Bamboo Rio Hostel

Arguably the most striking part of Bamboo Rio Hostel is the building's facade, decorated with graffiti-art of a young backpacker with the Christ The Redeemer statue on a hill behind her. Inside, the scene is a little more bleak. There's a bamboo-lined front desk and billboards filled with information about tours in the area. Beer and soda are for sale, and there's a counter set with brochures. An exterior hallway is strung with hammocks and set with worn wicker chairs. Lime-green paint looks scuffed and interior hallways and staircases are damaged. Bathrooms on the first floor could use a thorough scrubbing. The outdoor Bamboo Bar is a small space where guests eat free breakfast and set menus for lunch on wooden tables and chairs. This is the place for a budget conscious traveler, who cares more about beaches, parties, and price than the quality of their mattress or size of the room.

The Bamboo Rio hostel has a convenient location along a quiet side street three blocks from the busy Copacabana scene. The occasional monkey jumping on trees behind the hostel makes guests forget they're in the middle of one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The nearest metro station, Siqueira Campos, is five-minutes from the hostel. The immediate neighborhood is residential, but only a few blocks away the streets are filled with restaurants, bars, tourist shops, and supermarkets. Buses running south (Ipanema) and north (Botafogo and Centro) can be caught at Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana or at Toneleiro street. The hostel offers decent access to the key sights of Rio de Janeiro. The Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and the Botanical Garden can be reached in about a 30-minute drive. Galeão International Airport is about a 30-minute drive or an hour by bus, which runs along Avenida Atlantica.

Gender segregated dormitory rooms are spartan and cheap with worn bunk beds, dirty walls, and a fan mounted to the wall (some have air-conditioning at night). Shared bathrooms could use a thorough scrubbing and lockers for valuables are located in the hallway. Private double rooms are much more expensive but tiny. They include a flat-screen TV and air-conditioning. Private bathrooms are small, but much cleaner than the shared option. Thin towels and bar soap is provided, but there's a charge to use them. Surprisingly, the Parati Double Room has a tiny (but dirty) plunge pool. Wi-Fi is free throughout all of the rooms. 

The hostel has a tiny L-shaped plunge pool that's visibly worn and filled with cloudy water. Upstairs, Bamboo Restaurant and Bar, serves free breakfast and a set lunch. Snacks like hamburgers and pizzas are available for dinner. Occasionally the hostel organizes parties and barbecues. A communal kitchen includes a refrigerator, dirty microwave, stove, oven, and full dishes and cooking gear. There's an adjacent lounge with books to borrow and a flat-screen TV. The lobby has a small Internet corner with two desktops for guests to use free of charge. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. Staff is bilingual and helpful. They sell tickets to city sightseeing tours, football games, various outdoor activities, and samba shows. There's one parking spot on the street with 24-hour security. The hostel also offers laundry service for a fee.