Casona Yungay - Hostel

The place felt neglected and dirty, with broken furniture and stains across the walls. It looked nothing like the social media photos, and I never felt comfortable there. When we asked the landlord for help, the replies weren’t useful. The internet kept cutting out, but when we asked about restarting the router, we were told it should normally work. I also asked about all-day public transport tickets in Santiago, since I couldn’t find the information online, and was told the landlord only drives and didn’t know. When we asked where else we could hang laundry because the single rack was full, the answer was that we’d have to wait for other guests to finish theirs. On our last day, the landlord sent the standard WhatsApp message asking whether we were satisfied and inviting suggestions privately. That felt like a joke after the stay we’d had, and only added to the impression of an unhelpful host. Keep your eyes open when you look around the accommodation, and maybe bring a whole notebook. The laziness was hard to believe.

The place is in poor shape and needs renovation. It was really dirty, and the other guests often had the shower and toilet tied up when we urgently needed the toilet in the morning. We only found out on the second day that there was another toilet. Cristian, the host, never introduced himself or showed us around the Airbnb, which was a shame and could have helped us avoid that toilet problem. The Wi-Fi went down for several hours at least once a day, possibly when there were lots of guests using it. We couldn’t find the router to restart it, and messages didn’t get helpful replies. It did eventually come back sometime during the day. There was a washing machine, but our questions about how to use it weren’t answered helpfully. The wardrobe for drying clothes was already full of dry laundry.

The house has some charm and looks pretty, but its upkeep is terrible. It was dirty and disorganized, and nothing like the social media pictures. The room hooks and childproof locks don’t give any real security. Most locks are broken, and they rely on backpack padlocks to secure things. There’s no proper security or cleanliness. For this price, I’d look at other options.

The old building has some history to it and lovely high ceilings, but service was almost nonexistent. There was no front desk and nobody seemed to know who to contact. With no place to leave luggage, it’s not a good fit for independent travelers. I was left speechless.