Hostelmo Hotel & Hostel

For £8 a night, I got a clean bed in a single room, security, and a warm communal shower. The hosts were really friendly too. Ask them where to get a drink and they’ll point you to great bars just a short walk away. They gave me four steak options as well. I recommend desnivel for steak and rouge for drinks. A magical two days. I don’t know what people expect for that price, given some of these less glowing reviews.

A bed bug appeared in the single room, room 30. When I told an employee, they gave it a light spray. I know spraying like that can’t wipe them out, and seeing it made me worry they’d keep using the room as it was. I asked to cancel and was given a refund, but there was no apology. He acted as if nothing had happened.

We booked four nights and left after just one. The power went out for at least six hours, taking the Wi-Fi with it, and the connection had barely worked before that. The street-facing window let in car noise and fumes, a baby cried between the door slams, and a door banged every ten minutes through the night. It was finally enough to make us leave. The rooms and sheets were dirty. The shower is positioned over the sink and toilet, with only cold water, and there was no toilet paper. Wi-Fi doesn’t reach the rooms. It’s loud and dirty, but very cheap. The location is nice, and if everything had been clean, the low price might have been enough. If the bathroom had worked, maybe too. Even quiet would have helped. At $16 USD a night, I suppose it’s not that bad. If you can spend a little more, I’d go literally anywhere else.

The owner was a very, very nice guy. He knew a lot about football and Romania, and got excited talking about both. When I checked out, he insisted on giving me money back. I was sure he didn’t owe me anything: I’d paid too much in American dollars for the first two nights and was due change, but then I stayed an extra night and paid the difference, which included what I was owed. I was in a hurry for the airport, so I took the money anyway. He also stopped a taxi to ask about the fare. The first driver didn’t know, so he let him go, and another appeared seconds later. That driver estimated around 5,000 pesos on the meter depending on time and traffic. My ride cost just over 4,000. If you’re in a real hurry, asking the driver to take the toll may save five minutes or so, for a little extra. That taxi option is a big reason I gave the hostel five stars. There’s a taxi depot or fuel station less than a minute away, and taxis leaving there pass the hostel. I was running late, while Uber and Didi were unavailable or far away, and both had surged to prices higher than the taxis. Uber wasn’t coming even with a 6,000 peso surge to AEP airport. I stopped a taxi and got there right away for under 4,000 pesos on the meter. With that depot nearby, you won’t be left without an airport ride if Uber or Didi is unavailable or too expensive. The location is great and, for me, unbeatable. San Telmo market is within a 15-minute walk, with lots of shops nearby. The shower worked fine and the water was warm to hot. I got a towel, a sealed single-use shampoo sachet, and a small individually wrapped soap, which was a nice touch. There are cupboards and drawers in the room. It had a fan, though I couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. Another traveler managed it, and I noticed it was running in the morning, but I still don’t know how. There’s no lift, and the hostel has several floors, so if you have a lot of luggage, ask the night before for a lower room. Toilet paper was missing from some toilets. I had to take it from other toilets to use one that was working. I’d planned to stay two nights, but the location, price, and acceptable room made me add another. I only met the owner on my last morning. I don’t usually write such a long review, but the helpful, lovely host and a long boring flight gave me the time. The hostel deserves five stars for him and the taxi access.