Hotel Europa

Pros +

• The room was big and the bed was comfortable, there was a useful writing desk. Breakfast was very good, there was a wide choice of cakes, fruit, vegetables, cheese and cold meats. Location was good in the downtown area of Montevideo. Even though Colonia Street got empty at night, you just needed to walk a few metres to find crowded streets and squares that were safe all night long. Value was very good at a cost of about 50 Euros per night including breakfast. The all-female reception and breakfast staff members were efficient and formal.
• We at least felt safe. Great shower.
• The hospitality makes you feel at home. All needs at walking distance. Credit cards work perfectly well. No need for cash.

Cons -

• The hotel has a ground floor and nine floors where there are the hotel rooms. There are 20 different areas for WiFi in the hotel - ten in the areas near the lift and ten in the areas not so close to the lift - and that is a nuisance when you move from one floor to another if you are visiting relatives or friends because you need a new code if you leave the limited area where you are originally connected. To provide a crazy example, I was in room 901 on the ninth floor but could not use the WiFi code for the ninth floor but the one for the ninth floor lift but that ninth floor lift code did not work inside the lift. My room was noisy because it was next to the lift. Breakfast plates were tiny, like coffee saucers.
• Staff for the most part felt like they were taking care of business. Breakfast was ok, but little real food, a lot of pastries, yogurt and coffee were good. The first room we were in, right by the elevator - I thought construction was going on - but the elevators are very old and actually were so noisy that the floors shook. Staff was very kind and moved us to another room. In this room the air conditioner was very old, and the bathroom smelt like sewer water. We had to keep the door closed - and no vent in the bathroom at all.
• Nothing.