Hostel Hopping: Hedonist Hostel Belgrade
Located on tree-lined Simina in the centre of Belgrade, you can find Hedonist Hostel, with its flowering window boxes and bright orange tile roof. Its wooden double doors, nestled between an imposing, Communist-style block and the main hostel building itself, lead into a beautiful open courtyard. Upon ringing the bell when we arrived around 7am, we were greeted by the receptionist who'd just started his shift. With an excited grin on his face, he ushered us in from the rain. Instead of the tiredness you'd understandably expect of hostel staff when they've been lumbered with a 6am wake up for the early shift, he was full of life, and made us feel right at home.
Our first night was booked for that evening, so we'd fully expected a lack of sleep opportunities until our official check-in time. But one of the best things about Hedonist, is that staff goes above and beyond for the guests, and their willingness is genuine. The receptionist told us the last thing we needed to worry about was payment, and the first thing we needed to do was clamber into our beds, if we needed them. He knew our bunk was free the night before, so the beds were already prepared. As we were soaked, his only concern was that we get comfy and warm. A lovely gesture, though we were far too excited about being in Belgrade to sleep. We accepted his offer of gaining access to the dorm straight away, locked away our bags, but went back to the main desk to get his recommendations for breakfast.
While in Belgrade, we had three days and three nights of non-stop rain - the most the city had seen since records began, 120 years ago. Normally, mid May, the sun shines and summer starts. Undeterred by the rain, we spent every day exploring, and every evening we came back to find staff going out of their way to help travellers dry their soaked clothes! A lot of people took to chilling out in the hostel during the downpours. This was when the communal areas really came into their own.
There are tonnes of areas you can hang out in at Hedonist. The lounge area is connected to the kitchen, accessible from the courtyard. It's home to a beautiful, hand carved, dining table and chairs. Dimly lit, and with irregular stone walls, stepping into it is like entering a small cave. It's tempting to curl up in here all day. Walk through to the kitchen and there's another dining table, good cooking facilities, and a huge fridge we kept filled with beer! The staff were excellent, socialising with us in the evenings, and topping us up with rakija when the rain was too heavy to head out in at night. There's then another chill out room, beyond the kitchen, complete with beanbags, films and a games console.
When it did stop raining after day three, the courtyard turned into a little paradise. The sun breaking through the cloud, filling the courtyard with light, created a gorgeous little haven that was every guest's 'little secret' from the outside world. There's a built in barbecue for warmer days, and even a projector screen.
Serbian people are the friendliest people we've met on our travels, and the hostel staff are definitely what made our stay here so memorable. There's a reason it's a multi award-winning hostel! The next time we visit Belgrade, we'll book Hedonist again in a heartbeat.
The Finders Seekers are part-time travellers, fascinated by unique spaces and unusual places. They can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Photos courtesy of Hedonist Hostel Belgrade.
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