i loved this place, cause i met a lot of very nice people... if you want to meet new people and have fun, this is the place, also the people that work there is friendly...
the hostel is really near from the beach and in a very safety place... is not so big, but is confortable. I sleep in a room with 20 beds :O OMG hahaha... but it was not a hugh problem, but you have to put your things in a locker and there could be a little of noice at night. Is a place to have fun, drink some beer, get nwe friend, listen music... not to go wiht kids or family if you want a lot of relax... there was only 3 bathrooms, but i think i was lucky, cause i always find them empty hahaha... well my friends and i were really placed and wé hope te get back soon ;)

The room was extremely small, with the door hitting the bunk. The cleanliness of the bathroom was mediocre- with either a cold shower or a roasting hot one. The breakfast was very good, and the location was good. Some of the staff were friendly- others were not.

First of all I really like this place, especially for the price! But if you are someone who is up-tight about cleanliness, needs peace and quiet to sleep well, and requires high maintenance in general, this is NOT the place for you. However, if you are someone who is traveling on a budget, is social, easy-going, generally open and friendly, flexible about where things go and when things happen, then this IS the place for you. You get new linens upon arrival and if you stay for more than (if I remember correctly) 3 nights you get a free pick-up. They also offer (for a reasonable price) dinners for people staying at the hostel and they range from things like pizza and churrasco (sometimes partnering with their other hostel in Botafogo). So all in all there is a nice family feel.

We arrived in rio for the first leg of a four month trip of SA. The hostel was dirty, the people were completely unfriendly. The outside bar area was occupied by old men who sat drinking all day. The inside was even worse- you can't tell who works there and who are just their friends who come to chill there. No one speaks to you and we felt like we were in the way. A lot of weirdos staying there the breakfast was awful- only good thing was that it was near the beach and there is a supermarket very close. It ruined the beginning of my trip and we moved to an amazing hostel in ipanema which is much better. DO NOT STAY AT THE EL MISTI- IT IS HELL IN A HOSTEL!!!!