Brigitte's House

Nola, the owner, is really helpful and accommodating, and made me feel welcome at the homestay. It’s near the river, bars, and Chinatown. I’d absolutely recommend staying here, whether you’re traveling solo or with family. GREAT PLACE TO STAY

There weren’t many tourists around, so there was plenty of space. The beds are large, but the showers weren’t very warm. Brigitte's House is a well-known hostel, though its website didn’t work well for booking. You can contact them by text, but even then our room wasn’t confirmed or ready when we arrived. The desk worker also offered airport transport for 150,000 IDR. He drove fast, and I felt unsafe.

The location is great, and the air conditioning is a plus. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the bathroom was okay. But the room we got was different from the one in the picture, which showed a bigger room with a window and chair. Ours was in another building, which was okay, but they should have mentioned that in the description. People smoked everywhere, even where there were no-smoking signs, and the clean towel we got was full of holes. Prices seemed aimed at tourists to make as much money as possible. Breakfast and day trips were overpriced too. I guess these are common downsides of service in West Sumatra.

They moved my booking from a garden room to a noisy hotel room, and some of my clothes went missing in their expensive laundry. I also found cockroaches. The owner is cool, but the service was bad and they seemed to care more about money than looking after customers.