12:12 Hostels — Hotel in Bogota, Capital District

We stayed three nights at this hostel. We arrived in the middle of the night, got our beds and went to sleep. Next day I saw that there were several orange stains on the bed sheet and also the little lamp next to the bed had a broken bulb.

There are several little things that should get fixed, like the bulb, some doors in the shower-/bathroom couldn't be closed and also some of the water taps are not working right (speaking only for the women shower/bathroom).

Compared to the many other hostels we have been to while travelling, this one does not offer much for its prices. So I guess the thing you pay for there is the neighbourhood. Which is rather nice and has many shops and restaurants and is also very safe.

They sell water for 5000$, which doesn't even cost half of this in the store, you don't get a towel, you have to pay for that aswell, the wifi is non existent in the dorm. On the ground floor there is wifi, but also here it is rather slow or non existent.

There is a kitchen, which is a plus (we haven't used, so can't say anything about that), a living room with couch and lots of books and also a big table to sit and eat or work on your computer. They also offer to rent bikes.

They do offer some tours/trips, if you like already organized tours. You can do it by yourself for half of the price.

We asked if it was possible to do laundry and they said yes. So we gave them two little full plastic bags, we were two women, when I asked for the price the employee said $20'000. Which I thought was a bit expensive, but alright. Next day she asks us both to pay $20'000, which I thought was a joke. She then showed us that it is written there, $20'000 a bag. Okay maybe I have missunderstood the lady, because she only spoke Spanish. Only the owner speaks perfect English, the others none. So we paid almost 13 Dollars for laundry, which is crazy to me. As we gave her the bags together, she could have at least advised to put the bags together or asked, if she could wash them together. Which worked perfectly in all the hotels/hostels and laundries before - not here. In my opinion this is a very bad customer service.

I would not recommend this hostel as you don't get much for the...

We stayed in the ensuite private room, which is good value for the money. Nothing fancy, but everything you need in a really great neighborhood. 5 stars for the neighborhood. We love Chapinero. It was great to have a vegan restaurant a 5 minute walk away. We saw both a husky dog and a man with a man bun in the area. Very much a safe, cute, hipster neighborhood. ||||The wifi didn't work in the room, only in the common areas. During our last night there was loud banding up and down the stairs for like an hour starting at 11 pm. Not a major inconvenience and we found with most hostels, probably just a good idea to always have ear plugs handy. ||||They could use a brighter light and/or a better sign for night time arrivals. Our friend picked us up at the airport, so was able to wait patiently while we figured it out exactly where it was, but later that night we found a girl with a backpack who was walking back and forth on the main road near the cul-de-sac where the hostel was located. She was staying at the 12:12 as well and we helped her find and walked her to the hostel. ||||The biggest issue we had was related to booking a tour. After the experience we had, I wouldn't recommend booking anything with them. On the Thursday before our arrival we booked a car to take us out for a day trip on Sunday. But we had some changes come up and we cancelled first thing on Friday morning (48 hours in advance). We made this booking via a casual e-mail chain and were never told that there was a no cancellation policy, but when we tried to cancel they told us it wouldn't be possible and that we would still owe the full amount. We were more than a little surprised. It was a very bad start to our vacation. I ended up having to argue with them and was able to get them to agree to only half payment for the trip that we didn't take. We ended up paying more for a trip we didn't take than for the 3 nights we stayed at the hostel. I understand that many travel organizations have strict cancellation policies, but I have always been told about this in advance. Had I known they have a strict no cancellation policy, we wouldn't have arranged the tour with them in the...

My experience was a good one, but not enough to warrant 5 stars.

Pros: 1.Location. Its in a good neighborhood. There is a carulla/coffee shops/restaurants/carrera 7 within walking distance. Tv room! Satellite tv where time can be killed. Also have 2 computers to use. Full Kitchen with applicances and cupboards. 2 sinks to wash in. Front desk service was exceptional. Kept a tight ship, was fast and reliable with information.

Cons: (again, my experience) Though he's a sweet older man who has good intentions, this is a hostel and I am on vacaction. I paid to be there.. so to be told to quiet down at 10:45pm(wasnt loud) & that I cannot take a beer upstairs into the tv room wasnt cool. This is too hip of a hostel, with communal space, to not provide an opportunity for everyone to come together to meet one another. Offer a free beer at a certain time, or allow the bikes to be free to use for ciclovia on sundays. The organized tours were too expensive. I did zipaquira on my own for 85k cop. No need to have it be 180,000. Same with the "party bus" to Andres Carne de res. I stayed until sunday specifically to do this on Saturday night.. only to find out it was an organized private taxi with only the guys from my hostel. 2 of the guys ended just taking an uber home anyway, so there was no point to this "party bus". The couches in the communal space are extremely worn, uncomfortable to sit in, and bulky. Almost made sitting in the communal space not worthy. The cooking pans in the kitchen did not have handles, and there wasnt a mitten to wear to cook. I worked around it using a small towel, but come on! This is inconvenient. Wifi was slow and nonexistent at times! I actually looked forward to going to coffee shops to use their wifi instead.

Overall, as a hostel it served it purpose. Have I stayed in better?-yes. Have I stayed in worse-yes....