Mistella Salsa Hostel

I stayed two nights at Mistella Salsa in Cali. A clean hostel, I lucked out selecting a 6-bed dorm for 18,000 COP and ended up with the entire dorm room to myself both nights (Wed/Thu nights). Good wifi, a good night's sleep, a quiet area of Cali. There is a great supermarket and bakery a couple blocks away but little in the way of restaurants nearby. It cost 9K COP to take a taxi from the bus terminal to Mistella Salsa when I arrived. I found an 8K COP taxi ride back to the bus terminal. Mistella Salsa provided me a handy color map of Cali with many landmarks noted that really helped me get around Cali. Breakfast is included at MS but it amounts to just one small croissant and a cup or two of weak coffee. MS could definitely improve its operation by brewing a more robust cup of coffee; there's no excuse for substandard coffee in Colombia. The second morning one banana was also included with breakfast. There is lots of natural light in the public areas but not the dorm room. There were two bathrooms, one very large, one much smaller, both clean. Both had electric water heating elements attached to the water pipe and though I showered only in the larger of the two bathrooms, it provided a warm shower. Check out is 10 a.m.: it should be moved back until 11 a.m. or later like every other hostel in Colombia. Mistella Salsa provides guests with towels but heaven help you if on the morning you are departing the hostel you do not return your towel to the front desk. You will not be allowed to leave. No joke. Though I told the schmuck at the front desk that my towel was in my room with my bed sheets and pillowcase, he was adamant that I return to my room, fetch the towel and hand the towel to him. What had been a 5-star experience at Mistella Salsa for me, degraded to 4 stars. A cardinal rule of business: You do not get a 2nd chance to make a good first impression, and last impressions are lasting impressions. The kid at the front desk needs some better customer service training, MS needs to provide some decent Colombian coffee, and Mistella Salsa has the potential to score 5-star ratings consistently.