The Campos do Jordão Hostel is one of the top options for travelers on a budget in scenic Campos do Jordão, in São Paulo State.
Start planning July and May/June weekend stays at this HI Hostel as soon as the year begins, as Campos draws large crowds during the Brazilian fall and winter.
The hostel is located in Abernéssia, a district with supermarkets, bakeries and other budget traveler-friendly businesses. You can walk to posh Capivari, along an avenue lined with trees that change color in the fall, or take the TTU (Urban Tourist Train).
As of this writing, the CJ Hostel is the only hostel per se in Campos do Jordão.
The Campos do Jordão Hostel can accommodate up to 60 guests in five family suites and eight apartments for up to eight people. The hostel occupies an early 20th-century building which still retains original architectural features.
Abernéssia is a busy district and the hostel is located on the main avenue, but take a look at the photo of the hostel on their website: you'll see it's not too close to traffic, thanks to a large square.
The door to the hostel is on the side street. When the door opens, you'll climb narrow stairs and land in the airy reception, where you're likely to be greeted by the scent of cake.
Breakfast may be a given at many Brazil pousadas and hostels, but a hearty and comforting afternoon tea or coffee with cake like what they serve at the CJ Hostel isn't.
The scent of goods in the oven is a trademark of the Campos do Jordão Hostel, whose other perks include a private parking lot - a huge plus during the invasion of cars at the peak of the season - and a recently added convenience that's still far from being a given in Brazil: wireless internet.
As of this writing, I've never stayed at the Campos do Jordão Hostel. I've stayed in affordable B&Bs (one of which was not good) and once I spent a few days in a Capivari hostel which closed. But I know the CJ Hostel well, having visited it more than once over the years.
One of the reasons I haven't stayed at the hostel is that my trips to Campos have often been spur-of-the-moment fall weekend trips and that just doesn't cut with this very popular place. Advance reservations are a must. You'll need less planning for weekday trips in the off-season (spring, for example, which is incredibly beautiful in Campos).
Once I visited the hostel right after a stormy season had left one of the suites with some water damage on a wall, and you could still tell it was a nice room. The hostel has been renovated, but it's got old Campos charm, which is why I like it. It's a cozy place to come back to after a day of hiking.
You'll meet international travelers in the dorms, or you can get a suite, another plus about the hostel.
Right now, the only place I can think of in Capivari which could be an alternative to the hostel is Pousada Toca das Bromélias, a budget B&B with a hostel atmosphere under Swiss-Brazilian management.
Address: Rua Pereira Barreto 22
Vila Abernéssia
Campos do Jordão - SP
12460-000
Phone number: 55-12--3662-2341
Phone//Fax: 55-12-3664-1707
