Hostel Adlafken

Where to start? LOCATION is great, in the heart of historic Valparaiso yet quiet, in the beautiful and serene Cerro Alegre. The street is charming, with a delightful ayurvedic center 1 block away (where you can eat a healthy and inexpensive meal on the terrace, or take yoga classes). The OWNER is very interesting, welcoming and eager to learn about other cultures: in spite of my mediocre knowledge of Spanish, I really enjoyed chatting with her and her son. I had broken my arm in Peru, and had to travel around with an uncomfortable cast but her place was like a home away from home. The ROOMS are very reasonable, immaculate, with comfortable beds. We chose the spacious 1st floor front room with a comfy Queen size bed for the lovely views and light; even though it gives onto the street and is above the entrance door, it is not noisy at night (and I am very sensitive to noise; on weekends, noise stops around 10pm ). Yes, the private bathroom is tiny but functional with good hot water. The TERRACE on the roof is simple but has great panoramic views and you can picnic there and take in the beautiful twinkling lights of the bay at night (way too hot during the day). On the ground floor, there is a lovely and spacious breakfast room with microwave to heat up your food or simply hang out. BREAKFAST is included but could be improved ( I did not care much for the scrambled eggs made in the microwave. I think that a fresh fruit, like a banana or an orange, hard boiled egg, and coffee/tea would be enough). Again, this neighborhood is fabulous, lots of street art, restaurants, an excellent massage place ($25 an hour!) right around the corner on Almirante Montt, and a lovely jewelry shop owned by a silversmith whose name is ...Victor Hugo! (located 2 blocks away, at Lautaro Rosas 449-A) We loved this place and Valparaiso so much that we stayed longer than expected and even returned a few days after going to the Elqui valley. It is perfect for visiting historic Valparaiso, for discovering all the charming "cerros" and soaking in the beautiful street frescoes and the great Valparaiso vibe! This is one of our favorite cities in the world! Alafken hostel. Just great. Good rates. In the middle of everything, just right, good beds, very clean, small baths but hot water, nice room for breakfast or warming up own food at night, terrace, lovely very opened minded owner, breakfast could be improved instead of not so good scrambled microwaved eggs, just propose hard boiled eggs and some fresh fruit like bananas orange or apples. Great ayurvedic place for lunch and yoga