The Circle Hostel, La Union

This is a really late post. Last February, I got to visit La Union for the second time. The first time was with the Warriors back in 2007.  This time I went with a different bunch of my frisbee teammates to play ultimate and have some fun under the sun. Carpet Head had a thing during that weekend so that was actually the first time I went out of town for frisbee without him. Pretty exciting stuff. Hah. Actually, I wanted to go because the poster said a lot of pretty cool bands would be playing at the party. That turned out to be a faker because none of those bands showed up. Apparently, there was some sort of misunderstanding or what not and it was a different set of performers who went onstage. No biggie though, we still had fun.

Anyway, what I really wanted to write about was the place we stayed at, The Circle Hostel. La Union is a surfing destination and budget hostels abound in the area. The Circle is a pretty laidback place and quite affordable, about 350 bucks for a hammock and 450 for a bunk bed (that’s in pesos, my friend). Since there was a tournament during that weekend, the place was almost booked when our friend got in touch with them. We ended up in hammocks instead of bunk beds. Whattanadventure, right? Haha.

We arrived in La Union in the wee hours of the morning and there was nobody awake at the hostel when we got there. The gate was open though and there was a sign that told people to just wait for the reception to open. So we did. We hung around at one of the common areas where the lockers were (on the right side in the photo below) until the sun came up and the hostel folks were up.

Every possible surface is filled with art work. In fact, you can ask for paint and find a space to add yours. Pretty cool, huh? Here are a couple of my favorites: “Love, Live, Enjoy” and “Live the life you love.” That’s some pretty deep stuff right there. Hah. There are plenty more and some are pretty artistic, some are simple, some are crude, but they are all little pieces of awesome and they make the place homey and very chillax.

Below is a photo taken from the common area located above the lockers (see first photo). It’s not clear in the image but the hammocks are there in the middle of the photo, they’re right below the structure in the middle. They’re quite comfortable once you settle in, but they may not be for everyone since you can end up with an aching back if you’re more used to sleeping on a flat surface. You’ll also need a jacket, a blanket or – my personal favorite – a malong since it can get pretty cold at night and your back will get the brunt of it.

The Circle also has a hostel in Zambales, so you may want to check that out if ever you’re heading that way. Check out more photos of the one in La Union below.

Ever been to any of The Circle Hostels? How was your experience?