La Serena Hostel

Positives + Location is close to shops, restaurants, Pipa main beach, and Praia do Amor + The shower had good pressure + Spacious, tranquil balcony with hammock Negatives - The room wasn't ready at the check-in time with no warning, I just received a lukewarm apology and had to wait. - This hostel has serious hygiene issues. I stayed in a private room, and it was poorly cleaned. Dust everywhere, squished mosquitoes across the walls, the pillows were mouldy, the mini fridge in the room looked like out of a horror movie, the pedestal fan had grime and yuck all over, the room wasn't cleaned once during my stay (incl. emptying bathroom bin) - The fan situation is very bad: the built-in fans are incredibly noisy, and I didn't use mine cause sleeping would be impossible. If you’re a light sleeper, think twice. - The first room I stayed in had bed bugs, I asked to be moved into another room which they did, but after that the management treated me like I was the issue ("We never had a case like this before"). The owner ignored me after I reported the issue. New guests were put in the same room on the same day (after I had changed rooms). - The communal kitchen leaves a lot to be desired, most of the equipment is in very poor condition, the fridge is in terrible condition, no complimentary coffee served in the mornings, like in other hostels (that charge less) - There was no good energy. I think the hostel has a lot of potential with the right management, but when I was there, I didn't feel there was a lot of good energy poured into the place or guests. There were no organised event for guests to connect to the place or each other.