Abraham Hostel, Jerusalem: Easily the Best Hostel in Israel

I recently had the pleasure to stay in the superb Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem, Israel. Having stayed in a load of hostels down the years, it’s my duty to inform you that this was one of my favourites – this place ROCKS! In fact, don’t even consider a visit to Jerusalem without staying here. My highlights from there are way too many to put in one post, but here’s a few reasons why the Abraham Hostel is fab. I’ve narrowed it down to 20 reasons…

1. Wi-Fi in every room, FREE

Not only is there free Wi-Fi in every room, but it’s fast! For a hostel this is amazing. In fact, on my travels it’s the fastest ever Wi-Fi I’ve had in a  hostel room. For a travel blogger who works online on the move, it’s heaven. I got quite a bit of work done at night having been out and about for over 10 hours each day.

2. FREE Breakfast

Not all hostels offer free breakfast these days, but Abraham Hostel does! A free continental breakfast is served daily from 7am – 10am on the first floor. Just make sure you wash your own dishes after eating.

3. Awesome Staff

The staff are the coolest ever. I hung out with Itiel on the pub crawl, I chatted backpacker stories with Yoni, I toured Palestine with Andy and I helped out in the kitchen with Or the chef. The staff not only make you feel at home, they become your friends while you’re here in Abraham Hostel. Don’t forget to make as many friends as you can.

4. Jerusalem Pub Crawl

If you’ve read my stories about pub crawls in cities like London, Christchurch and Buenos Aires, get ready for the Jerusalem Pub Crawl. This one was the nuts! I’ll be including it on my Thirsty Thursdays sometime soon!

5. Communal Eating

I love the whole idea of meeting people in kitchens and dining areas. But I don’t like getting in people’s way. Thankfully Abraham Hostel is massive so we’re all sorted. Go in for breakfast and eat with others and get chatting. Same goes for lunch, dinner and well…any time of day. I met travel buddy Luke just from the communal eating.

6. FREE Welcome Drink

What can I say? The Abraham Hostel has a bar on the first floor and you get a welcome drink on arrival! Amazing! I opted for a draught beer. Reminded me of the excellent Guesthouse Amice in Suriname from a few years back.

7. Thursday Night is backpacker story night!

Every Thursday night in the lounge, travellers meet up to tell a crazy backpacking story!! This is your chance to share your travels, meet some cool people and get a free drink! I got a free shot for telling my tale about feeding hyenas in Ethiopia.

8. Happy Hour

Gotta love a hostel that has a bar for a start. Even better – there’s a happy hour. Best time to head down is 6-8pm on Happy Hour. The bar is also open in the morning for juice and coffee.

9. Best Tours Ever

Abraham Hostel runs its own tours – the marvellous Abraham Tours. These tours are quite simply the best ever – Israel and Palestine are cool regions to visit. Check out my posts here to see how I enjoyed the tours:

– Touring Hebron

– Jerusalem Holy City Tour

– Touring Bethlehem

– Visiting Ramallah

– Floating in the Dead Sea

– Ein Gedi Desert Oasis

10. Clean Rooms

Spotless. Clean rooms. As someone who isn’t fussy at all when it comes to clean rooms, this time I loved walking through the door and seeing how the bed was clean, the floor was clean and the bathroom was clean. Amazing!

11. Masada Sunrise Cocktail

Abraham Hostel has its own cocktail – the famous Masada Sunrise. Gets your lips round this – but only after you’ve actually seen the sunrise at Masada that day – otherwise it would feel you hadn’t earned it 😉

12. Washing Machine

Yes – they have one. OK you have to pay for it – but remember back in the day even Jesus and Moses had to use their hands to wash their clothes. Put your money in and press the button and leave the machine to do it. Dryers too of course.

13. Luggage Storage

After check out you can store your luggage here and in a safe room.

14. Central Location

Just a minute walk from the tram stop and not too far to walk from the main train station, plus its on a prominent corner so you can’t miss it. Also it’s close to the Mahane Yehuda Market.

15. Big Rooms

As well as being squeaky clean, the rooms are spacious and cosy! We had a double room with an ensuite and a kitchen area.

16. The “Lazy Dorm”

The lounge on the first floor of the Abraham Hostel has a “lazy dorm” – perfect place to chill out and relax if you’re too knackered to make it to your room!

17. Hostel Activities

Abraham Hostel has a load of activities. There is something different on every night and day so there is an endless list of things to do.

18. Food Nights

As I mentioned there is a massive kitchen – the best times to be in and around the kitchen are on food nights. We enjoyed Shakshuka for lunch one day with Or the Head Chef and Ben from Tourist Israel. We also had an amazing dinner on the Friday night which was the Shabbat Dinner. A real feast, see photo below! You can already see my post on Hummus in Akko and the tour of Mahaneh Yehuda Market.

19. Rooftop Balcony

In summer months, the rooftop balcony is the place to chill out, relax and watch the sunset with a view over Jerusalem.

20. Awesome Quotes Everywhere

As an added bonus and to keep all their customers happy, the Abraham Hostel have all these cool quotes everywhere around the hostel. I LOVED the “Stop Working, Start Travelling” quote – inspiring.

So that’s my take on this cool place – Abraham Hostel. I initially was only going to stay a few nights, but I was in love with the place so I stayed 6 days in the end, did a load of tours with them and thoroughly enjoyed it. Easily the best hostel in Israel and probably sneaks into my top 5 hostels of all time. I can’t big the place up enough! If you’re ever heading to Jerusalem, make sure you stay here!