Alcazar Apartments by Host Me Tender

The room and bathroom are super tiny, and the bathroom is awful. It's much worse than the photos suggest, worn down and old, with a funky smell.

The room was much smaller than the photos on the hotel website suggested, and there was a strange smell in the bathroom the whole time. Noise was constant too. The receptionist played a video loudly in the middle of the night, and staff talking in the hallway outside my room often woke me in the morning. The Wi-Fi was so slow that working remotely here wasn’t realistic, and I didn’t meet a single friendly staff member during my stay. After such a terrible experience, I was surprised and very disappointed. I learned from it, though, and I’ll never stay at a hotel like this again. Thank you.

The location is central, and I’d stay here again. It feels safe in the daytime, though vagrants may appear at night, especially around the monument. The hotel is affordable and very clean, and the staff are attentive. My first room was noisy, so they offered to show me four other rooms the next day and let me choose. The rooms are a good size, with comfortable beds and pillows. It can get very hot because ventilation isn’t great and there are no fans or AC; a lower floor might help. Bathrooms can smell because of the shower drainage, so put the included plastic disc back over the drain after showering. I’d also avoid a street-facing room, since it can get loud.

For getting around downtown, this is a handy option, and the place is clean and neat. You get what you pay for: there’s no AC, the bathroom is small and smells funny. The neighborhood is safe, but it’s dirty, with graffiti on many walls. The nearest subway didn’t feel safe, so we used it only once and took cabs instead.