South Hostel Tarifa - Kite Service Center

“Hostel” is not the right word for this place.  The customer service is better than the average European 3+ star hotel. (Just like their partner Kite Progress Tarifa.) Let’s call it a “Tarifotel” instead. When you have a problem, the excellent staff will make a lot of time for you, whether something is wrong with your laptop, or you need their help in arranging an extra night (you will want to). Thanks especially Marwan. Many warm (hot if you like) showers, many possibilities to play games, meet people, work on your laptop, a huge kitchen, lockers, 10 minutes from downtown, it’s all here. And that for a very affordable price per night. The only downside I see is that the front door is not always open: they should! Go here. Not anywhere else. You won’t regret.

I recently booked a room at South Hostel Tarifa through their website, and my stay turned into a complete disaster. On the night I was supposed to check in, I arrived at the hostel only to find it completely shut down—no lights, no signs of life. Perplexed and stranded, I sought help from a nearby shop, where I learned that such situations were unfortunately common with this hostel. Many tourists faced similar issues, and my only solution was to call the hostel. Despite my persistent efforts, I called the hostel's phone number multiple times and sent numerous text messages, but there was no response for over an hour. Frustrated and with no place to stay, I had to make a last-minute decision to catch a bus at 21:00 to the nearest city and find accommodation elsewhere. [Attached are screenshots of both calls and text messages sent to the hostel.] To add to the ordeal, two days after my unsuccessful attempt to stay at South Hostel Tarifa, I discovered an unexpected charge on my credit card for the supposedly nonexistent stay. This raised serious concerns, as hotel charges typically occur either in advance or during check-in, certainly not two days later. I have since initiated a dispute with my card issuer to address this suspicious activity. It's disheartening to see that a hostel with a seemingly high rating on TripAdvisor could behave like scammers. My experience at South Hostel Tarifa was not only inconvenient but also financially burdensome, and I urge fellow travelers to exercise caution when considering this establishment. The lack of accountability, unresponsive communication, and questionable billing practices have left me deeply disappointed.

Great Hostel. Super good setup for kite surfing, great facilities, and epic location. Good for big groups. Full of very friendly and interesting people. Hostel owner is really friendly and helpful too. Beds were comfy, bathrooms were clean, and kitchen was well stocked, though I imagine it'd get busy if the hostel was full.

I booked this hostel for 4 nights. At the first sight it looks nice and cool. They have a common area with pool table and couches, a bar…. BUT after one day I was looking forward to leave this place. In the website they don’t mention that at 1am all the common area (kitchen included) are closed until 8:30am. This means that if you are talking to someone or lying down on the couch without disturbing anyone the staff will ask you to leave, you have two options: stay outside the hostel (where there is nothing, not even a chair) or go in your room. If in the night you want to have a glass of water you can’t. You can’t either have access to your own food until 8:30am (?????) I mean, at least open the kitchen at 6am for the people that has to leave early!!!!! On the second floor there is a nice terrace, well there is no shadow and in the late evening is closed as well. The kitchen is A TOTAL DISASTER. Is way too small for the amount of people that the hostel host or can host. You will end up having your breakfast in a very crowded and loud place (and this is not a big deal…). There are 3 fridges, SO packed that when you open it, bags full of food falls out. If you find a place for your food, you are a lucky person! I left some food outside the fridge (bread) in the designated area and never found it again… The kitchen doesn’t not looks clean at all. I mean, how can you clean in this massive mess??? The room where I was sleeping was dirty. Below my bed I always had empty bottles of water and other kind of trash. The sheet that they gave me was full of sand. In the room there is a bad smell, like humidity and dirt together. Same for the bathroom (even though I saw the staff clean it every day). Well, not a good experience, I really don’t recommend it even though the location is good.