Granada Hostel — Hotel in Bogota, Capital District

Granada Hostel, “a must” for Bogota/Candelaria travellers - a place we’d recommend to our very best friend!

After a 20-hour journey from Europe, we checked into the Granada Hostel for four nights - and are so grateful we chose this wonderful place. The location is prime and unique in the relatively safe neighbourhood of historic, beautiful Candelaria. It’s close to various attractions such as Place Bolivar, Cerro Montserrate, Plaza El Chorro, various museums and numerous great restaurants, bars and cafes. In fact, it is located in a quiet, peaceful area, just like the hostel itself. At Granada you will find a beautiful courtyard, comfty furnished corners for relaxing or working. They serve simple, tasty food but also offer a well-equipped cooking area to prepare meals yourself. Drinking water is available all day long, free of charge. 
The staff, from reception to the kitchen to the cleaning team are simply great, friendly, competent and patiently helping with any questions. Our double room had a large, comfortable king-size bed. Very important; The Granada Hostel offers hot water for showers, this is rare(!) and a relief, I assure you, especially with cooler temperatures in Bogota! The house offers dorms and private rooms, all in perfect condition (complete renovation/renewal during COVID)! Everything is very clean and well maintained. And good WiFi, too. What we really liked, at some point in late eventing the noise stops and there is peace - we did sleep wonderfully - except when uneducated disrespectful travellers arrived not knowing how to behave - what got sorted quickly. For your airport transfer we recommend to book their “house driver”, Sig. Guillermo (fair price). All in all, an incredibly great experience - and as world nomads we know what we're talking about (traveling for years). We already reserved a room again for our return trip to Bogota and are looking much forward to seeing the Granada Team again.

Granada Team, please keep that spirit, a real USP that differentiates you from the...

I have stayed in more than 20 hostels over the last 10 years, and unfortunately this was the most disappointing overall.

Positives The staff themselves are excellent. The cooks and reception team were warm, friendly, and helpful. Breakfast was great, and both Leyte and Lizeth were accommodating and kind.

The location is outstanding — easy access to the historic center, museums, Plaza Bolívar, and great restaurants.

Areas of concern

Noise and sleep quality The building is very old with extremely thin walls and creaky wooden floors. I stayed in a private room on the first floor and was woken repeatedly during the night and early morning despite wearing earplugs and using brown noise. If you are a light sleeper, this is a difficult environment to rest in.

Cleanliness on arrival My room had visible hair in the sink and on the bed, along with stains. It didn’t appear that it had been cleaned properly before check-in.

Management transparency I attempted to check out early and request a refund for the unused nights. There is no policy anywhere on Hostelworld or on-site stating that early checkout is non-refundable, yet the manager refused and cited “booking inconvenience” as the reason. This is not a stated policy, it was introduced after the fact. I raised this with Hostelworld because it is a clear transparency issue: refund restrictions must be disclosed before booking, not only after a guest requests to leave. The staff at reception were respectful, but management dismissed the concern and offered no acknowledgment of the poor experience or the noise problems.

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Summary

The location and staff are excellent, but the experience is overshadowed by the condition of the building and a lack of transparency in management practices. Until these policy and maintenance issues are addressed, I would recommend looking at other hostels in the area such as Viajero or Botánico, which provide clearer terms and...

After a 20-hour journey from Europe, we checked into the Granada Hostel for four nights - and are so grateful we chose this wonderful place.|The location is prime and unique in the relatively safe neighbourhood of historic, beautiful Candelaria. It’s close to various attractions such as Place Bolivar, Cerro Montserrate, Plaza El Chorro, various museums and numerous great restaurants, bars and cafes. In fact, it is located in a quiet, peaceful area, just like the hostel itself. |At Granada you will find a beautiful courtyard, comfty furnished corners for relaxing or working. They serve simple, tasty food but also offer a well-equipped cooking area to prepare meals yourself. Drinking water is available all day long, free of charge. 
The staff, from the reception to the kitchen to the cleaning team, are simply great, friendly, competent and patiently helping with any questions. |Our double room had a large, comfortable king-size bed. |Very important; The Granada Hostel offers hot water for showers, this is rare(!) and a relief, I assure you, especially in cooler temperatures in Bogota! |The house offers dorms and private rooms and is in perfect condition (complete renovation/renewal during COVID)! Everything is very clean and well maintained. And good WiFi. |What we really liked, at some point in the night the noise stops and there is peace - we sleeped wonderfully- except when uneducated disrespectful travellers arrived not knowing how to behave - what got sorted quickly.|For/to airport transfer we recommend to book the transport with their “house driver”, Sig. Guillermo (fair price).|All in all, an incredibly great experience - and as world nomads we know what we're talking about (traveling for years). We already reserved a room again for our return trip to Bogota and are looking much forward to seeing the Granada Team again.||Granada Team, please keep that spirit, a real USP that differentiates you from the...