Santurcia Hostel

GORGEOUS hostel, some administrative mix-ups...

Liked: This is honestly one of the NICEST hostels I've ever been to in terms of cleanliness, design, comfort, and aesthetics. Seriously, this place went way beyond my expectations in this regard. It's also in a spot in Santurce that is far enough from the most touristy spots but still centrally located. If you want to experience San Juan for the city itself, this is a great spot.
Disliked: NO ONE answered the doorbell during regular check-in hours (and apparently SEVERAL other guests had the same issue). I had to contact Booking and wait outside forever before finally being able to get in. However, once I got in, everything was smooth for the rest of my weeklong stay...EXCEPT... for one tense moment when a staff member informed me (in the MIDDLE of my reservation) that the hostel would not be able to honor my entire reservation due to an alleged error with another group's reservation. And instead of taking responsibility for the error, the staff member tried to minimize the inconvenience and costs I'd incur in finding last minute reservations.Even if the reservation error was (allegedly) the other guests' fault (as the staff member explained it), I thought it was quite unfair to stick the consequences on me. I get that I was a solo traveller and the other group was a big group, but I had reserved MONTHS in advance precisely to avoid having to find last minute accommodations.THANKFULLY, someone higher up showed up and worked out a solution in literally like 30 seconds, lol. I had to sleep on a pull out couch my last night, but I didn't mind at all since I'm an easy sleeper and had to leave early for the airport anyway. Honestly, I also just appreciated someone providing actual solutions rather than useless platitudes.OH, also the WIFI didn't work during the whole trip, but it's hard to tell whether this was more of a hostel problem or a Puerto Rico problem.TO HOSTEL MANAGEMENT: PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS WONDERFUL FIX THE PROBLEM OF NO ONE OPENING THE DOOR TO GUESTS DURING YOUR ADVERTISED CHECK IN HOURS. IT SEEMS THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM FOR BASICALLY EVERYONE AND IT'S A TERRIBLE FEELING TO BE LEFT OUT IN THE STREETS. THIS IS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION AND IT'S A BAD FIRST IMPRESSION FOR BASICALLY EVERYONE.

Exceptional

Good stay

Liked: Good ample kitchen
Disliked: No desk staff was ever on duty it seemed? Just some cleaning staff. Got a lot of mosquito bites in common areas

Fine location but way too...

Liked: Close to restaurants. Walking distance of beaches
Disliked: No plugs by the bed, cold showers with bad water pressure, toilets barely worked, common room and terrace look better in pictures

Good

Liked: Loved the rooftop patio
Disliked: Wifi was useless. Basically non-functional

Superb

Exceptional

Exceptional

Bad