Che Lagarto Hostel Porto de Galinhas

The room was comfortable enough, and I slept well in the private double. It was pretty bare bones, though, with no luxuries and a loose toilet. The place felt a little worn around the edges. Breakfast was simple but enough to get the day started. You get what you pay for.

The location was great, and we really enjoyed the pool. Our dorm had its own attached bathroom, and the air conditioning worked well. Everything was clean, the staff were very nice, and breakfast tasted great.

We booked three nights after the website photos and low price made the place look appealing. I was travelling with my wife and our one-year-old son, and we arrived in the early evening to a room that felt like solitary confinement. Almost everything was broken. The pillow had stains and dead bugs, and the bed was just a half-inch foam mattress with a thin sheet over it. The bathroom was in bad shape, and the TV looked like it was from the early 90s and hadn't been dusted in ages. We asked to move, hoping for something a little better, but were told all the rooms were the same. We left the following day and requested a partial refund under the free refund policy we booked with. They refused. Theo at reception wouldn't even look at me while I spoke to him and brushed off my attempts to sort it out. It's cheap for a reason. Save yourself the time and stress, and pay a bit more. There are plenty of other hostels that are infinitely better than che lagarto.

This was the worst hostel and service we had on the whole trip. We were charged at reception when we checked in, then a few days later my bank card was charged too because we'd booked through booking.com. After I contacted them several times and waited two weeks, they still took no action. I've stayed in about 100 hostels and never had this happen before. They double-charged us and didn't care.