Hostel Internacional El Balcon

We left feeling angry, scammed, and thrown out. Marcos, the owner's son, recruited us by saying we'd have a private room, bathroom, and kitchen, but then they treated us horribly. The kitchen wasn't available, and the double room wasn't private as promised. We couldn't shower when we needed to because they set specific hours to save gas. The owner wanted to charge me 2,000 pesos to heat water for my mate, so I spent two hours awake trying to find somewhere to warm it while everyone else slept. I greeted her respectfully in the morning, but she was rude and said, "Everything here is charged for." When they bring in clients, they need to be clear about these things. I'd rather stay at a campsite than be treated like an animal or just a number. The service was awful. October 2025

We only came for dinner, not an overnight stay, so this is about the food. The terrace was calm, pleasant, and comfortable, and they were pet-friendly, which was a big plus for us. Service was excellent, and the food was delicious: empanadas to start, then roast beef with vegetables. The Gata Flora wine was very good, a Cafayate classic. Prices were reasonable. We had an excellent time, thank you!

You arrive to a grumpy bald guy putting on a tough act, then somehow leave as his friend. That's the best thing about this hostel. I've attached a video of that character.

The place is nice and the terrace is lovely, but our stay went badly. We saw the woman who works there snooping around our room and looking through our things. She then kicked us out before checkout and said we couldn't use the kitchen anymore, even though all we wanted was to heat some water.