Faraway Suites - Hostel

Good value for what we paid, and the street is quiet. We had a ground-floor bungalow with one open area, so the shower is in the bedroom. There was no toilet door, which might not work if you want privacy, but we were fine with it.

There’s no kettle, slippers, or toothbrushes, the bed linen wasn’t changed, and the refrigerator didn’t work. During our four-day visit, an old woman slept on the bench at reception, the receptionist slept on the cafe couch, and a man I assume was the owner sat by the entrance with a beer and cigarette. Those three were in the same spots throughout our stay. The room cost $36, including that whole scene.

The hotel itself was okay, with a good location and decent facilities, but the service left a very bad impression. Our key broke as we were simply using it to enter the room, and we were given another one. At checkout, though, we waited around 20 minutes even though we had a flight to catch. Then the staff tried to keep our deposit for the broken key. It wasn’t our fault, since a key used normally shouldn’t break unless it was already damaged. They said a replacement cost $12. When we questioned that, the staff member laughed but still wouldn’t return the deposit. It felt like a way to squeeze extra money out of guests. Very disappointing treatment. I’d avoid this hotel.

I booked through Airbnb and was really disappointed. The room wasn’t clean, and on my last night the staff let a random guest into my room without checking first. I was asleep, heard the door unlock, and when it opened, the guest and staff saw me and shut it again as if they hadn’t realized I was there. I stayed three nights and had plenty of problems before that: a leaking toilet, dust piles under the bed, stained sheets, ants everywhere including in the fridge and bed, dirt on the mattress, and mold slowly growing on its edges. The air conditioning was very loud, and the fan only worked sometimes. There were other issues too. The Airbnb host was extremely rude and wouldn’t help, even after her staff failed to follow basic safety guidelines. I felt very unsafe and worried about leaving my belongings in the room. There was also an old woman in the lobby with a sharp knife beside her in the open area, and I don’t know why. I would suggest not staying here. Do not book this place.