Giramundo Hostel Purmamarca

This hostel was in poor shape. Several toilets were out of order, and the ones still available stayed extremely dirty through the afternoon, evening, and into the next morning. They hadn’t been cleaned at all. It was also the only hostel or hotel in Argentina that refused to apply the 21% IVA exemption for foreign guests. They tried to add another 15% for paying with an international card, which is not legal, so we paid cash. The place needs a lot of maintenance and improvement, and much better management.

The big, well-equipped kitchen was the one real plus. The rooms were reasonably okay, but the bathrooms kept running out of paper towels and toilet paper. Breakfast fell far short of what we expected: a few pieces of hard bread, oranges, a little jam, and dulce de leche. Not worth the price.

You can hear everything through the room walls, with no noise insulation at all. Drunk 50 year olds played loud music in the patio all night, so it was impossible to sleep, and the hostel did nothing about it. Such a pity, because the place itself is quite decent.

The kitchen is big, nicely equipped, and convenient. The rooms are average, and the bathrooms could be cleaner. Breakfast was nothing special, just some fruit, bread, and coffee, and the staff were alright. For what you get, it’s way too expensive.