TRAVELThe Rio Hostels That Turn Budget Travel Into Something Special4 min read

The Chain That Doesn’t Feel Like One

Selina is technically a hostel brand, but the experience lands closer to a boutique hotel. Common areas are extensive: a rooftop terrace, a restaurant, a cocktail bar with a free welcome drink on arrival, a kitchen, a cinema room, and a coworking space. The whole place is clean and considered in a way that bigger brands usually aren’t.

Rooms are modern, with air conditioning and new mattresses that are genuinely comfortable. Individual reading lights, power outlets, and under-bed lockers round out the setup. Nothing feels worn out or managed on the cheap. If you want the social energy of hostel travel without the grim shared-bathroom lottery, Selina handles both ends of that equation.

Santa Teresa’s Two Very Different Personalities

The bohemian hillside neighborhood of Santa Teresa offers two strong options with almost nothing in common. Mambembe occupies a converted old mansion on a quiet street — eclectic decor, art on every wall, a music room stocked with instruments, and cats wandering through the common spaces. Hammocks hang outside. It’s social without being loud. Bunks have privacy curtains, individual outlets, and reading lamps, and the whole place is kept tidy.

Books Hostel, also in Santa Teresa, runs at a completely different frequency. Murals cover every interior wall. A mostly British crowd fills the bar at happy hour and the party carries on from there. The wooden bunks are sturdier than they look and the pillows are legitimately good — not always the case in budget accommodation. Showers run hot every time, which Rio hostels don’t always guarantee. Free vegetarian breakfast every morning. Same neighborhood, two different trips. Pick yours.