La Joya Hostel — Hotel in Valparaíso

The photos looked so good! And the reviews seemed pretty good too…but this place was not at all what we expected. Let’s start with the positive…the staff were all very friendly. They are the only reason I’m giving two stars. ||||Now the Cons:||1. The neighborhood was about 1.5 miles away from the touristic part of Valparaiso AND it didn’t seem like a safe or clean neighborhood. Later we read a review that someone had indeed been robbed right out front. We did walk to the touristic part of town in the daylight…still didn’t feel great about it. ||2. Our room smelled terrible. It smelled musty and moldy, which wasn’t surprising once we noticed the mold in the shower. It also smelled a bit like a sewer. Eww. We chose not to shower while we stayed there. ||3. The restaurant and breakfast were ok, but so many flies. ||4. The rooftop patio was quite nice, though we weren’t allowed to use it our first night since there was a wedding. Made me mad since we had paid QUADRUPLE the price to be there for New Years Eve. ||5. We paid an absurd amount to be there because of NYE and then they charged us even more than the quoted price. ||||If I had known better we would have chosen something right in the touristic part of town OR stayed in Vina Del Mar and...

The rooms looked very basic and worn. The beds were simple, and the bunk bed shook with every movement. The en-suite bathroom had no external ventilation, making it somewhat moldy. Our three-bed room on the second floor had one small window, while the first floor had none. The furniture was minimal, ragged, and noticeably worn out. Cleaningness was rather poor. I found hair on the shower.

The common areas of the hostel had a stylish design and a clear concept. However, over time, the execution fell short, and the original vision was not fully maintained.

I arrived by car, and fortunately, they had a parking lot. However, the cars were tightly packed, requiring guests to leave their keys. While this wasn’t a major issue, there was no valet service. If a car needed to be moved, either the staff or another guest would handle it.

Breakfast was quite basic, consisting of milk, yogurt, cereal, fruit, tea or coffee, and a piece of bread with butter, two slices of ham, and two of cheese.

On the positive note, it was well-located, with great connectivity by public transportation and interregional buses. The value was fair for...

We booked this hostel for couple of days before we started our travelling and we wanted to see the fireworks for new year.|Well we all know that the political situation in Chile is not the best. |When we arrived on the 30th December it was all fine in the city. |The staff in La joya hostel were amazing, friendly and very helpful for things to do in the city and where to watch the firework.|They also have nice restaurant attached to the hostel where the food is so good!! The rooms were amazing too and split over two floors so even in a dorm we felt like we had some privacy. They also have two kitchens and a rooftop!|We want to say thank you to all the staff of la Joya. ||If there is one thing “negative” we want to say it is the location, it’s not horrible location because you can get any bus or the metro to go in the centre but it is not the safest place of Valparaiso if there is a protest. |Again nothing wrong with...