Fodor's Expert Review Bastardo Hostel

Whether you're a solo traveler looking to make friends or a cash-strapped couple (or group of friends) trying to do Madrid on a budget, consider holing up at Bastardo, a designer hostel with communal and private rooms that doubles as a cool-kid hangout. Steps from all the action in Chueca and Malasaña, it has industrial-chic rooms with funky backlighting and exposed brick; upgraded digs add wrap-around balconies.