Buena Vista Hostel — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata de Santa Bárbara - Ouro Preto

On arriving at the hostel I was let in and shown my room.|The end.||No welcome or any info about the town and for close to £40/night (for a private room) it was way overpriced. I could stay in a nice b&b in England for this price. Buena Vista just lacked that hostel feel (the reason I go for hostels in certain destinations)...and the reception had tons of takeout menu's, nothing useful about the town/tours etc. On this occasion a hotel would've been a better choice for me.||The hostel reminded me of a boy's student house, and it appeared to be run by young men - who were very pleasant, but seemed to lack the right skills for running a successful hostel. Much of their time was spent playing computer games in the communal lounge. In fact one member of staff I believed was a guest for days, as he never actually sat at the reception desk? The evening I was leaving he was making out with someone...guest...girlfriend who knows?? But I felt just a little awkward with only 3 of us in the reception area!||In my room there was only 1 plug socket in both room and bathroom - and that was faulty/broken/hanging off the wall and could only be used sideways (meaning i couldn't use my mosquito repellent plug in without it leaking). More annoying as the room had no fan or aircon and lots of gaps for bugs to get in. ||The room just wasn't clean, really unusual for Brasil with a dirty floor, walls etc. I cleaned the bathroom shelf myself before placing anything on it - it was very dirty. Although i had a private room i wore flip flops at all times. There was no soap/shower gel (fortunately I always carry spare). Seriously no soap...? I returned home after my first day to see my room hadn't been touched. The sink was as dirty as when I arrived and the bathroom bin (which, if you've visited brasil, will know contains all the toilet paper we don't flush down the toilet) was unemptied. Besides being hugely unhygienic this is unheard of, for me in brasil. I emptied it myself. On a more positive note, I used the communal bathrooms on my last day to change in. These were much more modern and cleaner than mine. ||I decided to check out a day early, I just didn't want to stay there. Although the hostel seemed pretty empty whilst I was there anyway.||The place lacked any hospitality - cleanliness, soap and the simple but small touches that make somewhere welcoming and comfortable. ||Sadly this is the worst hostel I've stayed in in Brazil - and I've stayed in many over my 5 vists across the years. I see now why there are no recent reviews.||If cleanliness and no service/atmosphere is your thing then go ahead. But I suspect you could get better for your money...

On arriving at the hostel I was let in and shown my room.|The end.||No welcome or any info about the town and for close to £40/night (for a private room) it was way overpriced. I could stay in a nice b&b in England for this price. Buena Vista just lacked that hostel feel (the reason I go for hostels in certain destinations)...and the reception had tons of takeout menu's, nothing useful about the town/tours etc. On this occasion a hotel would've been a better choice for me.||The hostel reminded me of a boy's student house, and it appeared to be run by young men - who were very pleasant, but seemed to lack the right skills for running a successful hostel. Much of their time was spent playing computer games in the communal lounge. In fact one member of staff I believed was a guest for days, as he never actually sat at the reception desk? The evening I was leaving he was making out with someone...guest...girlfriend who knows?? But I felt just a little awkward with only 3 of us in the reception area!||In my room there was only 1 plug socket in both room and bathroom - and that was faulty/broken/hanging off the wall and could only be used sideways (meaning i couldn't use my mosquito repellent plug in without it leaking). More annoying as the room had no fan or aircon and lots of gaps for bugs to get in. ||The room just wasn't clean, really unusual for Brasil with a dirty floor, walls etc. I cleaned the bathroom shelf myself before placing anything on it - it was very dirty. Although i had a private room i wore flip flops at all times. There was no soap/shower gel (fortunately I always carry spare). Seriously no soap...? I returned home after my first day to see my room hadn't been touched. The sink was as dirty as when I arrived and the bathroom bin (which, if you've visited brasil, will know contains all the toilet paper we don't flush down the toilet) was unemptied. Besides being hugely unhygienic this is unheard of, for me in brasil. I emptied it myself. On a more positive note, I used the communal bathrooms on my last day to change in. These were much more modern and cleaner than mine. ||I decided to check out a day early, I just didn't want to stay there. Although the hostel seemed pretty empty whilst I was there anyway.||The place lacked any hospitality - cleanliness, soap and the simple but small touches that make somewhere welcoming and comfortable. ||Sadly this is the worst hostel I've stayed in in Brazil - and I've stayed in many over my 5 vists across the years. I see now why there are no recent reviews.||If cleanliness and no service/atmosphere is your thing then go ahead. But I suspect you could get better for your money...

Adorable hostel with the friendliest staff! Yes, it's on a very steep street, but that's what you get when you go to Ouro Preto - it's part of the city's charm. Easy to walk (go up/down stairs) to the Rodoviaria (depending on how fast you walk, you can get there in 10 min). And just a nice long street to the main plaza. Keeping in mind that it's a hostel, the "casal" private room where we stayed was nothing fancy, just the bed and the curtains really (some shelves, hooks to hang our towels and a mirror in the room would have been great - hint hint), but it was clean, walkable distance to everything and at a great price and that's all that I really care about. They have a yard where the staff setup a TV , some tents and chairs to watch the Brazil vs Croatia game - fun fun fun - some of the locals, friends of the staff, joined us and we all celebrated together. Again, the staff was great and really made the experience for us. I'd come back here again...even if I have to put my toiletries on the window sill. ;) If you love the glamorous life and need a closet and a dresser, this place...