El Calafate – Hosteria Rukahué

Set in a beautiful Patagonian setting, this alphine-style hostel came in at $58.00 USD a night. With great views and rustic decor, many reviewers called it “comfortable, warm, and cozy.” In addition, breakfast here is known to be handmade and impressive. This will be our retreat as we explore the Perito Moreno Glacier in Glacier National Park. 

The Review: We arrived to sound of construction (constant hammering) on the 2nd floor. We were asked to check out the room by the owner (Audriana) and if we liked it we can confirm the booking. The room was dark (like a cave) mainly because of the wind in El Calafate kept Audriana from opening the hatches on the windows. This was the case the entire stay because El Calafate is known for it’s windy conditions. The room was quite small and the shower was the SMALLEST SHOWER I’ve ever been in or seen. The shower curtain touched you on all sides while showering. Also, the shower rod was held up by fishing string! Additionally, the bathroom had a faint sewage smell to it. We thought for the price it was OK and confirmed the booking with Audriana. We also didn’t feel much like looking for a new place to stay. Audriana stated that we could pay on departure. On departure, she gave us a receipt for 300 pesos more that the cost should have been based on Booking.com (including the tax). She was basically trying to charge us at the “Blue” rate, converting our amount due times the blue rate, which would cost us more pesos than multiplying by the standard rate. I told her I wasn’t going to pay the Blue rate and after about 15 minutes of negotiating/bickering she came back down to the official rate. It was also quite funny how she spoke English fairly well the whole time we were there but when it came time to explain why she was trying to charge us the blue rate she lost all ability to speak English! Not an ethically run hosteria. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

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