Mambembe: Cats, Hammocks, and a Hill in Santa Teresa
Santa Teresa is the kind of neighborhood that attracts artists and people who romanticize artists, and Mambembe fits right in. An old mansion converted into a hostel, it leans hard into the eclectic — art covering the walls, a music room stocked with instruments anyone can play, and resident cats who have fully claimed the common areas as their own.
Bunks have curtains, lockers, outlets, and reading lamps, though some rooms do have three-tier configurations. The space is kept clean without feeling institutional. Hammocks hang in the outdoor areas. There’s an indoor TV lounge and a sundeck, and the vibe is social without tipping into party hostel territory. If you need a night of sleep, you’ll get one. If you want to stay up talking until 2am, that’s available too. The steep hill up to it is real — budget your legs accordingly.
Books Hostel: Murals, Barbecue, and a British Invasion
Also in Santa Teresa, Books runs a different kind of show. The interior is covered in murals. The crowd skews British and decidedly committed to having a good time. Happy hour kicks off the evening at the downstairs bar, and the energy rarely drops before midnight.
The communal spaces are genuinely good — a barbecue area, a small kitchen, a library, a TV room with Netflix and a PS4. A free vegetarian breakfast arrives every morning, which is a welcome shock after a late night. The wooden bunk beds are sturdier and more comfortable than they have any right to be, with solid pillows included. Privacy curtains, individual lights, and sockets are absent, but air conditioning is present in most rooms. The showers always run hot, which in Rio is never guaranteed. And despite the revolving door of guests, it stays clean — a testament to staff discipline that any traveler who’s seen the alternative will appreciate.
Rio rewards the traveler who comes prepared. Pick the hostel that matches your speed — quiet mornings by the ocean, late nights in Lapa, or hammock afternoons in Santa Teresa — and the city opens up differently for each. The right base changes everything.
