On this trip I’ve mainly been staying in Airbnb self contained condo style units because I was traveling with two other women and that suited our needs the best. Some units were awesome, some were okay but a couple of them were not satisfactory at all. After 2 nights in our Airbnb in Valparaíso, Chile I moved to a hostel for the last 2 nights.
Although the room I had was big and it had a private bath, the street noise (even in the middle of the night) was too intense for me. There was also a lot of flies and mosquitoes that appeared at night and they were most annoying. After two restless nights, I woke up with a blotchy red face, bite bumps all over and even a swollen eye. That’s when I knew I had to get out of the place. Fortunately I found a hostel close by that had an available room.
I would definitely recommend the hostel I found in Valparaíso and the next hostel I stayed at in Arica, Chile.
Volta Inn and Hostel on Simon Bolívar Street in Valparaíso is hardly noticeable when you walk by it on the street. Like many hostels it has a secure door, intercom and a camera monitoring system so you have to buzz to get access.
Once inside you feel like you have just stepped into someone’s home. The comfy sitting area, large bedroom doors with stained glass inserts, the high ceiling and hardwood floors that are sunken from use over the years, transports you back in time. It has all the facilities of any hostel, but it’s the cleanliness, the unique detail and the care shown by these owners that makes this place stand out. It was also very quiet and had no mosquitos, a perfect place for me to recover. With only 4 blocks to walk to the bus terminal this place was extremely convenient too!
In my next location, Arica Chile; everything was pretty booked up because of their once a year huge Carnival event. However the Hostel Sunny Days in Arica showed me that they will go above and beyond to help all travellers find a place for the night.
It was within walking distance to the bus terminal which saves time and money. Additionally it was walking distance to the beach, the Centro area, the mall and more. It also had all the other traditional hostel facilities, nice lounge areas, kitchen, luggage storage, etc. But what made this place stand out was their dorms, they were spacious, they had huge lockers and my favourite thing – no bunk beds!!
The free breakfast where we all sat around a large table, nicely laid out with dishes and cutlery made me feel like I had just sat down to a big family dinner. The owners and staff made you feel extremely welcome and that they were there to help you with whatever you needed. The place was a bit more worn but the warmth and cosy feel I felt there made me not want to leave.
In some ways this trip has shown me again how much I enjoy hostels. Their hospitality, their services and the opportunity to converse with other travellers adds so much to the whole travel experience.
