Esencia Hostal Terminal Oaxaca

The location is good, i also like the simplicity of the place. The staff that worked there was friendly (shout-out to Angel). My bed was relatively comfortable.

First of all, it's very difficult to communicate with the staff/owners because the receptionists are available for a very short time window - therefore good luck trying to check in after 6pm. The owner is also very difficult to contact via phone call or booking.com messages. The hostel could also be cleaner sometimes, and hot water could be more consistent.

no staff on-site. the womens dorm (which we booked) had a man sleeping in it. the two other dorms were filthy dirty with unmade beds and full garbages. the front street way gate couldn’t be locked because there were no staff. a fellow traveller booked the private room and waited all day for staff to unlock the door. no one showed up. the lack of key to close the main gate meant that anybody could walk into the hostel off the street. i was there with my elderly mother, and neither one of us felt safe. furthermore, when I booked the room, I prepaid for 3 nights for two people. after realizing the sketchy situation, we decided to leave and find a safer, clean, hostel. all in all, we spent 1 hour at this hostel, I wrote and called the owners to no avail, and then asked for my money back. not only did the not pay back a dime, they never even responded. terrible service, dirty rooms - and thieves. They kept the entire payment of 1400 Mexican pésos for less than 1 hour tenurship of their facilities.

strange man on reception, paid for a private room and got a bunk bed. very minimal refund given