I would rate the hostel with 4 stars if I am paying half-priced, but I will rate 3 stars for what I paid. We stayed in the hostel for 4 nights (3 nights in a Deluxe room, and 1 night in a budget room). The deluxe room is in the main building where the budget room is at a new building which is outside of the main building. Pros: 1. Excellent location: Located at the Gemmayzeh area which is a nice area to dine and walk around. There are a lot of cafes, bars and restaurants around the area. 2. Nice traditional Lebanese breakfast is provided. 3. The hostel gets a café where the food and drinks are offered with a reasonable price. 4. Nice atmosphere and vibe: a good place to meet other travelers. 5. Nice indoor and outdoor common areas for you to chill around. 6. Staff: all with very good English speaking skills. 7. Generally clean. Cons: 1. Overpriced: I paid more than 90 USD for the “Deluxe Room” but what you get is just a small room with a private bathroom and a common balcony. That’s all. The budget room is around 25 USD cheaper and it is only smaller in size and no balcony comparing to the “Deluxe Room”. I understand the price in Beirut is much expensive than the rest of the cities in Lebanon. However, I can get a suite (including breakfast) in Byblos with 6X USD, thus I expect they offer more with this price. 2. Room size: Small for Deluxe room and incredibly small for the budget room. You cannot even open two suitcases in the budget room. 3. Room’s facilities: Very dim at night. Should have more lighting for the room. Inadequate power plugs in the room. 4. Some furniture/facilities of the room ruined. 5. No lift for the hostel. 6. Wifi is slow and very unstable. 7. Electricity: I understand that the whole country, especially Beirut is suffering from power shortage. We are definitely okay with power shortage for a short period of time. However, we undergo power shortage for more than 1 hour for 2 nights of our stay. We also stayed in other hotels/hostels in other cities and this hostel offers the most unstable power supply. 8. The soundproofing for the main building is okay, but poor soundproofing was found in the new building. 9. Some staff are helpful and friendly, but some are not very attentive. Some can provide detailed information about the city, but some just too carefree. I do expect more helpful and attentive staff for a hostel. This is definitely a good place for solo backpackers!! But if you travel with someone else, unless you really want to stay in Gemmayzeh area, otherwise you can find much more cheaper alternatives in Hamra area.
