Stayed here for ten days in May. Got mugged and lost my phone + wallet, so I had to use their phone to make several calls back to the USA. Wasn't easy, but eventually, I made it back home. 2 months later, I get an email from the hostel. Attached was a low-res screenshot of some charges and an invoice for ~$100 USD. They claimed I owed them payment for the international calls I made at the hostel. Additionally, they made a couple of claims to justify my debt: (1) I had no social media, and (2) they "did try to communicate our awareness of the cost" (their exact words). (1) is not true. I had social media, but how am I supposed to access it without either my phone (for 2FA login purposes) or my email (requires my phone to login)? So that is a moot point. (2) is also not true. Every time I asked to use the phone, for anything, the person working said of course, and handed me the phone. No one in the hostel ever mentioned anything to me at all, in my ten days there, about the cost. Paying for phone usage was nowhere on their website or in their terms, and I never saw something like that enforced or even talked about. So that is also a strange thing to lie about. To top it all off, they found my dad's boss online, and then contacted him to try to get me to pay? Very unprofessional behavior. *Despite all of this*, and despite no real way to enforce a flimsy charge like this, I paid the invoice. In exchange, I would strongly encourage anyone reading this to *stay literally anywhere else in Rio*. The hostel really isn't good enough to make up for such poor management. At first, I thought it was strange that Brazilians would act so miserly. And I have nothing personally against the non-working Brazilians I met, who were all very nice. But when you find out the hostel is, in actuality, owned and founded by a certain (((other))) group of people, this management makes way, way more sense. read more

Voted the #1 hostel in Rio as well as Latin America...and I can see why. One friend arrived before two of us and he described Discovery Hostel as a house. When we arrived, I could see what he meant. You walk into a reception area which is in the living room area. You'll find that other people staying here will hang out and talk in the living room. There's a kitchen which you're able to use or store your perishables. The kitchen serves a complimentary breakfast during the early morning and has a bar with cheap drinks during the evenings. The rooms are clean. What I loved about the rooms was that there is a nightlight and power outlet at each bed. I stayed in the all female room which had two bunk beds (3 beds high) and a private en suite bathroom. My only gripe was having to stay at the top bunk (they're difficult to get up and down). This room is the only room with an en suite. Other than that, there are other male/female dorm rooms and I believe two private rooms for two people. Staff is helpful and friendly. Take advantage of their help for events and activities. Events and activities are updated daily at the reception board. You pay a bit more for some of the activities, but it usually includes transportation. We went to Marcana for a futebol/soccer match which turned into a hostel outing. Another night we went to a club in Lapa. WHAT TO KNOW: *Cash only!! You cannot pay anything by credit. *Price is right. We each paid 164 Real (About $55) for 3 nights. *Check-in is not until 2pm and they do make you wait until then. *Complimentary wifi...though it was a bit spotty for me. *Bring your own towel and lock for your storage locker. If you forget either, you can purchase a lock or rent a towel. *Short walk to Lapa and the colorful Escadaria Selaron steps. *Metro station located half a block away so sites like Copacabana, transportation to the Christ statue, etc. is just a ride away. *A cat lives at the hostel so beware if you have allergies. read more

Discovery Hostel Rio - Hostel cat - Guest Houses Near Me - Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Rated one of the best hostels in Latin America by trip advisor I can definitely see why. It's centrally located close to Flamingo beach, Gloria metro station, and the famous Escadera Selaron, this is a great place to stay if you're not necessarily looking to stay close to the pricey beach scene. It's just a few metro stops away from copa cabana so I didn't feel inconvenienced at all! Now for the place itself, it's an intimate hostel with no more than 25 guests. It's an house so you really get to meet everyone and make some great friends. -plugs and lights by all the beds - kitchen for use until midnight - water filter -cheap caipirinhas - their own hostel logo memoribilia for sale which is awesome - a HOSTEL KITTY. LIKE. Put a fork in me I'm done. - one of the best breakfast spreads I've seen in South America (fruits, bruschetta, juices, coffee, etc) - awesome public showers - lockers for use - 5 star security. You have to ring the bell to enter the hostel, there's security cameras everywhere. And your bags are locked if you use their storage. Definitely a big thumbs up. - the all girls dorm is awesome with a private bathroom and balcony -great WiFi everywhere - transfer to ilha grande - did I mention there's a hostel cat? Yeah. Book now. **only thing is its cash only. Which sucks because ATMS in Rio are always so moody. read more

Discovery Hostel Rio - Leite - Guest Houses Near Me - Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Stayed here for four nights with my boyfriend. We enjoyed a private room on the first floor and had fun overall at this small travelers hostel, but give it 4 stars with a few hesitations for couples traveling together. For the good: Having stayed in many hostels across different countries, this one definitely has extremely helpful staff. Fluent in English, always with recommendations and great directions / map help. They create a great group atmosphere in the hostel that welcomes everyone in and creates community for backpackers. Lots of night time activities sponsored and the hostel even has a little "bar" that opens up at night for ordering capirinihas (some of the cheapest and best in Rio!) For the not-so-good: This hostel really has room for improvement on the bathrooms. They are tiny tiny tiny (room for 1 person at a time only) and quite stinky / no frills whatsoever. This was the worst part of the hostel. Another thing to keep in mind is noise, as the place is quite small and noise really carried. A/C only runs in evenings between 10PM and 10AM, which although not a deal breaker, made it difficult to be in the room during the daytime. Overall, a very social spot for backpackers with a great friendly vibe but needs work in the bathroom sector. read more

I traveled throughout South America for 2 months and this was BY FAR the best hostel I stayed in. I would 100% recommend this to anyone traveling to Rio. The staff was extremely helpful and so much fun. On our first few nights in Rio they took us out to their favorite spots and we had a blast. They also have incredible recommendations for what to do in the city. The decor was always extremely cozy and unique. The entire place felt like it was an actual house. Each bunk had it's own plugs next to the bed and lockers which was very convenient Not to mention the great breakfasts every morning. I was truly sad when my time at Discovery was up. The space is very open and the setup encourages you to interact with the other people staying there. Some of the best nights I had were staying at the hostel playing drinking games with the other guests. The staff also would hang out with us. Multiple people who had left Discovery and were staying at another hostel came back at night just to hang out with us. I was also unfortunate in that I got my wallet stolen one day while I was staying there. That day I was able to charge the cab to the hostel and pay them back at the end of my stay. Additionally, that night the staff was making their dinner and let me eat with them since I didn't have anyway to get food that day. All in all, I would recommend this hostel to anyone. You will not be disappointed. read more

This place is really good. A perfect introduction to Rio as you can attend outings (hikes or bar rounds) arranged by the hostel. The staff is just amazing, all fluent in English and Portuguese and several other languages, they are very friendly and most helpful in every way. Travelled with my wife. Stayed in mixed 6 bed dorm. Ok beds, tidy enough. A bit loud late evenings, but a great place to make friends for us as a pair or anyone traveling alone. read more

My favorite hostel ever ! I was turned on to Discovery Hostel from a friend and was one of the best decisions I made when I came to Rio. Not knowing a soul, I spent a week and a half there when I first moved to Rio seven months ago. The staff treated me like an old friend, and yes this sounds cheesey but almost like a family member, in helping me finding a place and helping with my Rio acclimation. I still keep in touch with the staff, and they even were nice enough to let me use the house computer a few times when I desperately needed one as mine was getting fixed, six months after I stayed there. Besides all that, its in a great, safe neighborhood thats close enough to everything, especially Lapa. A minute walk to the the Metro allows you get anywhere you'd want to go. Plenty of places to eat and a supermarket around the block in case you want to cook or barbeque, and the complimentary breakfast definitely helped my meal budget . The rooms are very well taken care of , and more importantly cleaned every day, and the staff is great on working with you if plans change and need to extend your stay. I hear they are booking up months in advance , so hop to it .... read more