The price and the fact that I can pay with a credit card brought me here (it is 7 fot me, plus 6% if I pay with a cc). The bed is ok, the room had only three, so It was ok. The bad thing is the noise. A bit too much, including the bathroom, which is very close (door to door, on a corner). The hosts were very fearful that I could leave without paying at the end, so I had to leave a deposit. The internet worked just fine for me
It is a confortable place near to the downtown. It has all the necesary to stay while you enjoy Quito. Finaly the attention was incredible. Absolutly I recomend it.
Su horario es estupendo, me gustó mucho totalmente recomendable.
A pretty good cheap option in Old Town. For the price of dorm beds with a shared bath in other places, here we had a private room with private bath. The place is a bit worn, but it serves its purpose. A simple breakfast is included if you're not in a rush, as service is a bit on the slower side. The folks at the front desk were very friendly and helpful in directing us around town too.
The hostel is nice enough, so we booked it and paid in advance for our return 4 weeks later. Then we reconfirmed by email 5 days before coming back that we would stay for 5-6 nights. All good.
We stayed one night, and headed out at lunchtime the next day for a meal. On the way out we were informed that we had to give up our room that day to move to a dorm room with no internet (we work online).
We were shocked as we had been given no warning even when we checked in the night before. There was no apology at all - in fact he was confrontational. Xavier made out like he was doing us a big favour by booking us a dorm room! We got very angry as it is high season, our friends had booked the same place and he had weeks to warn us, so we could have found another place.
His attitude was of pure arrogance and it got very heated!
His excuse was that although he knew we wanted to stay for 6 nights he "technically" never confirmed in writing, therefore he didn't have to let us know that we couldn't stay!
When we said that we had to find alternative accommodation (instead of the dorm with no wifi) he had the gall to insist that it was past checkout time at 11am. He only told us we had to move after midday! He then threatened to throw our luggage in the street.
With this obvious insanity we did not feel that we could even go and get a meal and safely leave our bags there, we had to go upstairs, pack and leave immediately.
Of course being high season any similar priced options were full so we have to spend more for the rest of our time in Quito.
The hostel is nice in some rooms (apparently one building is better than the other) and the woman (maybe his wife) is really lovely, but Xavier has a personality disorder and pretty hot tempered (read: psycho), you can't guarantee your stay even with a months notice and payment up front.
This has been the worst service we have had in 15 months of travel, we would suggest avoiding Chicago Hostel if you value your peace of mind (and your bookings!).
The private rooms are nice but the dorms have saggy unconfortable beds. The service varies with the owners moods. One day he was nice and the next he was yelling at us. We got kicked out of the private room because someone else wanted to book it. He didn't even asked us if we wanted to stay longer. You have to climb all the way to the roof to access the kitchen. The hangout area on the bottom floor was only accessed by going outside and then ringing the bell to enter the reception area.
In 2011 I stayed in this well-situated hostel for three weeks, and had a wonderful time. The staff were no less than excellent. My room was not too large but adequate, and very clean. The bathroom was shared, but very clean as well. I was paying less than US$10 per night; a great value. $2 extra for the continental breakfast, which included freshly squeesed fruit juices. The kitchen is on the terrace, I think the 5th floor, and with no elevator, good luck. It has full view of a good part of Quito, and especially of the great gothic cathedral, which is no less as great as the ones in Europe. The kitchen is available to guests during certain hours, but I wish it could've been opened for longer hours. I said it's well-situated as it is very close to the Centro Historico, a location that should not be missed; it's a jewel of Ecuador. Among other services, the hostel arranges for all kinds of tours.