I think I was spoiled a bit by Art Factory. Me and Palermo House just never hit it off. Come to think of it, I didn’t hit it off with anyone at PH as I had at AF, which has quite a bit to do, I’m sure, with the average age of the folks staying there. 21, maybe, if that?
There are two main reasons why you might want to stay at Palermo House. One is that it’s cheap and two is that it’s in Palermo, a wonderful, somewhat upscale neighborhood stuffed full of restaurants, bars and clubs. (Busy, bustling Plaza Serrano is two blocks away but you gotta eat at almost-next door Gardelito. All of the staff did, for good reason. Besides being inexpensive and giving a big bang for your buck, they also deliver.)
While not what I would consider a party hostel, PH’s upstairs common room was often full, and could get kinda loud; which is great, if that’s what you’re looking for. I wasn’t really. Except when the cute travelling muscians played: With the rain pattering on the steel roof, I was charmed by the rough, but sweet harmonizing. Still, the big, wonderful lounge area is lit during the day by a whole wall of glass doors and you can relax outside on the small terrace just off to the side.
And that’s most of the good things I can say about Palermo House.
PROS
- Cheap for the neighborhood: From $11 USD for a bed in a 6-person dorm.
- Big and kinda funky common area and terrace. Beer for sale!
- Smoking allowed in the common area (That’s a plus for me; may not be for you. I got some grumpy American on my ass more than once.)
- Big, well-stocked kitchen with three, large restaurant-size refrigerators.
- Plenty of lockers and storage in the dorm rooms.
CONS
- To be brutally honest, not particularly clean.
- Crappy Internet connections, buggy, crashy computers and totally unreliable wifi
- No soap or towels in the toilets. Ever.
- Things kept breaking. I got stuck for five minutes in the foyer between the two downstairs doors because the buzzer no longer worked. The upstairs toilets would not flush for two days. Nasty.
- Indifferent staff, except for the perky, friendly and completely cute and charming girl from the U.K. The other girl working there had a tiny attitude problem. But a great singing voice!
- Punishing beds, so I never really got a restful night’s sleep.
Not surprisingly, I’m back at Art Factory and using the very reliable and usually fast Internet. The rain’s falling on the skylight and the receptionists are dancing to Michael Jackson. I’m drinking free coffee provided by the somewhat curmudgeonly but endearing maid. I feel a lot better here.
Palermo House
Thames 1754 – Palermo Viejo – Buenos Aires
Tel.: (54 11) 4832 1815 / (54 11 )4833-0625
email: info@palermohouse.com.ar
hi.. nice blog, hope you don’t mind me listing it in mine. cheers! newbuenosaires.blogspot.com
Hey
Thanks for the link. I will recip.
Porteño o expat?
i’m a porteno, but lived abroad for a long time…… now i’m back for a while. hope you are having a good time here..
I was thinking about palermo house for awhile, but I got really interested on AF. but I can’t so a reservation because in their site there’s no icon for reservations. how can I get a bed in a dorm there?
Hi Rafaela
If you go to the blog, which I used to write, http://artfactoryhostelblog.com, and click on the BOOK A BED tab, you can send a quick e-mail to reception and they will respond. Cheers! I still love Art Factory.