“is this really it? No…really? Are you guys serious? Is this it? I’m not getting out of the car”

-My friends worried statement before being dropped off at the Grandio.

We pull up in the dark of night to a yellow building with bars over the windows. A hanging tin sign in the doorway reads “Grandio Party Hostel”.

As we enter, it seems as though a party is already going on inside. We stumble upon a courtyard, adorned with trees, hanging lights and mismatched furniture. Clothes and people are hanging over the balconies. We look around in confusion, where is the lobby?

A guy approaches, “do you guys need to check in?”

“Yes” we respond, as we follow him through the crowd.

Moments later another man walks over “he doesn’t even work here! follow me”

We follow the second stranger up the stairs into a graffiti filled lobby. A refrigerator reads”no name fair game”. Strange photos and obscenities line the walls. Interesting place, really.

Two months prior when we were looking for a hostel in Budapest, we found Grandio Party Hostel. The description began like this

“You can sleep when you’re dead so DON’T expect to get any sleep here.

Grandio is one of the only true party places on this earth that welcomes alcoholics, lost souls and party people with talent but no direction and audiences. It’s a living, breathing creature that is constantly evolving – the place with a crazy cult following.”

So needless to say, we should have known what we were getting ourselves into.

We are given bracelets which will open the doors to the hostel automatically. Our host makes it clear that if we aren’t okay with sex or people throwing up, we should leave now. My friend becomes scared to death of the dorm rooms, and insists on sleeping with me in my bunk.

Our room has a flaming ad for Jim Beam on the wall… the kind that would make you not want to drink Jim Beam, like ever. Above on the top bunk is a cartoon clown smoking a joint, it reads “Clown Town”.

grandio party hostel: clown town dorm room

There’s no turning back now. The hostel smells of bleach and bodily fluids, depending on the time of day. The common room looks like an abandoned house in North Philly.

Shirt: Forever Pants: TJ Maxx

For several nights we pregame at the courtyard bar, and walk a short distance to experience Budapest nightlife. One night we march as a hostel to the Bath Party. Eventually, we all end up back at the Grandio, having crazy 5AM conversations on the dirty furniture while someone plays guitar.

In the daylight, the Grandio seems friendlier, almost pleasant. The patio serves as a social center, where we eat and drink with strangers and talk about the night prior. The hostel workers blend in, chugging beer and organizing events. We grow to love our crowded room and the constant party outside. We are now on a first name basis with all of the visitors. The past few days is a blur of great food and better company, seeped in alcohol. We get used to the drink, sleep, repeat lifestyle.