Hostal Costa Azul — Hotel in Castro

We stayed at Costa Azul on Chiloe in Chile in March 2007 and had a lovely time. It's newly refurbished (excellent by Chilean hostel standards, but perhaps not pleasing to an aestetics eye with lots of pine wood everywhere from walls to ceilings!), kept extremely clean. Staff are warm and welcoming and although they didn't speak very good English whilst we were there we made ourselves understood perfectly well by pointing etc (plus, by the time you read this they might very well speak English!). Carlos (the owner) is super friendly and is happy to help with anything. He's a real character who loves showing off his polished motorbike!||||Hostal Costa Azul is right at the seafront, opposite the flea market and only a short (steep uphill) walk into the centre of Castro. Allround excellent location as close to 'everything' (it's not that much going on in Castro after all!) but away from any noise.||||Our mornings in this place were magical - you can sit in the windowsill, with closed or open windows, and watch the mist clear over the water with old fashioned fishing boats returning from their night fishing trips as the sun rise. Beautiful!||||Breakfast is served in the living room and consists of coffee, milk, cereal, bread, butter, jam etc. There's no other food available, but plenty of restaurants or cafes in the area.||||Only downside with this hostel was the bathroom/shower, which is tiny and certainly not made for large/tall Europeans! The shower curtain and towels (although clean) had seen better days a long time ago. But the water is hot and with full power and since this is a hostel rather than a hotel we came with very low expectations and were not bothered by this. We didn't exactly come to Chiloe for a relaxing spa anyway! ||||If you're looking for a safe, warm and friendly base on Castro whilst disovovering Chile independently this is a very good, and...

Pros: Very cozy and nice looking. Beds are comfortable, shower is strong. It's located right across the street from two artisans' markets and walking distance from the city centre.||Cons: No parking lot. Rooms are nice but too tight to move around - forget about handling you luggage in them.  They don't take credit card, which was a major inconvenience. Breakfast consists only of two breads and one slice of ham, with milk and tea - a bit of a disappointment.| Had a few troubles on my first night: wifi didn't  work - complained about it to the manager and she didn't care at all; hot water didn't flow naturally from the shower, it had to be requested for at the reception. |Heating stopped working during the night, rendering us a very chilly sleep - same thing happened in the...

Very nice hostal. The room was comfortable, the breakfast was decent, and the staff was friendly. The decor is a little outdated, but the rooms are clean and well organized with plenty of space. If you have a room at the front, be prepared for lots of noise. The hostal is across from an artisan market, so you hear all the cars and trucks unloading in the morning. On the plus side, the coastline is also just across the street, although the view from the room was disappointing. But overall, it is a good location with easy access to the center...