Viajero Hostel Cali & Salsa School — Hotel in Cali

Unfortunately, my experience with Viajero Hostel Cali was not good. My poor experience started the moment I attempted to check in. When Luka (one of the front desk staff Black curlyish mohawk style hair with a single earing) was asked to provide me with a tour of the hostel he immediately became aggravated and proceeded to give me a rushed walk through of the hostel. Anytime I attempted to ask a question his irritation seemed to grow.

I chose to ignore this because I refused to allow one disgruntled staffer to ruin my trip. Unfortunately, he was one of the primary front desk staffers, so despite my best efforts to avoid him I had to go through him to sign up for any tours or salsa classes. With each interaction his became more hostile. But it was after the 4th encounter when he became so hostile he yelled at me and proceeded to insult me in Spanish, in front of other hostel guests when I attempted to sign up for a salsa class. This final encounter made me feel so uncomfortable and unsafe that I decided to cut my stay at the hostel short just to avoid having to have another aggressive encounter with Luka.

Despite this experience I do want to give props to the other staffers, that helped to make my experience somewhat enjoyable. Vanessa my salsa teacher was truly a joy to work with I strongly recommend her for anyone looking to improve on their salsa. Karin one of the party promoters who was a warm and inviting presence and helped me with navigating Cali. Maria was the sweetest and Marcos the bartender one of the kindest staffers who helped to ease my worries while I worked to make new accommodations as a result of my aggressive...

This is truly one of my most favorite hostels I've ever stayed in and it is SO AUTHENTICALLY CALI. UNA CHIMBA!||I don't say this because it has the best amenities I've ever seen, or the beds are the best I've ever laid in. I say it because the staff is awesome. They are so welcoming, and waking up every morning to walk to the room Nextdoor to take a private salsa class for only $12, was heaven on Earth. I extended my stay 3x to stay longer in Cali. This city has my heart.||The hostel itself is a bit more of a party hostel, but not in an annoying way. The bar closes at 10, so if you want to get sleep you certainly can. However, if you want to go out dancing every night, there are always people around willing and wanting to go with you. The staff does a great job of making you feel welcome and willing to meet people, as well as events every night of the week.||Accommodation things to know: the rooms do not have AC or personal fans (it would be amazing in the future if the rooms had their own air conditioning). The wifi is fine, and there are tables to work at, but there isn't a quiet or indoor place to get work done. Also, the kitchen can get tight during peak hours and doesn't have a window, so it gets very hot while cooking. I think they could also do with buying some more cooking utensils (spatula, etc). Free coffee every morning/all day. Also, it is right next to a little bodega store for basic food & bev. Located in an up and coming part of town that is near by to everything. They have a locked gate 24/7 and a security guard on staff at night. ||All I gotta say is: Ivan, you better still be teaching dance by the time I get...

Highly dissatisfying due to poor service and unprofessional behavior from the staff, which ultimately led me to cancel my booking and seek accommodation elsewhere.

Here is a summary of the incident:

• I arrived at the hostel around 6:00 AM and requested an early check-in or the option to pay for an extra night if a bed was available. The morning staff member informed me, with a dismissive attitude, that this could only be done after 2:00 PM due to hostel policies - she didn’t bother to check if beds were available.

• Respecting this information, I left for a tour and returned at 2:10 PM. At this time, a male staff member with curly hair was on duty. Despite explaining that I had not slept all night and needed assistance, he responded with arrogance and showed no intention to help. He rudely refused to assist me, stating that he was busy and he would not bother to check the availability of beds for me, and that I needed to wait until after 3:00 PM. The girls in reception mentioned that they had available beds in their mixed room and he didn’t care.

• Frustrated by the lack of professionalism and empathy from both staff members, I decided to cancel my booking and move to La sucursal hostel.

The other hostel was kind and able to confirm bed availability and complete my check-in promptly, demonstrating the standard of service I had expected is normal which I not got at Viajero Hostel.

I hope that management changes the behaviour of their staff, as it’s not acceptable to have such a bad and arrogant attitude with no empathy in a hostel which suppose to be a place...