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Arcadia Hostel Reviews

Calle 11A, No. 31A-188, Las Lomas 1, Poblado, Medellin, Colombia

Reviews & Ratings Explained

87%Overall Rating

From 30 ratings
  • 84%Character
  • 93%Security
  • 87%Location
  • 90%Staff
  • 85%Atmosphere
  • 84%Cleanliness

The following reviews were submitted by customers who booked in the last 6 months.

The reviews and ratings in the rating box are based on all-time feedback and are the opinions of the customers who submitted them and do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com. This way, you get an up to the minute opinion of just how good a hostel really is. Read our review guidelines »

We now classify our reviewers based on how well travelled they are.

  • Novice Nomad: 1-10 Reviews Added
  • Avid Traveller: 10-20 Reviews Added
  • Globetrotter : 20+ Reviews Added
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100%

I have been to Medellin twice now and both times I stayed at Arcadia. I give this hostel my highest recommendations based on the following factors: 1. Cleanliness. 2. Location. 3. Internet. 4. Lockers. 5. Staff. 6. Atmosphere. 1. The place is very clean at all times. The walls, furniture, kitchen, bathroom, etc. Furthermore, the hostel has nice furniture and decorations. 2. It is located walking distance from Parque Lleras...

  • Novice Nomad
  • 16 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Male, 31-40
  • (2 reviews)


87%

Nice hostel, a little far away from stuff (i.e. 2 stops away on the metro from a decent supermarket), but great vibe, clean and nice beds.

  • Globetrotter
  • 23 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Canada
  • Couple, 25-30
  • (39 reviews)


100%

had a very nice stay at the arcadia. very nice and helpful staff, clean, nice balcony, close to zona rosa and a well equipped kitchen.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 20 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Switzerland
  • Male, 25-30
  • (3 reviews)


100%

Arcadia is a really nice hostel. The owner and the staff were very helpfull and give a lot of information about the city. The location is also really good, in a safe quite neighboorhood close to al the parties. There is a good vibe in the hostel realy clean and the barbeque on sunday is great! Thx Spyros for the good time Arcadia is defeniately one of the best hostel I stayed during my trip in South America!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 11 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Netherlands
  • Male, 18-24
  • (5 reviews)


97%

I spent a really good time there, the staff is so kind and helpfull!, Great atmosphere and is really close from Parque Lleras! I would definetely recommend to someone else :) Hope to come back soon


90%

Very good enthusiastic staff. Only thing to change would be some of the pillows - they were like cement bags! Location is quiet but close enough to walk to bars and restaurants. Nice place to stay in a good city.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 26 Mar 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Scotland
  • Mixed Group, 31-40
  • (5 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi there thanks for your commend. Sorry about the pilows we have already changed them!

67%

Felt like the receptionist (one guy-who's fired) working the morning to afternoon shift didn't really care too much about much. Many things left unfixed added up to strange vibe. We had to make our own beds. There were two computers: one completely broken, the other with inconsistent internet. Our door handle kept falling off. I got my laundry back all wadded up. The 'guy' treated himself to our food - claiming it was unmarked, therefore community food. The light is out in the common bathroom.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 24 Mar 2013
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Male, 18-24
  • (4 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi there and thanks for your comment. This guy as you said isn´t working for us anymore. We give new sheets to our guests clean and dry so they know are clean. If we have the beds made then having people walking around the dorm will make them dirty..i have travel quite a bit so i don´t expect paying 21 mile pesos (like 10$ US) i can demand having my bed made.. The computer broke during your stay, we have already sent it to repair, about the internet conection we spoke with the internet provider and we were told there was a problem in the area so it was nothing we could do. If i am not mistaken you came on a Sunday night while we were making a delicious Greek style BBQ (as we do every Sunday) so i can imagine was hard for the staff to solve all these problems. Now the rest of the problems are already fixed.. I am really sorry about your unpleasent stay in Arcadia for us is very important our guests have a nice experience here so i invite you if in case you are in Medellin to stay with us for a night free, don´t hesitate to contact us. We are working constantly in order your stay to be as more commodate as it can be thats why we can claim that we have the best bank beds provided with big lockers, electricity sockets to charge your laptop or cell phone, night lamp to read your book before you sleep even a small side table and a pole where you can dry your towel and be more private! Again my sincere apologies!

70%

Not good. The hostel has a good atmosphere, chilled and relaxed. The pancake maker is a nice touch, but broke when we left. The barbecue on Sundays was really good from my point of view. However, the organisation of the staff is bad. I would not recommend this hostel, since there are much better and centralized options for the same price range in town.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 22 Mar 2013
  • Anonymous
  • France
  • Male, 18-24
  • (2 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
I understand your póint of view because if the staff isn´t helpfull enough and isn´t behave apropriate then everything can be shown as bad. I have already taken measures about it.. I can´t agree though with the opinion "there are much better and centralized options for the same price range in town". Maybe the location isn´t so centralized but we are only 5 min walk from the zona rosa where are all the clubs, bars and restaurants in frond of a peacefull stream in a nice and elegant green area actually the most exclusive and secure part of the city so here you can enjoy really nice sleep and rest that in most of the centralized hostels you can´t especially during the weekend. Also we are the only hostel that has an amazing suite the "Parthenon".This unique room can fit up to 6 people has a bath tub, big closet and even a private balcony. Our bank beds are the best made out of local rustick wood, big with a lot of facilities made exactly for the needs of a backpacker of high demands provided with electricity sockets, private lamb and big lockers! We also have a nice bar with a big variaty of drinks in good prices, every Saturday we make latin parties and karaokes, every Sunday we organize delicious Greek style BBQs.. We organize tours like the Pablo Escobars or parapente including transportation for only 20 mile (most of the hostels doesn´t have this exclusive feature) even we can give info how to atent a free walking tour downtown of Medellin! We have the most organize and high detailed map of Medellin giving you the best info of what to do and even out of Medellin and we know the best clubs and bars where to go for party every day! We have really cool common areas indor with big plasma TV and variety of movies and outdoor with big table and hummock were its easy to meet other gusts.. We provide for free coffee and panckakes every morning no limit hours and there is always butter in the fridge for your convinience! Unfortunatelly i wasn´t here during your stay and the guy working here was quit new so maybe you didn´t have the best experience but definitely we are one of the best hostels in Medellin with services that noone else have! My apologize about your bad experience, feel free to come and stay for free if you are in town, saludos!

90%

Free pancakes are awesome!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 09 Mar 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Germany
  • Male, 25-30
  • (1 review)


80%

Really friendly staff, the pancakes in the morning are a nice touch!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 18 Feb 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Male, 18-24
  • (7 reviews)


97%

We originally booked 2 nights here and ended up staying for a week! Great location, friendly staff, very nice/clean, great bathrooms, and good wifi. Definitely a hidden gem in Medellín and would pick this over other hostels in the Poblado area!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 02 Feb 2013
  • Anonymous
  • England
  • Female, 25-30
  • (4 reviews)


97%

Lovely staff and big beds with good mattresses. Mastered the art of pancake preparation - nice touch I thought - and good coffee all day.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 25 Jan 2013
  • Anonymous
  • South Africa
  • Male, 25-30
  • (4 reviews)


63%

Staff and the owner especially were lovely, but all the same we couldn't get out of this hostel quick enough, after two sleepless nights in different rooms, both of which had noise and smoke from the outdoor common area coming in until the sun came up. Location is good for food etc but a 20min walk to the metro.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 19 Jan 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Female, 18-24
  • (4 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi guys and thanks for your comment.When you were here was quit busy January is one of the busiest months for Medellin together with July and August. Sorry for the noise and smoke we have already put sealing tape in the windows of that room that is next to the common areas and have made more strict rules about the sleeping hours. Going down to the metro takes around 15 min, to come up there is always un "integrado ticket" you can ask in any of the metro stations that cost around 2200 pesos (little more than a US dollar) and includes 2 tickets one for the metro and another one for the small green buses that are next to the metro station Poblado and will bring you up la calle10 where u can drop out in the carrera 36 (where is pizza Dominos and vuelos ADA) and then just walk less than 5 min to the hostel!

93%

The owners and staff speak pretty much no English, but are still amongst the most helpful and pleasant hostel staff we've ever met. The location is a little bit away from the centre of town/main square (maybe a 7-8 minute walk) but that cuts both ways: it's farther away from the shops, etc., but it's also further from the noise and fuss of the main tourist district.

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi there and thanks for your feedback, this is Spyros the owner and i am the one writing this post just for any misunderstanding about my English level! Me and my staff i gurantee we are all bilingual, actually i am very surprised hearing that since my English is very fluent even better than my Spanish or French. Are you sure you talked to me guys.Or did you try to speak to any of us in English and we couldn´t speak back to you and if yes who was it? We are trying though to encourage our guests to speak Spanish, we are in Latin America after all. About the location we are about 5 min walk from parque Lleras "zona rosa" were the main night life of Medellin is, restaurants, bars and discotheques. The area is called Poblado and is the most secure and exclusive area of Medellin, the downtown is in another area.The hostel is in front of a stream in a really nice and quite green neighborhood but we almost don´t have any neighbors.That permit us to make cool parties and events a few times per month in the weekends without any complaints! The center of the city isn´t so safe especially in the night so Poblado is like 10 min by metro to the city center.

93%

Mostly a bat place to stay, my only complaint was that the beds are incredibly firm and you can feel the springs in them. But the staff are frat and one of the hotel owners really looks after you (including taking you out clubbing!)

  • Novice Nomad
  • 06 Jan 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • All Female Group, 18-24
  • (3 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi there its Spyros the only and unique owner ;), thanks for your feedback! The beds are quite new and the matresess are orthopedic, only your bed i finger out is a little hard and thats because i use to have this room for 2 years ;)!So thanks for the info i´ll look after it! What i didn´t get is what do you mean by "bat place to stay" and "the staff are frat"??

80%

I e-mailed the hostel ahead of time to let them know we´d be arriving late (about 1 a.m.). After a couple days they responded and informed me it was a good thing I´d notified them, otherwise they would have given our beds away! The first night, one of us had to sleep on a shelf, which they should not be advertising as a ´bed.´ Overall, we had a good experience though. The complimentary pancakes and coffee are a good way to wake up. Arcadia has very nice common space.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 04 Jan 2013
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Male, 25-30
  • (6 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi there its Spyros the owner, thanks for the feeback. As you know the reservation is valid for the date you make it so noone is oblidged to have your beds reserved if you arrive next day.You booked on the 4th and arrived after 12:00am on the 5th so it was wise you e-mailed us.Especially in a high season is important to do so if you arrive late otherwise is very possible that your beds are taken! You guys you paid only 19000 pesos per bed in high season and you stayed in a 5 bed dorm and not in the 8 bed dorm as initialy you have booked beacuse of a mistake of a new staff did so it was even a better deal you had. Normaly we charge 25000 mile pesos per bed in this dorm! About the "shelf" as you call it, its a normal bed just next to a wall that its not so bad and we don´t advertise it online it was just because of the mistake of the staff so we apologise for any incovinience, but the next day you slept in a double bed that normaly we charge 40000 mile because they can sleep easily 2 people! Unfortunately it was not appreciated..

83%

Very nice comfortable and clean hostel.


87%

Good location, on a quiet street just a few minutes walk to the busy street and the resturant/bar area. Very friendly Greek owner. Good, big stable bunk beds with a smart bar to hang your wet towel or just hang up a "curtain" for more privacy. Free coffee and pancakes 24 hrs.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 29 Dec 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Sweden
  • Couple, 25-30
  • (2 reviews)


83%

The best at this hostel are the cool Greek owner and the staff, great location. We'd b back

  • Novice Nomad
  • 28 Dec 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Canada
  • Mixed Group, 25-30
  • (2 reviews)


97%

If this hostal isn't yet in all the touristic guide books like Lonely Planet, it's just because it's quite new!! I really felt comfortable during my stay. Dorm rooms are nice and convenient, bathrooms are clean, internet is quick and the overall hostal have a good atmosphere. Most important, the staff is very friendly and always comes with new ideas about food, decoration, party etc. to make it more than just a place to sleep!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 26 Nov 2012
  • Anonymous
  • France
  • Male, 25-30
  • (6 reviews)




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