F&F Hostel

The staff were really friendly and even tried to move us to another room. They were accommodating, and we only paid for the one night we stayed, even though we had booked three. But the double room with bathroom wasn't worth $50, and for the prices charged at other hostels I'd have expected better. There were no towels or toilet paper, which was hard to deal with when I only found out after going to the toilet. The bathroom was old and poorly maintained, with stains everywhere. Our towels and the bedspread were stained too, and the door lock broke. On our departure day, she had to break it open so we could get our things. Nobody spoke even a little English, which made things harder. The wifi was unreliable, sometimes stable and sometimes not.

The common areas were fairly nice, though most of the furniture had 10mm nails sticking out. The rooms cost an insane amount, enough to get a nice hotel for the same price. I wouldn't stay here again even for a free bed, and I'd tell anyone who wants a clean, quiet, livable place to avoid it. The staff were extremely rude and didn't try to help with problems. You could book a bed in a room, arrive, and be told you'd be sleeping somewhere else, in a wooden shed at the bottom of a garden. There was maintenance work too, so at 9am you'd be woken by saws, hammers, and drills. The main hostel rooms had no air conditioning and were boiling by about 8am. I also found it suspicious that people who weren't happy had their Hostelworld reservations cancelled, apparently to stop them leaving bad reviews. The excellent ratings seemed questionable, as did the fact that some reviewers had only stayed in one place.

The location is great and the price is fair, but the place needs more maintenance. Our bathroom door got stuck on the floor and made a loud noise each time, and it wouldn't shut unless we hit it hard. The sheets smelled of bleach. Reception was okay, but at checkout they had no change, and paying by credit card was almost impossible.

They let us check in early, which was kind since we'd been sleeping on their deck. Still, three stars feels about right for this hostel. In the dorm for six, which was basically a shed, there were only three plugs for everyone and no ladders to reach the top bunks. Mosquitoes were everywhere. We had to use bug repellent for the first time anywhere, and still got bitten all over our scalps and under our clothes. The bathrooms were awkward too. One type had small showers and a door that didn't close properly, so someone could see you naked. The other showers shared an open area with the sink and toilet, with no curtain, so you could get the whole bathroom wet. The sink handles were very stiff, toilet seats stuck together easily, and there was nowhere to put your things while showering. Noise went on until around 11pm, and you could hear every step from the room above, so getting up early for plans the next day was dreadful. The people at reception also seemed to socialize only with guests who spoke Spanish.