I’ve long considered Palmer’s Lodge in London to be my all-time favorite hostel, but I may now have to reconsider. After checking it out on my friend the Budget Traveller’s Luxury Hostels project, I knew I had to book my stay at Gallery Hostel for the Travel Bloggers Unite conference in Porto. It turns out I wasn’t the only one as at least four other bloggers were staying there.
Located in a house-turned-art gallery about ten minutes from Trindade station, Gallery has all the amenities I look for in a hostel: included linens, plush towels, ensuite bathrooms, free breakfast, free (and reliable) Internet, guest computers and nightly events.
The staff really know how to take care of you. The free breakfast has cereal, toast, fruit, meat, cheese, tea and coffee. The nightly €10 dinners are HUGE and include wine or port. The daily walking tours run from 10:30 and take you to the best parts of Porto. You MUST do the Wednesday night port tastings and tapas dinner to get the true Porto experience.
There are both private and dorm rooms, a television room, bar and courtyard ideal for a blogger like myself to spread out and work.
My stay was NOT complimentary, but I wanted everyone to know how great this place is. They did not ask for a favorable review, but they did throw some port tonics and tapas my way.
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