Palma de Mallorca
Hostel Fleming, Palma de Mallorca **
05-09-17 Country: Hostel | Spain / Baleares
Stayed August 2017
Having paid just over 40€ per bed in a 2-bed room might seem ok, but honestly, for over 80€ you can find a hotel to stay in that offers a private bathroom and A/C, both of which aren't available here. You might even get breakfast included at that price - here, you get breakfast outside someplace (there is a café right around the corner).
Room
The street is a side street, but still quite noisy, so keeping the windows open wasn't really an option - it wouldn't have helped to get the room temperature down anyway, as it was stifling hot outside. A/C would have been a real necessity, but all the very small room had to offer was a ceiling fan that knew only one speed: turbo! The air was moved so much that while it was quite comfortable on the bottom bunk (ignoring the high noise level), anyone sleeping on the top bunk would definitely get health issues.
Instead of a regular cabinet to put your clothes in, all you get is a standard metal locker with a bunch of metal hangers (the kind you hate from laundry services). You can lock the locker if you have a lock on you or you rent one from reception. The door lock was flimsy and likely easily opened with a credit card (I didn't try), so try to keep your valuables on you. The only power outlet (i.e. to charge your phone) was on the wall to the right of each bed bunk, combined with a reading light that strutted out so far I hit my hand while sleeping several times (waking me up).
Beside the rather small space available for the two bunk beds and the lockers, there is also an encased balcony of about 1x2 meters that has a single chair on it. Lighting is a single gigawatt lamp (ok, I'm exaggerating) that will blind you for hours should you glimpse at it.
Bathroom
The bathroom is a community job on the floor. There are, I would guess, about 10-12 rooms on the floor, most of which are more than 2 beds. The facilities look relatively new and work fine. The showers are single units walled off with a separate door that have enough space for your towel and clothes, hung near the door, to stay dry. The bathroom was clean.
Hostel in general
All in all, the hostel is situated quite well near a major traffic circle in the northern part of the central city. I was there by car and finding a parking spot on arrival (after 9PM) was a challenge, but I did find one that was free until 9AM the next morning. I don't know how the bus connectivity is, but you can walk to the castle / harbor and central shopping areas if you're good on foot from the hostel.
The building had a very pretty courtyard with seating available, but since it apparently offers no bar services what so ever (even though it looked like a restaurant / bar facility in the back), you're stuck with beverages bought from a machine (not expensive). Some of the rooms face the inner courtyard, which might be quieter than the street (possibly not on a weekend).
Unfortunately, the Wifi was horribly slow when I stayed, so I used 3G instead.
There is an elevator available and it, too, looks quite new.
Summary
All in all, the hostel is ok for what it is (not a hotel). If the price was half of what I paid, I would likely stay again, but considering you can get full-fledged hotel rooms in simpler hotels in Palma for the same price, I don't see the advantage of giving up on a private bath and A/C, to be honest.
Having paid just over 40€ per bed in a 2-bed room might seem ok, but honestly, for over 80€ you can find a hotel to stay in that offers a private bathroom and A/C, both of which aren't available here. You might even get breakfast included at that price - here, you get breakfast outside someplace (there is a café right around the corner).
Room
The street is a side street, but still quite noisy, so keeping the windows open wasn't really an option - it wouldn't have helped to get the room temperature down anyway, as it was stifling hot outside. A/C would have been a real necessity, but all the very small room had to offer was a ceiling fan that knew only one speed: turbo! The air was moved so much that while it was quite comfortable on the bottom bunk (ignoring the high noise level), anyone sleeping on the top bunk would definitely get health issues.
Instead of a regular cabinet to put your clothes in, all you get is a standard metal locker with a bunch of metal hangers (the kind you hate from laundry services). You can lock the locker if you have a lock on you or you rent one from reception. The door lock was flimsy and likely easily opened with a credit card (I didn't try), so try to keep your valuables on you. The only power outlet (i.e. to charge your phone) was on the wall to the right of each bed bunk, combined with a reading light that strutted out so far I hit my hand while sleeping several times (waking me up).
Beside the rather small space available for the two bunk beds and the lockers, there is also an encased balcony of about 1x2 meters that has a single chair on it. Lighting is a single gigawatt lamp (ok, I'm exaggerating) that will blind you for hours should you glimpse at it.
Bathroom
The bathroom is a community job on the floor. There are, I would guess, about 10-12 rooms on the floor, most of which are more than 2 beds. The facilities look relatively new and work fine. The showers are single units walled off with a separate door that have enough space for your towel and clothes, hung near the door, to stay dry. The bathroom was clean.
Hostel in general
All in all, the hostel is situated quite well near a major traffic circle in the northern part of the central city. I was there by car and finding a parking spot on arrival (after 9PM) was a challenge, but I did find one that was free until 9AM the next morning. I don't know how the bus connectivity is, but you can walk to the castle / harbor and central shopping areas if you're good on foot from the hostel.
The building had a very pretty courtyard with seating available, but since it apparently offers no bar services what so ever (even though it looked like a restaurant / bar facility in the back), you're stuck with beverages bought from a machine (not expensive). Some of the rooms face the inner courtyard, which might be quieter than the street (possibly not on a weekend).
Unfortunately, the Wifi was horribly slow when I stayed, so I used 3G instead.
There is an elevator available and it, too, looks quite new.
Summary
All in all, the hostel is ok for what it is (not a hotel). If the price was half of what I paid, I would likely stay again, but considering you can get full-fledged hotel rooms in simpler hotels in Palma for the same price, I don't see the advantage of giving up on a private bath and A/C, to be honest.
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