Hostal Muchik — Hotel in Chiclayo

It has been over a year since I had the unfortunate time of staying at Muchik Hostel (although that is not the name they are registered with in the city--a suspicious thing upon entering). I meant to post a review sooner but time got away from me and I could not do so before leaving Peru as the owner of the hostel/hotel threatened us and we feared what might happen if she followed through.||||Here is the short version of my experience:||||My boyfriend and I arrived at the hostel very late after a long bus journey and were given a room on the first floor. We were so tired we did not complain that the room was not very clean or the sheets. We just wanted to sleep. We did, and when I woke up I was very sick with the flu and could barely get out of bed. I spent the majority of the day in the room and my boyfriend would leave on occasion to go and get food, water, etc. Well, when he decided to head out to dinner I thought I should try and stand up and get some fresh air outside. I walked down the hall from my room, and out the front door (it is no more than 60 steps). I passed the front desk and was let outside by the guy there (they lock the door all day and night so someone has to let you out).||||I was outside no more than a few minutes. When I went back inside a maid and the front desk guy were sitting in the lobby. I said hello and went to my room. I specifically remembered turning off the light when I left and locking the door. Well, the door was unlocked when I came back and the light was on. And as strange as it sounds, I could "feel" that something was not right in the room. As if someone had been in there. The computers were still there so I tried to ignore the feeling and went back to laying down. Later that night, before going to bed, I checked my passport and wallet as I always do--it is a habit I have acquired while traveling. I was shocked to find that the 300 Peruvian Sols I had withdrawn from the ATM just the night before (and not spent a penny of as I had been in bed all day) were missing from my wallet. So were the 10 Sols I kept in a small pocket as back-up cash. My credit cards remained.||||Who could have taken the money in the few minutes I left the room? You guessed it, either the maid or the front desk clerk (whom I later found it was the owner's son). If you are thinking it could have been another guest, well, not possible as we were the only guests in the hostel that day/night. ||||We filed a complaint, went through the motions, and even got the police involved. They believed us and made the owner drive in from Lima to deal with the situation. She arrived and was the most horrific woman I have ever dealt with. She cursed at us, called us liars, and threatened us. There are cameras set up in the hostel and we asked to see the footage but low and behold they were "broken." This prompted the police to argue with the owner at length, as well as when they found she was operating her business under a different name then what is registered with the city. Fraudulent activity, anyone?||||We asked the owner to just pay us what was taken and we would not continue with the police--she refused. The police believed us and told us as much but in Peru theft in a hotel is not punishable. Only the owner can repay you or settle for damages and if they refuse you have to go to a Better Business Bureau type place and wait weeks for a hearing. We tried to file the paperwork so she would be fined, as we were told that is what would happen, but it was a huge mess and finally we just gave up. It was not a lot of money but it was enough to make us want to fight as the principal was what was really important. But I was so sick and we just wanted out of there at that point that we eventually sucked it up and let it go. We can only hope karma will work in our favor. ||||You can stay at this hostel if you want but I would never go there again. Nor would I want anyone I know to walk through its doors. To have something stolen from you is one thing but to be threatened because you went to the police is absolutely horrific behavior. I am sure the owner is going to write a lengthy response to my review and deny everything. I am sure others will leave positive reviews after mine and say nothing bad happened to them. I am happy for that. But it does not change the possibility that it might, and that is enough that you should stay clear of this place...

Pros:||- Really clean||- Friendly staff||- Nice interior||||Cons:||- The room was MUCH warmer than the temperature outside. We roasted all night as the fan just swirled stuffy air without cooling it any. In the morning the room was 85F degrees! We were in room #302 which was an interior room and the heat definitely rose, floor by floor as you went up. If you have to be on the 3rd floor, definitely try to get something with a window on the outside you can open (as long as you're ok with potential mosquitos). Oh, and we asked to move to a lower floor but the late-night front desk clerk wasn't authorized to do it. He called someone and they said "No" after learning we were only staying for the one night.||||- Walls are paper thin. We could hear the guy next door snoring on one side and the couple having sex on the other side.||||- WiFi did not work on the 3rd floor. The front desk clerk tried to fix it but was unable to resolve the issue. We had to make some travel arrangements so we had to sit downstairs near the front desk for a couple of hours.||||We regularly stay in hostels, but we wouldn't likely choose to...

Me and a friend, we stayed at Muchik Hostel for a few nights. It felt more like a hotel than a hostel, since there is no kitchen or common room (except for the lobby).||We had a double room, and paid 60 soles for the 2 of us per night. ||||The hostel was very clean, our room was cleaned and tidied up every day. Chiclayo isn´t the most exciting place I have been, but in the end we had a nice stay. The hostel is quite centrally located, within walking distance of the Main square (Plaza de Armas).||||The owners were nice people, and the man working at the front desk spoke good English. He tried his best to make sure we had a good time, was very kind and helped us in every possible way. He told us a lot about Peru, Peruvian culture and helped us out planning our trips.||||Weird thing though, is that my guidebook (Footprint South America, 2013) said it had a kitchen. A bit confusing, because it had the right adress, but a completely different description. Anyway, I would recommend this place, if you are looking for a clean, quiet and nice hotel with...