El Cafecito Hostel Cuenca

Right on a market square

No kitchen

A fantastic hostel in walking distance to both the historic centre of town but also to the bus terminal, which makes it great to explore the city and beyond. The rooftop terrace is really nice to spend some time on in the evening and the beds are very comfy. The stand-out of the hostel are all the personal touches by the owner who goes above and beyond to ensure you have a nice stay. I think everyone got a personalised induction to Cuenca, complete with a map for their phone with all the highlights. He was also incredibly helpful in planning trips outside of town and what I need to call out is that I had forgotten something in the hostel, which he then ensured would reach me while I had travelled on to Peru by bringing it to the bus station and organising it would be taken on the bus - that was incredibly lovely, nothing I would ever expect and so much appreciated. So thanks for a fantastic stay!

Great hostel with a very nice rooftop and an owner who is very welcoming and goes out of his way for the guests. Not only will he help you with your plans in Cuenca, also for the rest of Ecuador or surrounding countries. Besides that, he really connects travellers, by welcoming them and introducing them to each other. Something I have not often seen before.

If I would add something, it would be lockers in the dorms. Did not miss them a lot, but always nice to keep your most important stuff in a locker during the stay.

Great location and to our surprise, there is no noise coming from the streets so good nights sleep is guaranteed. The roof top if very nice and has everything possible for cooking. On the couches though there were laying around and sleeping some local men, workers maybe, so was a bit akward.

We found someone’s used tooth floss in our bed which was disgusting so wondering if the sheets had been washed. There was hot water sometimes and sometimes not (if there was specific timings for hot water we definitely weren’t informed about that). The room is so basic and outdated that felt like a rip off to pay the very high price for the room. You can’t even move the curtains at all to block the sunlight. Also we were supposed to get change back for the cash we paid for the room and never did, so be mindful and insist.