Farewell Onas Suites. Shame you aren’t what you advertise!

So the dizzy pack of giggly females (who I discovered were on a hen’s stint) were joined by a group of guys at some stage during the evening and they partied, in their room, in the bar and in the courtyard. I was surrounded by screeching females (why do they do that?) till late. Last time I looked it was 2:30, the time I popped a sleeping pill. It worked. I was woken by the sound of..... you guessed - it young female giggles and screeches. I checked the clock 10:37. Too late to make it for breakfast but time for a long hot shower. Wrong! Make that a short luke warm shower. I’d kill for an Ibis shower right now as I haven’t had decent hot water or pressure for weeks. Oh the hardships of travelling. 

Over the road for my duble and toast!!

I spent the day at the Dinosaur Mall. Came home with a pair if warm trou and a warm top. Its colder than I expected and there are only so many more days I can wear this polar fleece before the smell gets to me. 

I came back to the hotel to internet that was on the blink. Something made me look at my original booking and that prompted me to write my review of the place even though I have yet to check out. I will post it as soon as I can but it is below for a bit of a laugh. 

Dinner was the best. Fresh, soft, fluffy, walnut cake 🍰 with a cuppa ☕️ at the place over the road from the hotel. The place is full (9:30pm) and reminds me of cafes in Greece. Happy people, dressed for the occasion, enjoying a drink, cake or ice cream before bed. Love it 😍 

With cake in my belly I will sleep well. 

Ha ha. The hens night erupts into a screaming match in the open space. I gave up and donned a polar fleece over pj’s and followed a working internet connection to the library (closer to the noise). Eventually I went upstairs and screamed at them. Make a difference. Yes! for two seconds but made me feel better anyway. Scary to think of any one of those little brats getting married. They eventually left to go plague someone else and one very drunk wee lass even invited me to go with them telling me that I would “have fun”.  I told her I would have fun right where I was as long as they were out.  I enjoyed a good sleep only woken by the alarm clock. 

Onas Hostal and Suites 

Im not sure what to say about this place but I have to be open and honest. It is definitely unique, quirky, homely and fun. 

The eccentric room was not only eccentric but had none of the things it was advertised to have: 

a bed that only just fit in the room with no space for a bedside table or anything, you had to crawl onto it from a step at the end of the bed, an aircon/heater that had no controls to turn it on/off, a water toby coming out of the bedroom wall, tv cables hanging from the roof but no tv, base of a smoke alarm but no smoke alarm, the light switch outside of the room in the library so anyone outside the room can (and did) turn it on, wifi that was there one minute but gone the next and most of the time gone, the mirror that is really a window doesn’t have a latch so anyone can open it from outside, some shelves that could be for storage but no light so you can’t see what you are storing, a shower that struggles to emit a stream of hot water, it is advertised as having a bath but it is really a large shower space with an up-stand that would never constitute a bath and does not have a space to put a plug so would never fill up and become a bath, the hairdryer must be very small as it could not be found, similarly for the clothes rack which was nothing more than some wooden shelves, a blind over a window that looks straight onto a trellis in the courtyard (i.e. virtually no natural light), staff that were helpful when asked but by no means went out of their way to help and who contributed to the noise of other residents and the advertised private entrance to my room is just the door to the room off the library.

All that aside it was a comfortable bed but if you have mobility issues you wouldn’t make it. The place is clean, with some rooms at ground floor level (like the ‘eccentric’ room).  

There is a super pool and outdoor space (shared with the bar next door) and a ‘library’ lounge to relax in. The outdoor space is accessed by a ‘sliding’ door from the library (there are approx 20 books plus a few magazines). I say ‘sliding’ but it may have been a sliding door when it was installed. Now it is a door that slides only with a lift upwards and a heap of manpower, making a lot of noise as all its parts rattle. It does not close properly so the library gets a good constant dose of fresh air. Good if you dont mind the breeze that comes with it.

There is also a cafe which I didn’t try as there were lovely cafes over the road who served proper coffee. For those that want to cook for themselves there is a shared kitchen (which is also a bar and cafe); just don’t try at breakfast time when they are getting breakfast ready for guests who have paid for the privilege.  

The name implies that there are ‘suites’. They appear to not exist. Other than the hostel section the only other options are double rooms with a bathroom, that’s it.  

I had the misfortune of being a guest at the same time as a pack of females staying in one of the dorm rooms. They made out they were grown up but acted like little children at an unsupervised birthday party and spent most of the three days I was there either shouting at each other or shrieking in the room opposite mine, in the public spaces, in the room (with no door) upstairs or in the bar next door. They could be heard all round the hotel but management made no moves to quieten them down. Never in all the places I have stayed have I encountered that sort of constant and unnecessary noise from anyone and the fact that management tolerated it says a lot about them. 

However, when the adjoining bar gets going about 11:30pm the noise from there is almost as bad as the screeching girls. All in all its the noisiest place I have ever stayed.  

I went to check out at 8:45am on a Sunday. There was no one at reception. 15 minutes later a girl turns up. Despite having provided details when I arrived they had lost them. It took 10 minutes for her to process my details and payment. 

For the privilege of staying here I am paying a higher room rate than I paid for a fully fitted out, large, clean, quiet SUITE in a central Buenos Aires up market suburb where breakfast is included in my room rate. It may not have the character that Onas has but everything works and I get to sleep at night, there is no noise, I have a decent shower and can spread myself out. 

Onas Hostel and Suites I don’t mind that half of the things promised in your advertising do not exist, or exist and don’t work but this is the noisiest place I have ever ever been in and worst of all you condone it.

If you like eccentric, don’t mind quirks, can live with the fact that what they advertise is not what you get and you can cope with excessive and uncontrolled noise then it is an unusual place to stay in a really nice, non touristy residential suburb quite a distance from the city but with a good bus service (30-45 minutes ride) or a $10taxi ride. Onas it was an experience. I’m happy to be moving on and I wont be back, but thanks for thanking me for my review. I wonder if you read it.