Loving Strangers Hostel

I really, really enjoyed my stay here, and will remember it for forever probably. Made some wholeheartedly amazing connections and had a good time while doing so.
The breakfast was amazing (PANCAKES) and if there is family dinner attend!! 🫶🏻
The whole hostel area is amazing, with a massive garden, nice kitchen, cool working space and the comfy beds (with curtains).
Was everything I needed and more, will forever be loving strangers now 💛:)

I had more than an amazing experience staying at Loving Strangers hostel. On top of the excellent cleaning, best location, and great view on Pico Mountain, I enjoyed the warm hosting and the community, having breakfast and delicious dinners with solo travelers that became friends for life! Book your bed there, and you'll never regret it.

Greeted warmly, Stefan was a passionate and friendly host, decent location and happy cats, very comfortable bed too. Wish I'd stayed longer- was a zombie after the flight and it's very social.
Highly recommended for travellers alone or in groups who enjoy hostel communities, or just need a need a decent nights sleep.

I spent 3 nights at Loving Strangers and I loved it! Stefan and Pedro are great hosts and did a wonderful job at making the place as comfy and as welcoming as possible. The beds are very comfortable and sturdy, breakfast is abundant and the dinners we had all together were a lot of fun. I met some really lovely people during my stay. I can highly recommend staying there and I hope to be back there myself one day! :)

I was unsure about booking myself a hostel as when I travel I like have my own space. I made a great choice in booking the loving strangers hostel, the company and people where great very clean rooms with plenty of space and facilities. The Hostel is also in a great location with plenty of garden space and very friendly cats. I would 100% recommend to everyone visiting the Azores 🙂🙂🙂

The hospitality was amazing! One of the best Hostels I have stumbled upon on my journeys. I highly recommend Stefan's cooking! Great place to connect with positive vibes with other strangers. Much respect to the dream and for having me, cheers 🥂

I would like to thank Stefan for the best hostel experience in my life. But I cannot even tell that it is just a hostel. There are a lot of love there. Beautiful place. I only regret that I stayed there just one night. If you go to Pico, the best you can do is to stay in this place. You’ll met a wonderful people whiling to help you with every and to make your stay very comfortable.
Sending lots of love and hope to see you guys again.❤

Stefan must be one of the friendliest hosts I have ever met on my journeys.

We lived in the a room that had a magnificent Pico view and was very well decorated.

All of this comes together with a very good breakfast (pancakes!!!) with many home made Products. There is also a space for work so it makes it a nice workation destination and also to relax (board games and PS5).

Although all guests must be approved by the cat (see the pictures), they are as friendly as Stefan so there was no challenge with that :)

I couldn’t recommend staying at this place more and am sending best regards from Poland.
Jakub

Booked to stay at this hostel on my trip to climb mount pico. When i arrived i was greeted by the owner stefan who came over and gave me a hug before showing me around the place. The room was nice the bed was comfy , plenty of storage and great shower. There was a lovely breakfast area and a beautiful outdoor area. Stefan also invited me to evening dinner with all the guests which i couldn't make the first night but did the second. Stefan spent hours preparing a dinner for everyone including starters main and dessert which was lovely. This hostel has a great feel and energy to it. Very welcoming and friendly and stefan makes a real effort to get everyone together. The hostel has less of the corporate feel and more homely. Id recommend this hostel to anyone and would love ti stay there again. You can tell stefan has a real love and passion fir this place and his guests and nit just a business.

Thanks

Dave

Loving Strangers is the place to stay when exploring Pico. Pedro and Stefan have established a clean and spacious house with plenty of indoor and outdoor spaces to relax with views of Mount Pico.
I rented a private room which was clean and well maintained. It is minutes to groceries and the heart of Madalena.
Best of all is the Azorian hospitality and Stefan’s home cooked dinner social!!!!!!
Five stars is not enough.

The host Stefan is extremely lovely. I was given a quick tour of the hostel and was free to choose whichever bunk bed I wanted. The beds are amazing: outlet, personal light, curtains that let no light in, space to put your things, very comfortable mattress, large lockers. The breakfast was also lovely. Stefan will make you his signature pancakes (also vegan and gluten free if you want). There is also yoghurt, bread, different jams, fruit and cereal. Speaking of food: make sure you participate in the "family dinners". The home-cooked meals (form starters to soup, main, and desert) are amazing. Stefan not only cooks better than most restaurants I have been to on the azores, but you'll also be fed until you explode and that for a very fair price. Finally, I loved the co-working space with nice chairs, privacy and fast WIFI.

Very comfy bunk beds, great outdoor area and even a dedicated working space. Make sure to join the dinner for a homemade meal, absolutely delicious!

Awesome staff, always up for a good talk. Stayed there with two kids and felt very welcome. Very comfy beds! Easy the best Hostel experience i've had in my two decades of travelling.

My friend and I did not expect what we found in this hostel. We were welcomed with open arms and the rest of our stay was characterized by hospitality and openness. Starting with the fact that the building, beds and garden were prepared with so much love. But what really makes the difference are the owners Pedro and Stefan, who let you feel their passion with which they run the hostel. At dinner, campfire and stargazing together, you are gifted with many open and profound conversations. Even though we were only there for one night, our stay was a great experience and we would recommend anyone who has the chance to stay at this place to lean back and enjoy the company of many great people. Many thanks to Stefan & Pedro, hope to see you soon! 🫶

The tl;dr is STAY HERE. This hostel is less than a year old and already appropriately successful. We would 100% stay here again. We do not typically stay in hostels, but had no other options on the island to stay in at the time of booking. Thankfully, we were able to book the private room (+bathroom) — the lovebirds nest. The grounds of the hostel are beautiful—hand-painted tiles in the buildings, wonderfully kept gardens. The hosts and hostel volunteers greet you with open arms. We arrived quite early and were given breakfast (PANCAKES) and a tour. There are multiple hammocks, a large outdoor dining table, fire pit, café tables. The room itself was wonderful with a view of Mount Pico from the bedroom AND bathroom. :). Each night they offer dinner. We opted in the first night since we were too tired to make a reservation elsewhere. After having the multi-course meal with included alcohol, we happily opted to dine at Loving Strangers every night. The people were so nice with so many suggestions. The hosts Stefan and Pedro were so very accommodating and happy to drive us to destinations to help us accomplish our adventures. Both went above and beyond to make our experience on Pico a memorable one. The hostel location was safe and great—an easy walk to the harbor.

Wound up staying here for one night when our flight was cancelled, and so glad we did. Stephan and Pedro are amazing, and the whole place has the friendliest, most fun vibe. Our room was super cute…and loved that they have cats roaming, and allowed our elderly dog to stay with us. Great place, would absolutely recommend and return.

From loving strangers to loving family, I never felt so welcome anywhere. Stephen and Pedro are two amazing souls and I consider them friends for the rest of my life. I been having so much fun and stress free and at peace. It's been a great experience and so many memories I'll never forget. Hope to make more great memories in the nearing future I feel like I'm part of the loving strangers family and I would love to contribute and help this place grow and become one of the wonders on the islands but to me the time I spent here and how I was received and welcomed it's priceless. I can keep going on and on but I just want to say I love you guys and if I could I would never leave here. Thank you for making me feel better I needed this.

One of my favorite hostels! Stayed here for a week in August and felt at home immediately :) Pedro and Stefan are the loveliest hosts and organized dinners and bonfires every night. I will definitely be back!

When we booked the Loving Strangers Hostel, we did not know what exactly to expect. Back then it was not on Booking and we stumbled across it only by accident. But it was for sure a good decision. If you‘re looking for an accommodation in Pico, where you can meet open-minded people and enjoy good talks, that‘s the place.

A warm welcome from the hosts Stefan and Pedro is just as natural here as a clean bed and a proper breakfast. If you‘re lucky and it‘s not raining, you can spend your evenings at a bonfire in the beautiful garden. During our stay, it was super rainy, but Stefan still somehow managed to make a bonfire on our last day. You just have to be persistent enough ;)

Thanks to Loving Strangers for everything! See you soon :)

"Loving strangers" is not just a name - it is the way, how Stefan and Pedro live their life! 💛
These two sympatic guys wanted to create a place, where people can connect and have a joyful time together - and they are doing a great job so far!
I'm sure this hostel will become even more special once the renovation is completely finished... 🤩
For every inconvenience in the meantime they will make up multiple times with being warm-hearted and taking every effort to help you with planning and booking your activities around Pico island. 🤗

It is possible that once in a while one of the lovely cats finds its way into your room - if that's a problem, just communicate it and I'm sure they will instantly take care. 🐈
These furry staff-members just really like the comfortable and stable bunk beds too, of which each has its own light and power outlet and a curtain for private space.

The shared bathrooms might be not overdimensioned but the nice hot water (especially after diving lessons in November 😅) and the strong water pressure really makes up for it!

I felt really spoiled getting pancakes every morning for breakfast - made with love by Stefan! ❤

It's a pity that I couldn't experience the often mentioned campfires, as I was there in quite stormy off saison. But cooking dinner together inside, doing movie nights and playing cards was a good alternative. 😊 (A little side note here: Pedro can get a little bit impatient if you think about your next move too long... 😘)

I extended my stay twice, but spending more time there, just made it even harder to leave finally!
"Muito obrigada" for everything! 🥰