My partner and I stayed here for 4 nights. Nice no frills hostel, the staff were friendly for the most part but not overly helpful. A word of warning - the kitchen facilities are not good. There are no plates or mugs to eat from, just a few cups. We asked for two plates to eat our dinner from and were told that they don't have any (even though they serve breakfast and pizzas upstairs) so we had to eat straight from the pan. Bar upstairs is not great -Wouldn't stay again for the price we paid.
The staff in this hostel were very nice which made up for the uncleanliness inside. The kitchen facilities were disgusting - the smell that came from the kitchen was awful and it looked unwell. Me and my friend couldnu2019t cook or leave food in the fridge, every time we went into the kitchen we had to hold our breathes. However the kitchen was cleaned in the morning by the cleaning staff but somehow it always ended up in a mess and the smell never faded! Also no air conditioning in the rooms!!!!!
A friend and I stayed at the Art Factory in San Telmo for 3 nights as part of a trip around south America and I can thoroughly recommend it. It is a pleasant hostel around 20mins walk from some of the key tourist spots in Buenos Aires through perfectly safe areas. There is an indoor bar area that is open in the evenings and a nice rooftop terrace too. You're not allowed to bring your own drinks in, but the prices in the bar aren't too bad, though we would have liked them to open a bit earlier, I don't think the bar opens until 5.30pm. The reception staff are helpful and can book taxis (agreed rates for things like airport transfers) and suggest places to visit around Buenos Aires. Entry to the building can be a little tricky, someone at reception has to buzz you in and then you'll have to carry luggage up some stairs with a slightly awkward door. Not a huge issue, but a little inconvenient.
My friend and I shared a private twin room with a shared bathroom immediately across the corridor. The bedroom was fine, plenty of space and quiet at night and even when our nearest bathroom was occupied there are several more fairly nearby.
If/when I ever come back to Buenos Aires I would happily stay here again.
We really liked this hostel, the staff were friendly and helpful and the bedrooms and bathrooms were a decent size. Our room was very quiet at night too. Location was good, some really nice places to eat nearby and overall good value for money
We stayed in the triple room, it was large enough but quite noisy as the noise echoed through the hallways. The curtain covering the door was almost see-through so there was little privacy. Otherwise the facility was clean, bathroom was alright the showers are hotter upstairs. Breakfast was offered for an extra price.
There is a small fruit market across the road and supermarket and laundry a few blocks away
The staff were helpful and answered all our questions. Booking activities was easy
I booked one of the private rooms – room 3 - and was delighted to find I had my own small curved balcony above the street. The room was artily decorated, with a mural and creatively-placed emerald-green lamps right across the ceiling. Plus a small table, above-bed shelving, and a functional bathroom all to myself – bliss!
Most of the Art Factory is bunk rooms I think, and from what I observed, there seemed to be plenty of clean-looking shred bathrooms throughout the building.
The reception staff were always friendly and present, English-speaking and with plenty of good advice for where to eat locally, tours etc. The entire hostel was a colourful rambling mansion on several levels. Several times (when I didn’t feel like eating out…) I made use of their bar’s kitchen, offering pizza and empanadas which were tasty and a good price.
Location was good with Plaza Dorrego, the market, good cafes etc five minutes in one direction, and the nearest subway close by in the other direction.
It was good for the price, but it was nothing special. The main problem was that the staff did not seem to know what was going. Basic questions such as how much does breakfast cost, where is my room located, do you accept credit cards were unable to be answered. Everyone that worked there did not seem to know what was going on . There seemed to be a lot of activities you could do, but none were free. Hostel is good if you do not want to spend time there and want a cheap place. Not a "fun" hostel
Well, I had an specific bad experience during my two days at the Hostel. Me and my friend found some fleas in our beds , and the room we have been put in smelled pretty bad. The night staff moved us to a better one, with air conditioner, but the whole process was not good at all. Our first reservation room (female only) was more expensive and they only gave us back 10% of the total value (and I do not believe it was fair - actually we could not sleep well the first night due to what happened).