Casa Santurce — Hotel in San Juan

Dear Casa Santurce Management,

We hope this email finds you well. It is with great disappointment that we are writing to inform you of our decision to check out after the first night of our three-night stay at Casa Santurce. Due to the unsatisfactory conditions we encountered upon check-in, we are seeking a refund for the remaining nights.

Upon our arrival yesterday afternoon, we were dismayed to find our assigned room in an unacceptable state. It is crucial to emphasize that the mess was not a result of any of the girls currently staying there; rather, it was the condition we all encountered upon check-in.

The room was messy, lacked proper preparation, and the restroom was in a deplorable condition with period pads stuck to the walls. Clearly visible mold on the walls and ceilings added to our concerns about the overall hygiene. Upon closer inspection, we found a significant amount of dirt and dust bunnies under the bed, suggesting a lack of proper cleaning standards. It appeared as though someone had merely swept debris under the bed, contributing to an overall feeling of neglect.

Random people have walked into our room to use the bathroom and did not explain what they are doing while we were there changing, and sleeping. This is a safety and security concern. This morning we asked why they are walking into our room unannounced and rudely answering us with the fact that they work there and the other bathroom is not working. This was never prefaced when checking in and we would not have chosen to stay somewhere where people not assigned to our dorm were entering freely as they please without warning. Additionally at 3 am, there were people not only entering the room but doing laundry which is also unacceptable seeing as quiet hours are after 10. Moreover, we encountered a situation where our door code did not work, creating a safety risk as others entered freely without acknowledging our presence.

In addition to the mentioned issues, we discovered that the AC unit in our room had a thick layer of dust covering the entire air vent. Regrettably, one of the girls in our group became severely ill, and we suspect that these unsanitary conditions caused her health issues. When seeking assistance from the staff regarding the AC issue, the response we received was rude. The staff member curtly instructed us to write an email and walked away. This interaction is just another example of the staff not being welcoming and providing the necessary assistance to address our concerns. Additionally, despite the prominent "no smoking" sign, staff members were frequently smoking cigarettes in common areas, further compromising the quality of our stay.

In the shared kitchen, the refrigerator was roped off with bungee cords, preventing proper access for one of our group members who needed to store insulin. This posed a significant concern for her health and safety.

Given the cumulative issues and the failure to meet the basic standards of cleanliness, safety, and security, we have decided to check out today, after the first night of our originally planned three-night stay. In accordance with your stated policy, we are formally requesting a refund for the remaining nights, as the conditions provided are far from what we expected and fall short of any reasonable standard.

To assist you in understanding the severity of our experience, we have documented the issues with accompanying photos. We believe a refund is a fair resolution given the circumstances.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and request confirmation of our checkout and refund process. We hope that these concerns can be addressed to improve the overall quality of your establishment for future guests.

they have ignored this email and refuse to give...

AWFUL EXPERIENCE. DO NOT STAY HERE. My partner and I booked a private double room to stay here for 2 nights prior to going on the next leg of our journey. From the outset it was a horrendous experience. We booked 2 days prior, and received a confirmation from hostelword to my inbox. There was no further communication regarding check in from the hostel itself.

Upon arrival, the hostel looks atrocious, incredibly poorly maintained with broken steps leading up to reception, rotting wood and very poor lighting. The reception was closed and there was no information as to a number to contact after-hours etc. After a lot of asking around with a few guests A kind staff member who helped check us in at 12.30am despite being OFF shift. Meanwhile, another off-duty staff member was having a very loud argument with one of the guests upstairs about getting involved (with us) when it was none of his business and creating problems for everyone. (Note: later I did find the late check in email in my junk email which included a 4 digit code to get into our room.)

The room was nothing like the pictures on hostelword and in disrepair. Pictures attached will show: The entrance to the room was a dumping ground for old furniture, with rotting wood and rubbish. A desk held up by a chair, incredibly structurely unsafe and would probably break and fall at any time. Cupboard that had not been cleaned and still had possessions from previous guests Light did not work in the bathroom. No hot water! Hand soap, but no other basic amenities. Air conditioning was beyond even my partner's reach (and he's 6ft 2") - and there was no remote. We froze overnight! The tap in the bathroom was broken.

The photos on hostelword are nothing like the hostel or the room in reality. Our room was dingy with a bunk bed above the double, making it quite difficult to move around. The "kitchen" area is dirty with rotting wood and unwashed utensils. The air conditioning units hanging out of some of the dorm rooms had mould around them.

We stayed the night because we arrived so late and left first thing the next day. In the morning, a staff member brought out a remote from reception to turn the air conditioning off, and then took it back with him! This is the first time I have been in a PRIVATE room where guests cannot control their own A/C.

When we spoke to management, they did not seem surprised that we were leaving and told us to email the hostel's gmail address directly. I have done so, and attached our email thread - their complete disregard for customer feedback is appalling, even taunting me in the final response.

The one positives: The kind staff member who helped check us in at 12.30am despite being off shift.

OVERALL The reviews say that is is a fun, party hostel - i guess if you're drunk and don't care, it's fine. Close proximity to the night life in San Juan is a good bonus as well. But in terms of comfort, hygiene, customer service and hostel maintenance, if I could give a 0 star rating, I would. An absolute joke for...

My friend and I booked a trip to stay here for five nights in August 2023, but only ended up staying for two nights because of the conditions.

Positives: the neighborhood and location are really lovely (easy walking access to the beach and to night life, felt safe, lots of restaurants and cafes, etc.), the rooftop patio of the hostel is beautiful with a nice view of the lagoon, and at least one of the staff members was nice and helpful. It was a bit loud at night but that's expected in an area that emphasizes nightlife.

We have stayed at many hostels in a variety of places/conditions and knew that the prices were low, so we were not expecting anything fancy at all, but we didn't think that the hostel would be completely filthy. When we arrived to our room (the shared all-women's room on the first floor) we saw a few lizards and a cockroach in the room, and a puddle of dirty standing water around the toilet which did not go away nor was cleaned in the three days we were there. The room had obviously not been thoroughly cleaned or even swept in a long time - there was trash, dirt, stains, open food containers, etc. in the room from people who had left before we got there. The wifi was not working and hadn't been for a while, according to one of the staff members. But the room was cheap and we liked the location, so we decided to stay anyway. On the third night, I saw a large rat crawl up onto the table directly next to my bed and run over the belongings there before disappearing behind the lockers. The other guests and I immediately started cleaning every surface and opening the locker doors, only to find more cockroaches, rat droppings everywhere, and a lot of open food that did not belong to any of us. The following morning, when my friend tried to let the staff know about all of this, they told us that it wasn't their problem and that if we didn't like the situation we could get out. So we did. We have sent multiple messages to the provided email address and have not heard back from them about a refund. I have never written a review before but this was a very...