Hostal El Refugio Reviews

Like many of the other reviewers have said, El Refugio is a wonderful place to stay. Peter, the owner, is knowledgeable, as is the rest of the staff; the stay in dog, Negra, is lovely (although a hazard if you have allergies); the beds warm and the rooms not-too-loud; the atmosphere amazing. The only down-side: the popularity. I visited in low season so bathroom and kitchen access weren't an issue, but in high season, I can understand how they might be. However, the hostel itself is worth it.

The hostel was a lot of fun and the staff were super helpful and accommodating. The inside kitchen is very small though, which made cooking a bit tough. The bedrooms were very cold but the beds themselves were large and had plenty of covers. Please note that breakfast isn't included because so many people do the volcano trek, leaving very early. Enjoyed my stay at el rufugio and would definitely recommend it.

Nice place, great location, really nice staff. Cons: they need more restrooms and the rooms in the tent sucks for the price. Inside is way better!

When I booked my stay at this hostel I was under the assumption that I was going to have a bed in an indoor area with heating and a door that closes from bugs and other creatures. There was not a single warning or notification that some of the dorms are actually tents and you stay in a bunk bed outside under a tarp. This would be fine if it was the summer and I was aware that I was paying for a tent, but at the end of April during the winter season, this changed my feelings on the situation.

The staff was really helpful with everything, from booking excursions, to helping to plan solo trips to helping to start a fire in the room. I had a private room so by nature the security was better, although there was no lock on the door so I had to pay a deposit for a lock. The bathrooms were not the cleanest, but always well stocked. I did unfortunately, run out of hot water during my shower, but was warned of the possibility ahead of time. A little loud, but great atmosphere and staff.

El Refugio is an excellent hostel that is very very close to the bus terminals. This, however, makes it the most popular and therefore the most busy of hostals - and I was there in low season. The place is small, although they have added the tents to alleviate the squeeze for space. The downside is the toilet facilities, for the amount of people coming through, there are just not enough facilities - especially when everyone comes back from climbing the volcano. Other than this it's excellent

A good place to stay if you are doing trips, especially the volcano but even though its not high season we still found the hostel to be very crowded at times. Using the kitchen was a bit of a mission and the bathrooms always seemed to be occupied. It seemed that maybe with the extra people in the tents outside there are not enough facilities to accomodate everyone inside. The staff were helpful and friendly and the location to the bus station was good but we didnt quite feel we could relax here.

El Refugio is one of the most popular and lively hostels in Pucón, it is even fully booked during low season!! So you can easily make friends and get to know people from other countries. The trips and activities offered are excellent and reasonably priced and the staff is very helpful with additional travel recommendations. The showers are hot, though a little bit dirty. I can really recommend this hostel to people who love to socialize and prefer long playing or conversation evenings.

The best hostel I've been in Patagonia!

This is a great hostel, very enjoyable to hang out in and enjoy the fire or chat with the staff. The tents are not worth the 2000 pesos you save because its freezing outside at night (i stayed in april) and it sucks having to get dressed in the cold and dark and brush your teeth at a freestanding sink outside. The entire hostel only has three bathrooms which is a real pain if you just need to pee and a huge tour came back from the volcano and are all showering. Security is meh

Very great hostel. The outdoor atmosphere is all around. They have all the packages and tours at the reception and the prices are better than in the others agencies. Love my short time there, definetly would back there! And is exactaly in front of Pullman Bus Station, what helps a lot if you arrive there late rainy night...

I really loved my stay at El Refugio. The staff was so helpful and friendly and the hostel had a realy good vibe to it. I´ve met many cool people there, done cool tours and slept like a baby. If I could I would have stayed to work there for a while.

This may have been my favorite hostel in South America so far. Originally we were going to stay two nights but ended up there for four and it was really hard to leave. The staff were awesome and the hostel had a great vibe. Nice living room area to relax and chat with other travelers. Fireplace was also very much appreciated. Would love to come back one day. Highly recommended.

Really enjoyed my stay here don't know what it us about the place but it is one of the most friendliest places I have stayed.staff are chatty always ask you how your day was, the living room us a great place to chat away and the beds (being slightly bigger than a single)are an excellent choice.we stayed in the "tent" which was actually a big some, withe the amount of covers we had we were never cold and it was a very kooky place to stay.deff makes my top 10 hostels in Latin America!

Great vibe there. The staff is very nice and international. Thanks to Anna and Utah for making my stay a perfection. You should try the tent.. Very interesting and different. The location is also very good.. Literally 5 mins walk from the Main Street. I loved this place. If I had more time I would have stayed longer. I stayed for 4nights.. My original plan was to stay for just too. Oh, and it's an awesome place to meet other travelers as well (: Thanks so much , Shea (:

I loved El Refugio! Great staff and a great atmosphere. Legendary weekend in Pucón! I will definitely be returning.

Great hostel - the volcano climb and visit to the hot springs they organised were great, and so was the St Paddy's day BBQ!

Good hostel. Friendly staff. Good location. I could rent very cheaply a tent and a stove from the hostel to use for my hike. They ask about your interests and plans directly when you get there and offer useful suggestions. Nice place, warm shower.

This hostel is definitely for the younger traveller who is able to overlook the shortcomings by the staff and facilities. It suffers from being overly popular and therefore investment in the kitchen and bathrooms is significantly lacking. The staff are all travellers who have stopped during their trip to save money, this meant that whilst we were there it was confusing on who was actually running the place. There was a distinct lack of communication/process. Too many guests for the size.

staff super friendly and helpful. they help you a lot with all the activities there are to do in Pucon. i stayed in the 6-bed tent in the backyard, can get cold at night. very small kitchen though, can get problematic at dinner time. atmosphere friendly and cool, their weekly BBQ organised are super fun! would suggest to stay here if in pucon, as it is so well located too