Carolina Hostel

There were 10 of us sleeping at reception when I arrived at midnight, and I was told to sleep on the floor. No bed, sofa, or blanket was offered. They had overbooked the hostel and hadn’t told anyone, and they didn’t reply to my earlier messages about checking in late. Guests who are still on their way should at least be notified when there’s no space. This is not acceptable.

The place was cheap and the kitchen was passable. There were mostly middle-aged and older men staying there, and many were drinking and smoking. It was pretty unclean, with a feel like a fraternity house for divorcees. The contact person let us check in early at the other location at hostel Carolina, which helped us a lot. Apart from that, he was generally unfriendly and not helpful.

The price is reasonable, the location is central, and I was glad there was a female-only dorm as a solo female traveler. Breakfast was simple but satisfying, eggs, rice, and coffee. The staff were friendly and ready to help. My wallet was stolen, and I ended up staying at the hostel for 2.5 weeks over Christmas and New Year’s. It was a tough time, but the people there helped lift my spirits. It’s comfortable and works well as a temporary place to rest while traveling, though it’s not a 5-star hotel or a party hostel. I’m glad I wound up there during a challenging stretch.

The location felt safe and the free breakfast was good, but those were the only things I liked. We arrived at 8pm, five hours after check-in began, and our room still wasn’t ready. They said to wait five minutes, but we waited 45 before being taken there. Our private room was in another house, a 12-minute walk or five-minute drive away, and that wasn’t mentioned in the booking. The place they took us to looked abandoned inside and had no facilities, so using the kitchen meant walking back to the hostel in the dark. The bathroom wasn’t very clean, and the main kitchen was filthy and short on equipment for the number of guests. In the morning we had to pay for an Uber back to the hostel to get breakfast because walking there with our bags was too far. Absolutely terrible experience.