Not your average Lokal

Lokal Hostel puts itself on the backpacker’s map by going beyond the basics.

MANILA, Philippines - When a foreign traveler — or the occasional curious local — finds himself in P. Burgos, Makati, more often than not it’s to check out the overabundance of bars with names like G-Strip, Dimples, or Wow Wow Wow. But the recently opened Lokal Hostel is giving venturesome tourists new reason to park themselves in the area.

What comes to mind when one thinks of a hostel is usually just the bare essentials — a no-frills, affordable place to sleep that’s hopefully clean and relatively safe. But Lokal has put itself on the backpacker’s map by going beyond the basics. Put up by Drew Licaros and Don Bautista on December 2013, its strong suit is a commitment to local flavor and genuine hospitality.

Converted from a vacant office space, the hostel holds both private and dorm-type rooms equipped with large, comfortable beds and windows with great views of the Makati skyline. They’ve also got free Wi-Fi, free breakfast, and a spacious communal kitchen. Providing a welcome break from the beige walls you’d get in meticulously bleak hotels, Lokal is also brightly decorated with Filipino-themed murals rendered by artist collective Ang Gerilya. Another plus point is the roof deck one floor up, where they hold activities ranging from barbecues to movie nights, and where the owners hope to set up their own bar area in the near future.

Its location also provides easy access to a number of restaurants and shopping malls. Of course, its proximity to what Licaros calls the more “colorful” bars of P. Burgos also factors into Lokal’s identity. Though he makes it a point to mention that their end of P. Burgos is slightly more wholesome in nature — as it’s closer to neighborhood favorites like Handlebar and El Chupacabra than it is to the host of girly bars — the hostel’s press kit also boasts that Lokal is situated right across the midget/lady boxing bar, Ringside. Whether guests decide to visit the bars or not is really out of Lokal’s hands, but they do their best to brief them on safety precautions.

Even with their great amenities, Lokal still manages to deliver when it comes to affordability. With prices ranging from P500 a night for a single bed in a room without air-conditioning to P1,400 for a private, air-conditioned room for two, their rates are definitely backpacker-friendly. Lockers and round-the-clock surveillance also cover any security concerns.

Licaros shares that many of their foreign guests come with negative impressions of the Philippines, and Lokal’s primary goal is to alter that perception. Apart from being armed with travel recommendations, the owners also make it a point to stop by on a daily basis to interact with their guests. The central idea is for the travelers to distance themselves from the tourist experience and instead see the country from a local perspective.

The backpacker hostel industry is a relatively new concept in this country and Lokal Hostel one of its newest players, but they’ve definitely set the ball rolling in the right direction.

Lokal Hostel is located at 3/F, 5023 P. Burgos Street, Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City