Hostel Portici Fabric Club, hostel and club in Portici
Hostel Portici Fabric Club is a hostel with a garden, a bar and a venue for parties in central Portici, Campania, a few kilometres from Ercolano and Naples. It suits budget travellers who don't want a quiet night, but cleanliness reviews are mixed and worth reading before you book.
Written by Valeria Romano
Published
Mapiola is a travel blog: this is not the official website of Hostel Portici.
Where Hostel Portici Fabric Club is and how to get there
Hostel Portici Fabric Club is at Via Francesco Bellucci Sessa 22, in central Portici, in the province of Naples. Its strongest point is the location, as you are between Vesuvius and the city.
According to the description, the Herculaneum excavations are 1.5 km away, while central Naples, the Maschio Angioino and the Teatro San Carlo are within about 10 km. Naples Capodichino Airport is 11 km away. These distances are useful if you arrive by plane and want to spend little on a bed.
What the hostel is like and what it offers
It is a hostel with the feel of a venue. It has a landscaped garden, a lively bar and common areas designed for socialising, with billiards and table tennis. Wifi is free throughout the building, and bike rental is a way to explore the Vesuvian coast.
Reviews mention private rooms, some with a private bathroom and others with shared bathrooms, and a shared kitchen. The property is entirely non-smoking. The name already tells you that the Fabric Club is inside, so don't expect the atmosphere of a quiet hostel.
What guests like
Google gives it 3.9 out of 5 from 374 reviews, a score that hides two very different worlds. Many positive comments are about parties and events, others about the stay itself.
- The parties. Several guests describe birthdays, eighteenth parties and evenings with live music and DJs, with good food and attentive staff.
- The staff. The word kindness comes up again, both for those organising an event and for those sleeping there.
- The location. One positive review calls it convenient for reaching the main sights.
- Rooms and bathrooms. A review from a few years ago speaks of spacious, clean rooms and very fresh shared bathrooms.
The criticism you should not ignore
I won't skirt around the problem here. Some negative reviews, written a couple of years ago or more, are serious. Several guests mention bed bugs found in the room, and poor cleaning, with sheets and towels changed only with difficulty.
Others talk about dirty bathrooms, hot water that was sometimes missing, and a reception that is not staffed all day, making it hard to reach the team. I don't know whether any of this has been fixed, and I won't tell you either way. If you book, I suggest writing first, asking how they handle cleaning and reading the most recent reviews.
| What works | What may worry you |
|---|---|
| Central location, close to Ercolano and Naples | Reports of bed bugs and poor cleaning |
| Friendly staff, well-run events | Reception not always staffed |
| Garden, bar, billiards and table tennis | A venue atmosphere, not ideal for anyone seeking quiet |
Who it suits
I see it suiting people travelling on a tight budget, who enjoy a young atmosphere and want to be near Ercolano, Naples and Vesuvius. For them, the bar and the garden are an advantage.
I wouldn't recommend it to light sleepers, families with small children, or anyone who doesn't want to risk the cleanliness. In a building with a club inside, it's easy to imagine some noise on party nights, although the reviews don't say so.
What to do in Portici and nearby
From Portici the Herculaneum excavations are very close, and Naples is near enough for a day in the city. The description also mentions trips to Vesuvius and the Vesuvian coast, which you can explore on a bike rented at the hostel.
If you prefer another base in Campania, Mapiola also has the B&B Aminei Metrò in Naples, the Abalon Pompei Resort in Pompei and the B&B L'angolo di campagna in Piano di Sorrento. I can only give you the name and town, so for the rest, check their pages.
Passionate about travel and about the kind of places that turn a getaway into something unforgettable. I love writing about hotels, country houses and charming hideaways, helping every traveller find the perfect place to rest and feel at home.
