Atahualpa Hostel

I spent about three months here, and living there was impossible. The place was overcrowded, with a huge number of people packed into a small space, and the poor conditions didn’t justify the price. There were two refrigerators but only one freezer for more than 30 people. The kitchen hygiene was awful, and there were rats. There was also a hole in the study room ceiling, and the balcony looked like it was about to fall apart. The owner was ill-tempered and acted like a communist, yet during my stay he put two young men out on the street when they had nowhere else to go. I absolutely can’t recommend this place. Look elsewhere if you want to enjoy your time in Buenos Aires.

I’m from Entre Ríos, and I spent six months living at Atahualpa while I was in Buenos Aires. I have such fond memories of the place and my colleagues. I still carry them in my heart.

I was there in 2003 for six months, and the stay was pretty average. The people I met were probably the reason it wasn’t worse. It was messy, the security guard yelled at us, and the kitchen closed at around 11 p.m. and stayed closed until the next day. From reading other people’s comments, the complaints they mention are true, and there’s more too.

The kitchen was much too small for 30 people, the oven was in terrible shape, and the pots had what looked like a century’s worth of grime. The cupboard in my room was mostly broken, and the Internet was awful. While I was staying there, the place was shut down because all the fire extinguishers were expired, there was no emergency exit, and there was a hole in the dining room ceiling. The manager just covered the “closed” sign, lied to inspectors about the total number of guests, and kept quiet about the situation. Nearly 30 of us were staying there, and none of us knew what would happen, so many decided to leave before things got worse. Not recommended at all.