Hostel Matilda

I only booked a couple of nights, but wound up staying for a week. This cute little hostel, with its patio right beside lively Largo da Ordem, felt like home. A special thanks to the amazing volunteers there! The beds were comfortable, the dorms were small, and the facilities were great and clean.

The place felt new and clean, and the staff were friendly, helpful, and spoke English well. Free coffee and decent cooking facilities were handy. The downtown location worked well, though the dorm was cramped; the mattresses and sheets were very clean. The big downside was the awful loud music guests had to listen to during the day. Breakfast wasn't included.

I ended up looking for somewhere else to stay in the middle of the night after a frustrating booking dispute. They didn't offer me a ride to the new place, and Booking.com didn't help either. I asked for a refund, which they first resisted, saying they were authorized to return my money, but eventually they did refund it. The original problem was that I booked a quadruple room on Booking.com with the “only private rooms” option selected. At the hostel, I was told I'd booked just one bed in a shared quadruple room. They had the whole room available, and I felt good service would have meant honoring my booking by giving it to me for private use. There were other payment issues too. The price was 69 reals, but they tried to charge 72, then said it was a mistake. Booking.com said 50% was due in advance, while the hostel asked me to pay the full booking amount on arrival. I also object to their reply to this review, which refers to “disrespect or aggressive behaviours.” Please explain that with specific facts. There was no disrespectful or aggressive behavior, and making an accusation without facts is defamation. To me, this is another example of their dishonesty.

The shared area was good and the hostel itself was great. Staff were friendly, though they weren't much help. There were a lot of rules: you couldn't use the shared kitchen before 10am, and outside drinks weren't allowed.