I stayed on the hostel only one night, but it was confortable and well placed direct in the downtown. Don't come here if you're looking for some traditional insight: this is a modern hostel in an awful building. But inside everything's ok. The staff could just be more friendly.

Long story short: left my laptop inside briefcase at front desk, empty briefcase given back to me. Staff was rude and unhelpful. Be safe and wise, stay away from this rathole!!!

We stayed at this hotel for a few days during Thanksgiving week. Some rooms were small and a little worn. We looked at a few. The best were the balcony rooms. ..especially room 132. They are a bit more spacious and seem to be partially renovated..althought there were some strange things done with the carpet corners and a strange mildew smell underneath and some wires popping out of the wall. ..so they're not luxurious. The bathrooms were modern with lots of blasting hot water.
We paid 480 pesos for 2 people and enjoyed having the extra space. The only bad thing was the smoke leaking in from some room. When we got back, all of our luggage contents smelled awful. It was convenient being 3 blocks away from the theater.

My father and I have stayed at the Hotel Universo several times and found it to be a clean,reasonable and safe place to stay. It is located at 162 Lopez Cotillo and is only a couple of blocks from the main plaza ( a nice place to sit and watch the world go by. The breakfasts are indeed more than adequate and business people from the immediate area come here for the steamed coffee with milk ( very good ).The staff has always been courteous and helpful and we've met people from all over the world here. It gets a very good recommendation from me. It's not the Hilton but the price and location are a big plus.