coveted since it opened its doors is the The Hat _(Imperial, 9) _, perhaps the best known poshtel in the city. Others go further and set up a big restaurant, as happens in Room007 _(Ventura de la Vega, 5) _, another of the first to arrive in the city.
- Much more than youth and adolescents. Due to comforts such as those described so far, suddenly this type of accommodation has also become the favorite of other types of travellers, of those who a few years ago would not have even thought of sticking their heads out of a hostel. Families with children, business travelers and even romantic couples, why not? A getaway as a couple in one of the **suites of 60 Balconies Urban Stay ** _(Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, 11) _, made up of 13 soundproofed and super-comfortable apartments, is a very good idea.
The end of the hostel has come
And for all this, we no longer talk about hostel but poshtel, that is nothing more than the union between the words posh Y hotel . And it means the same thing. A more elegant type of accommodation. Something that, indisputably, marks a before and after in the era of accommodation, as it shows hundreds of details that make them different from before, elevating them to the category of sites that they like to be comfortable.