Bunkie Hostel

The room was tiny, though the beds were comfortable, and the location is handy: about a 15-minute walk to the historic centre and 10 minutes to the bus station. The problems added up over our three days. Bathrooms weren’t cleaned or restocked, and the food common area often smelled of sewerage and allowed indoor smoking. Laundry took ages, and somehow all our socks came back sewn together. Breakfast was minimal, and the staff serving it were quite rude. Guests could also have loud conversations outside your room at 1am with no policy against it. I’ve stayed in worse hostels, but this one needs a lot of improvement.

The staff are nice, and the rooftop terrace is cool. Rooms and common areas are in good shape and the place feels really nice overall. Beds are on the soft side, but the blankets are awesome. WiFi works well except during busy hours, and breakfast is basic. Beer costs 32 bob for two bottles.

The place is clean and well kept, and the friendly staff make it easy to use the travel agent and bar/restaurant on site. At 49 Bs, it’s a fair price for the city, and I still enjoyed my stay. A few things got in the way: the shower swings between scalding and freezing, WiFi is unreliable, and the upstairs floorboards are incredibly loud. The night before my death road trip, a loud family in the dorm talked for much of the night.

The staff were lovely, and the location is decent for getting around to tourist activities. Still, you pay a lot for what you get. The common-area furniture looks like it was rescued from a street corner, and even after I asked for a quiet room it was extremely loud. I could hear bar music, pipes, and even the next room’s snoring through the thin walls. During all three days of cold, rainy-season weather, the hot water worked only once, which made the dreary, cold war-like feel of the place even worse.