Manaus Jungle Hostel

The hotel is close to a public square with a few restaurants, and we knew the rooms were basic. But the staff seemed not to care about guests' needs or concerns, and the place shouldn't be open to the public. Our balcony door wouldn't lock, the bathroom tap kept running, and there was a puddle of water under the bed with no explanation.

The room had a smart TV the first time, but in the second room the TV wasn't smart and its remote didn't work. The lobby looks nice, though the plants are fake. I also handed in laundry and got one shirt back short. I didn't try to recover it because the service had already been so poor. Reception staff didn't speak even a little English. Usually I wouldn't expect that in Brazil, but lots of people on the street were selling tours in English, so clearly some people in Manaus do speak it. The hotel management just doesn't seem to think it matters in a city full of tourists. My dad and I stayed twice, three nights each time, with a two-night break in between. We'd prepaid, so we couldn't change our booking midway. This is not a five-star hotel, despite the phrase “you get what you pay for.” It cost me $60 a night, but I've stayed in cheaper places with much better basics. There were problems in both rooms. Neither had blankets, just a thin sheet, and sometimes reception didn't have enough when we asked. The first room had no toilet paper or bidet or water spray. When I asked someone from housekeeping, she was standing beside the toilet paper but told me to go to reception. Someone eventually brought it up. After two nights, the toilet in that room stopped flushing. The toilet in the second room leaked when flushed. There was no hot water in either room, only water that wasn't freezing. After a shower, the shower would keep dripping and making noise all night. Turning the knob with all my strength slowed it down, but didn't stop it. The old shower also sprayed inconsistently. The building is visibly old, and on a rainy day the ceiling dripped on the top floor where the pool is. One day I asked to have coffee brought to the room, but room service said they could only do that after the restaurant opened at 6:30 PM. Another time I bought coffee and was charged as much for the milk as for the coffee, so adding milk doubled the cost. I paid, and the man had mistakenly charged me 2 Reals too little. He came back to my room to collect the 2 Reals, about 34 cents. Management should have trained staff not to trouble a guest over that amount when the mistake was theirs. The lobby is pleasant, but it seems the owners and senior managers aren't present. I blame them, not the staff. It feels like they're keeping the hotel going on the bare minimum, and the employees don't seem happy. They could perhaps close off the upper floors, charge a little more per room, and fix these problems. We got by, but we definitely wouldn't stay again. You can see the photos I'm sharing.

In its heyday, this must have been a very luxurious place. Some parts now look dated and could use maintenance, but it's still a nice hotel in a good location and a good place to spend the night in Manaus.

For the price, this place is a great buy. It's in a very attractive location, with breakfast included, a huge room, clean sheets and towels, and no bugs. We even got hot water in the shower sometimes. The hotel is very old, and almost nothing seems to work anymore, including some elevator buttons. Our air conditioning struggled to cool the room despite running constantly on full, so it stayed a little too warm. We only had two tiny pillows. The receptionist said he'd bring us two more when we asked, but they never showed up.