Hostel Mundo Joven Catedral

The staff were professional and attentive, and I had a great experience here. It’s affordable, in a prime location, and there are plenty of activities nearby as well as ones offered by the hostel. Book a free walking tour with Danny, he’s knowledgeable and has a great vibe. I’d definitely come back on my next vacation.

Helpful staff, a decent included breakfast, and a nice terrace view were the good parts, and the hostel itself is decent. But the stove is basically unusable, which is a real problem if you're traveling on a budget and planned to cook here. The dorms that face the zocalo are very noisy, even with the windows shut.

The service was disgraceful. We had booked and paid a deposit for two private rooms through Hostelworld the day before arriving, because my travel companion is a male friend and we wanted separate rooms. At reception, we were told there had been a mistake and the hostel only had one private room. Our options were to share it as three people or take a dorm room as well. We chose the dorm for privacy, but were surprised to be charged the same price. The dorm we were first sent to already had three other people in it. They moved us to another supposedly empty dorm, but it smelled so awful we nearly felt sick. The private room smelled too, though nowhere near as bad. It was small and old, and we felt it was nowhere near worth the money. With many other hotels and hostels fully booked, we stayed there anyway. We raised our complaints at reception. They said the smell was a general problem in the square, and that the booking mistake was Hostelworld's fault. The receptionist said they couldn't issue a refund, the person responsible would not be back for two days, and we could not call them. We were told to email the hostel's general address and hope the money would be returned within two weeks. We spent about two hours at the desk trying, in our best Spanish, to sort this out because the gentleman there didn't speak English. Then we had to spend our own time and energy writing and sending the email too. We were absolutely unhappy with the room and the service.

The location and service are hard to beat, close to the cathedral and the historic center of mexico. For the price, it's a great stay, though I'd give the rooms 4/5 because some mixed dorms don't have bed curtains. There are also activities for solo travelers. I happened to check in on the last wednesday of the month, which is night of the museums in CDMX. The hostel arranged a guide, Lu, who did a great job bringing everyone together, making us feel welcome to CDMX, showing us the participating museums, and sharing her passion for life in Mexico. Ask her where to find the best tacos in town. You won't be let down!