Seagulls Garret Hostel – at the Seashore + Secret Terrace in Riga downtown

Important UPDATE: This hostel has changed its name to Wicked Weasel Hostel and the new owners gave it an awesome make over.

****

What better way to wake up than in a beautiful European city with the sound of seagulls flying overhead? It can only get better if you’re sleeping in an incredibly cool place – and if you’re staying at the Seagulls Garret Hostel, you’ll be in luck! This homey-feeling hostel is in the heart of Riga, Latvia. You’ll find it tucked in the old city center between intricate Art Nouveau buildings.

The infobox on Seagulls Garret Hostel ⭐

Important UPDATE: This hostel is permanently closed. You can find the best hostels in Riga here.

As always, we at Hostelgeeks have taken a close look to make sure this hostel fits all 5 of our criteria. This includes sustainability, design, uniqueness, social character, and top-rated staff.

You can find all official 5 Star Hostels with us at Hostelgeeks.

The Seagulls Garret Hostel in review

Now, Seagulls Garret Hostel in Riga proudly joins all these great hostels as a 5 Star Hostel.

Let’s walk into the house and check out why Seagulls Garret Hostel deserves the 5 Star Hostel Award. Ready? Then let’s start.

1. Keeping it really local

We’re all about having a true local experience here at Hostelgeeks.

And so are the owners of the Seagulls Garret Hostel.

The whole place is run and managed by locals. Even the tours and businesses that the hostel partners with are local.

Want to find out about a cool tour?

They’ll put you in touch with a great local tour provider.

Looking for a nice place to eat?

The reception staff will be happy to direct you to the best restaurants and cafés with tasty local food and large selection of Latvian draft beers.

Trying to get a discount to save some cash?

Just ask!

Trying to get a discount to save some cash?

Just ask, and they’ll hook you up with their favorite local businesses to get you a sweet deal.

They’ll be able to refer you to everything from a walking or bike tour to a pub crawl to a shooting tour where you can unleash your inner cowboy.

Also, important to mention: Seagulls Garret Hostel is a very bike-friendly hostel.

You can rent your bike directly at Seagulls Garret Hostel, plus they have in-house parking.

Seagulls Garret Hostel offers a wide range of group activities such as:

• Paintball tour
• Riding a bobsled (Latvia is really proud of their Olympic bobsled team)
• Shooting tours
• City quests
• Escape room quests (check out our review of an awesome Escape Room in Prague)
• Bungee jumping
• Excursions to the seaside
• And many more….

You can get more information directly with Seagulls Garret Hostel.

We recommend to check with them directly and preorder the tours via email. The team of Seagulls Garret Hostel usually replies very quickly!

Here’s a handy guide to a weekend in Riga for even more ways to spend your time in the city.

Even the drinks served at this bar are local.

They’ve got cider, six sorts of beer, and Riga’s very own Black Balsam, a traditional drink from the country.

Right in front of the hostel, they have a small hostel for street cats. Pretty cute!

2. At the seashore

You’ll feel like you are right on the beach with the relaxed vibe of Seagulls Garret Hostel.

The color palette of blue, gray, and white with a touch of orange hints at the seaside inspiration behind this hostel – which only becomes more noticeable as you hear the seagulls gently flying over the city in the background as you’re seated on the hidden terrace.

And the hostel design?

On the walls and ceiling there are traces of seagulls footprints to guide you around.

The buoy from the ship hung on the wall is named in honor of the mysterious island of Palmyra from the Bermuda Triangle.

The owners themselves are the people who designed the decor.

In addition to using the beach as their jumping-off point, they also decided they wanted to reuse and upcycle as much as possible.

The coolest example of this reusing is the fresco you can find in the bathroom for the female dorm (and yes, they have a female-only dorm).

The fresco is actually over 200 years old!

The owners uncovered it during the renovation process, and decided it was worth keeping around.

Seagulls Garret Hostel also has some furniture that they found and renovated.

This is called upcycling design.

A huge table and historical temple gates featuring Ganesga from India is a part of a common area decoration.

It gives the common area the spirit of travel…and is really cool to see!

Recently, Seagulls Garret acquired the house next door and made it part of the hostel. You’ll know you’re in this section when you notice the cozy wooden bunk beds.

3. Secret Terrace

A terrace is a very uncommon sight in Riga.

You’ll find one of the city’s best hidden inside this hostel.

It’s right next to the common room and kitchen, making it the ideal spot for a kickback session when the weather is good. Here, you’ll find barbecues and themed dinner parties featuring dishes from all over the world, from Argentina to Italy.

If you’re especially lucky, there will also be a DJ spinning tunes in the background.

4. No shortage of social space

The terrace isn’t all as far as social spaces go at Seagulls Garret.

There’s no shortage of places to socialize at this hostel.

There’s also a common room where you can relax on the couches.

You can watch movies on the projector, or gather around a large table for dinner and share impressions.

At Seagulls Garret Hostel you will also find a table hockey area, and a chill room with PlayStation and musical instruments.

Are you a drummer?

Do you play the accordion or guitar? This is your chance to impress your fellow travel mates. The Seagulls Garret Hostel also has an in-house bar.

You can get tea and coffee for free.

Of course, you can also order beer, wine, champagne, and mixed drinks if that’s more up your alley. Just ask the staff for their favorite drinks from Riga and give it a shot. Also interesting, the Seagulls Garret Hostel is LGBT friendly!

The social areas all have their own distinct feel but come together with a matching style.

The other thing they all have in common is that the staff are always on hand to make sure you’re having a fantastic time there.

And hey, speaking of staff…

5. Staff that Goes the Extra Mile

Sure, it’s a cliché – but when it comes to this accommodation, it’s also true!

The Seagulls Garret Team here really does put their best effort in to make sure that their guests have the best experience possible.

The guys prefer to call the staff “Seagulls Garret team”.

People who don’t share the positive spirit of the team and hostel usually don’t stay on the team for a long time. But the ones who do stay, stay for a lifetime.

Wherever life takes people, they always come back to Seagulls Garret.

The owners know that their team is the face of the hostel, and they make sure that their team know how to properly welcome and say goodbye to their guests.

And in between, they ensure that the guests have a fantastic time.

However, the team and hostel are constantly developing and improving themselves.

So leave your feedback, they’ll appreciate it, as they’re always keen to improve.

They’re a crucial part of creating the welcoming atmosphere at the hostel, and will hang out with guests at events and in common areas and give them their top recommendations for things to do in the city.

You just have to look at the ratings and comments on major hostel booking platforms to see that this is true.

And now, check out the lively team with this fun idea to introduce you to the people behind the hostel.

****

Important UPDATE: This hostel is permanently closed. You can find the best hostels in Riga here.

****