Samba Palace Hostel

Pretty good.

The location in Laranjeiras was great, in a calm, upscale part of the south zone. Rua das Laranjeiras is the main street and meets Rua Alice, where lots of bus lines pass. Largo do Machado, with its metro station, is a 15-minute walk. There are plenty of good bars and restaurants nearby, plus a supermarket. At the hostel, I spent six days and was treated well by the friendly, helpful reception team. I had good chats with the staff, and the place was clean, with a social and leisure area and a bar playing music. Breakfast was included and good, and the value for money was the best part: you get what you pay for. I plan to return to Rio and stay at Samba Palace again.

We liked how well located it was, but the welcome was a real letdown for me and my husband. Most of the staff, including the manager, came across as unfriendly and offered no tips about things to see. The exception was a woman on the afternoon cleaning shift, who was very polite to us. One morning, while I was showering in the women’s bathroom, a staff member came in to clean despite hearing the shower running. He didn’t wait for me to come out, and I was startled and nearly seen naked. It was embarrassing. The rooms also didn’t quite match what we saw on the websites. We’ll be back in Rio next year because the city is wonderful, and the taxi drivers treated us very well. But we have no plans to return to Samba Palace Hostel.

The shared area allows smoking, which is unpleasant for people who don’t smoke. There’s no breakfast, prices are high, and the service was awful, including at the snack counter. Guests can only use that service until 11 p.m.; even when they have water, juice, or soda in stock, you can’t buy any, so you have to go out to get it. Sadly, Samba Palace has been run down. I won’t be back.