HaBari, dog friendly hostel in Bari

 

HaBari in Swahili means “hello, how are you?”. But in Bari it is the name of a hostel, born in 2020 from the idea ofRoberta Caggese, Silvia De Facendis and Claudia Vizioli, inside an apartment in the center of the Apulian capital, in a neighborhood that already in its name, Libertà, recalls to mind an ideal place to express oneself and act without cultural constraints and limits.

 

HaBari We Dorm in Libertà District

Claudia and Silvia are currently in charge of HaBari’s guests, who are increasingly numerous and come from all over the world. But the debut was not easy because, as Claudia told us in our long chat at the reception located in the entrance of what was once Silvia’s grandparents’ house, the structure was completed just before the closures imposed by the pandemic. In November 2019 they participated in the Pin call which they won in February 2020, establishing the company on March 5th: on the 9th Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the lockdown and the whole of Italy stopped.

But the girls did not give up and began to host by strictly respecting the protocols relating to cleaning and distancing, but above all by employing men and women in difficulty. In fact, HaBari is not a hostel like the others. Among the intentions of the creators were immediately to give the possibility of sustainable, slow and conscious tourism to the traveler, but also to offer permanent and adequately paid work to people who have difficulty accessing it, such as single mothers or immigrants.

Furthermore, both Silvia and Claudia come from active social sectors, having worked for an association that deals with minors before dedicating themselves completely to their “creature” in Calefati Street. Silvia studied and worked abroad for twelve years and lived in Africa. Claudia has also always traveled and for both of them the accommodation option has always been the hostel, a situation that allows you to meet many people of different cultures and languages.

So, when they thought of giving life back to the empty and abandoned house for a while, there was no need to think much: the idea of opening one was immediate. A colored plaque near the intercom made us immediately understand that the door was the right one. Then a large and elegant marble entrance leads to the stairs and elevators. HaBari is located on the second floor and when you cross the threshold you enter another dimension: colored walls and doors, old recovered repainted, large geographical maps on the walls recovered from schools across the province and a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

On the right, the reception with the desk replaced by two trunks one on top of the other which immediately bring back the concept of travel and in front a blackboard on which the “We dorm” phrase stands out which summarizes the concept both read in English and in the Bari style.

You can breathe the air of home from the first impact but at the same time you travel between the continents that give their names to the two dormitories and the private room with small terrace and bathroom.

In the Asia and Latin America dormitories overlooking the long balcony, there are respectively 2 bunk beds with 4 beds and 4 bunk beds for a total of 8 beds each equipped with a locker, electrical socket, USB and personal light. We spent the night in the Africa room, a sort of apartment within the apartment, with a double bed or 2 single beds and also the possibility of adding a third bed, with private bathroom and veranda for exclusive use with table and chairs.

And with the added value of being able to bring your four-legged friend with you because HaBari is a low-cost, ethical, responsible and dog-friendly hostel! Otto enjoyed the large spaces of the room, but was also able to follow us into the common spaces of the kitchen and the bright veranda where you can eat, relax or work.

And also chat to get to know each other better: during our stay we met Lara, a Belgian physical education teacher who is passionate about languages in Bari to learn Italian, and Eva, a very good violinist who from the Czech Republic has chosen the Apulian capital as her destination for the last three years always staying at HaBari which she now considers home.

In the morning, after breakfast which everyone can prepare themselves but which can also be provided on request in personal and individual portions as well as towels, we met Yalow, an Ethiopian shepherd who is Habari’s housekeeper during the week while on Sunday follows its community, and the receptionist Bojana, a single Montenegrin mother: both boast perfect Italian and are completely integrated into the reality of Bari.

The happiest? Our Otto who captured everyone’s attention and caresses!
But even Michele and I, who had never before had the experience of spending a night in a hostel, returned home happy to have tried it. And above all we changed our minds about the fact that we were now out of time to choose a structure that we trivially thought was only for young backpackers with little budget available.
HaBari also changed our mind about the fact that hostels are only for singles: the Africa private room guarantees privacy for a couple, allows friends with queues to stay overnight and at the same time offers all the advantages of staying in a sociable place, modern, unique and affordable!

In short, hostels are no longer just for young people and thank goodness because otherwise we would have missed out on this unique experience which left us with the desire to try it again soon by combining it with one of the many initiatives proposed by HaBari, by Tou.Play, which brings around the city to discover realities that are difficult to discover for those who do the classic tour of Bari, like meeting a Nigerian seamstress in her shop. Or Retake for experiences related to the environment, In itinere with the cammino materano, Orto Circuito in Gargasole park.

HaBari We Dorm
Via Alessandro Maria Calefati 249 – Bari
Info: +39 327 4235052 – +39 080 8170525
www.habarihostel.com – info@habarihostel.com