Rodinia Hostel — Hotel in Municipio de San Carlos de Bariloche

We booked 5 nights in this hostel and as soon as I checked in I regretted it. I knew booking the hostel that it would be “cheap and cheerful” and not luxurious, but I still expected more. It was rated 9.4/10 on Hostel World so I was hopeful that it was worth staying in. ||Positives: |I was able to book via WhatsApp and did not have to pay in advance. This suited us because I wanted to pay in cash. I had found several hotels and hostels on booking.com that looked much fancier for a similar price but they all required an online deposit so Rodinia suited best financially. ||It is in a great location, minutes from Western Union, bus stops, bars and restaurants.||The staff are friendly, not as helpful as staff in other hostels but nice people.||Negatives: |The bedroom we booked was a 6 bed dorm. The beds were extremely close together. I have never been in a more compact dorm room. My boyfriend, a slim man, could barely fit between our two bunk beds. See photo attached. When we arrived the other three people in our room had their bags in piles on the floor so we were struggling to get around the tiny room with bags everywhere. There are decent sized lockers which they could have used but the room is still too small.||The bedroom had an en-suite bathroom. 4/5 of my showers in this hostel were cold. I tried the shower downstairs also which was also cold. The bathroom floor was often dirty. They were cleaning staff in the room every day but once a few people had showered the bathroom was dirty again. The water leaked out of the shower so there were often puddles of water on the floor and the puddles mixed with peoples shoes meant dirty floors.||I tried to rent a towel as mine needed a wash and was told that the hostel didn’t have any. Some other hostels in Argentina have supplied free towels so not even being able to pay to rent a towel is very unusual. ||The breakfast is just coffee, bits of a baguette, jam and dulce de leche. It was not filling and not good quality food, not ideal if you’re going on a big hike for the day. ||The common area has tables with benches and two arm chairs. More arm chairs or a couch could be nice but it’s not too bad. ||There is a good atmosphere in the hostel. I didn’t meet anyone there as I didn’t find the hostel appealing to spend time in. But there was always people hanging out, cooking, playing music and there was even a tattoo artist one day. ||The dorms cost 2300 per night, so not expensive but you can find much nicer rooms for a similar price. I was in a group of three and could have booked a triple toon in a hotel for less pesos per person. ||I would not recommend staying in Rodinia. The location is great and the price is fine but there are better options...

The hostel is a couple of km from the bus terminal. We took a taxi and it cost about 80 pesos max (£4/$5 US). It was close to the hub of the town, were you were able to book tours, head out for dinner or find the bars. There was a supermarket just round the corner. A little expensive for what it was but it was high season. You could bring your own alcohol in. The kitchen shuts at 12 along with the main common room which I found weird as it has a 24 hour reception and they just put the chairs up as though it is closing time at the bar. The beds were comfortable and the showers warm. There was a nice little garden with some hammocks to chill. There's a lack of plugs across the whole hostel and if you do find them, they're in the most ridiculous of places. My favourite was in the common area with half the plug behind a brick. Have a look for it. The wifi is very temperamental. Staff didn't speak much English but spoke French and Spanish, mainly French. Cash only hostel so don't expect to use your card. Even if it is 2017. They also lacked a printer when we asked to use one which is...

We stayed for 3 nights and regretted the decision as we then couldn't leave after the first night. |The staff are young travellers/Argentinians that lounge around all day in the communal area and use all the facilities. We went to the desk on 3 occasions and no one was there to help us. It seemed more like a house for them than a hostel for guests.|The cleaning was also done by them and I would not call it clean. Our bedroom was never swept or mopped once, it was filthy. The kitchen was disgusting, pots were dirty and food left everywhere. The bathroom stunk, mould all over the ceiling and the shower curtain is so old and rotten that you'd rather not shower altogether. The whole place needs completely blitzing.|They have the heating on in the day when it's 30° and there are no power sockets in the bedroom we stayed in.|Also seems to be a place full of stoners. Stunk of smoke every night, we didn't feel comfortable sitting in the communal area. |Would definitely...