Hostal Austria

Befriended some folks at the Alhambra who were staying here. They even showed us their dainty rooms to illustrate what a 'hostal' is like, since I was sceptical about standards, etc.

I had read about this place & it's sister concern almost opposite, Hostal Viena (yes, 'odd' spelling).

This place is right on the road leading straight up to the Alhambra! The staff were great, the lady owner is Austrian & speaks good English.

It's accommodation only, with the bathroom being really small, but very clean. The rooms are also small, but a great balcony looking onto the road to Alhambra.

Unique Quality: Lovely colourful tiles on the walls and floors. Bright terrace through the middle.

Right off Plaza Nueva, on the busy road, so very easy to find. Great location for a range of eateries.

Being on this busy road, there is the Alhambra bus that goes up regularly, not to mention loads of pedestrians.

Can be quite noisy at night.

The ratings, etc are my 'friends' opinions.

Twin room was 45 EUR per night.

Directions: Right off the main road of Plaza Nueva, follow the signs to the Alhambra, turning onto C. Gomerez, the very road that takes you to La Alhambra.

When booking over the net they don't really clarify whether you'll be at Hostal Austria or Hostal Viena, but the email came from hostalviena.com, so I went there. The road is bumpy and uphill (I walked from a bus stop), there's some graffiti, and some weird crowds around there. I got to Hostal Viena and carried my huge suitcase up the steps making a ton of noise until the cute guy at the desk heard and came running down to help me. He brought my bag up, checked the computer and then told me I'm at Hostal Austria. I certainly wasn't surprised because I'm always wrong. I guess he called them, and when I arrived the maids all yelled at me that I couldn't come in, but then someone from the desk said I could. Again, I had to drag my bags up. This time the desk clerk was a little weakling and just watched me struggle. The desk is sort of floating in the middle of the wall, and there is a tiny step for you to stand on. If you forget you're on this step you just may tumble down the stairs. He was very friendly and spoke perfect English. The hallways are beautifully decorated with tiles, but the room was pretty average. There was no tv, and it was very very dark. The bathroom was seriously about the width of the toilet, and the shower had sort of a slide into it that made it hard to get into. This place reminded me of bedrooms in log cabins I've stayed in in Utah. I couldn't get the showerhead to stay hooked up, so I pretty much had to hold it the whole time, spraying water all over the place. They have a sign in the room saying if you need to check out before 9 a.m. to do it the night before since the reception desk is closed, but this is a lie, and they are open all the time. When I finally checked out the cute guy from Viena was working, and he messed up and only charged me for one night and then had to wait before he could charge my card again for the second night, so I had to take a cab instead of the bus to the bus station since I had very little time left to get there.

Unique Quality: All in all, everyone was very friendly and helpful, the place was clean and had everything I needed, it was about average at keeping the noise out at night (I was able to sleep, but there was the occasional group cackle coming from the bar downstairs), the price was low, and the location was EXCELLENT. It was so close to everything. Sometimes I'd walk around all day and think I had ended up far from the hotel, but no matter where I was it only took a couple of minutes to get there. Unless it's for a very special occasion, I'll almost definitely return to this one.

The rooms aren't luxurious but then what do you expect from a dorm room which only costs 10 euros to a double room that only costs 24 euros.. The single rooms are something like 19 euros and I even had a sink in the room I had. The water is hot in the shared showers and toilets too.

I’ve stayed here 3 times. Though I had trouble once as the refused to take a booking and said I would have to turn up and see if a room was free. This was during peak time when some hostels don’t like to make phone reservations because they are worried the people aren’t going to turn up. So instead they wait till people arrive asking for a room.

Another small problem with the hostel is that they close for lunch so if you arrive at 3 you are going to have to wait till after the siesta to check in.

Unique Quality: It's gotta be the cheapest in town and its location couldn't be better; right opposite plaza Nueva on the road up the the park that leads up to the Alambra.

I think the owner speaks English too.

Directions: On a street leading from Plaza Nueva to the park that goes up to the Alambra. It's a prime location to base yourself!