Fatima's Place Hostel

Interesting
I am not sure what Fatima uses as her hiring policy but it is extraordinarily hit and miss. On my way up to Tofo I stayed here, mainly because I have stayed at base before and am not a huge fan of the place, and the staff member behind the Reception/Bar was quite possibly the most useful person I have ever encountered at a backpackers anywhere in the world. Ended up sitting up chatting with him and a few others until the early hours and he remained friendly and helpful throughout. On the way back however, if Fatima ever reads this it was night duty 15th and 16th day duty guy on those days was the useful guy from arriving in Moz, I arrived at 5 p.m. to find an empty Reception/Bar. After asking others I was pointed to the guy sitting in front of the TV so I asked him if he had space and he said he would be right with me. Twenty minutes later (when the show he was watching finished) he strolled over to actually help me. He then sat himself down again and I watched a dozen or so other people turn up and receive similar treatment. The following evening the same guy disappeared off with a blond woman at 7pm and reappeared at 2 a.m. just coming back to lock everything up and presumably head back to bed again. People arriving simply had to figure out for themselves which dorms had space and forget about any bar service. The following morning, same shift, one of the cleaning staff ended up taking over reception as he had not reappeared.

Fatima's place is ok but not really great -- just a basic place to transit. the only thing I wanted to underline is the fact that the staff propose to arrange a taxi bus to Inhambane-Tofo for 450MTn and it's 250 if you do it yourself to Inhambane, and then in Inhambane you can find public buses which drive you to Tofo for 10MTn.

i spent a few days here in december 2004. as a seventeen-year-old girl who had never traveled without parents, i found the place a fantastic adventure. if you expect five-star quality then don't book at a backpackers. if you want fun, adventure, excitement, and a bit of a laugh then i say go for it! the staff were very friendly, and although things might not be done quite how they should be, people just have to relax! It's an experience and one to remember. i'm going back again for sure! for those that don't enjoy it, maybe next time try to relax and go with the flow -- have a little fun!

Lovely place with very friendly people and great atmosphere! I enjoyed it a lot.

I stayed here for three nights in the dorms. The place is relaxed and friendly. This may mean that things are done slower than some customers like to have but you have to get into their speed and just relax. I enjoyed my time here -- if there's anything you need, the owners will deliver it for you, just relax and it will come. I recommend this place if you want to chill. Don't expect five-star hotels from a hostel and then complain about it. This is exactly what you expect from a backpackers hostel.

Fatima's is the oldest backpackers in Africa -- I have been coming there for years and it is the only backpackers that from the outset has employed local people that grew up with the backpackers. They are really nice, efficient, and knowledgeable about Mozambique and they do their best to keep you safe in a town that is growing unbelievably fast for africa. I have seen big improvements which makes me feel that my money is going to the right place.

Terrible experience. Management was negligent and rude. The location wasn't great -- long walks away from areas of interest. Showers and toilets were backed up, and they overbooked doubles so that we had a lot of disgrunted couples doubling up in the dorm. We woke up in our eight-bed dorm with at least twenty people in there. Just avoid Fatimas or anything associated with it at all costs.

aboslutely horrible accommodation. they didn't respect our reservation for a double and put us in a sixteen-bed dorm. half the bathrooms don't work, the kitchen is small, and it's far from the centre. don't stay here unless you absolutely have no choice whatsoever.

Incredible place with incredible people! The staff are very nice and I spent a very nice trip in this town thanks to them!

Five stars for dirty rooms and insect infestation. A couple of hot chicks. You get used to the conditions after two days and then you make the most of your stay. Oh, and they have a dog that was impregnated by the turtle.

Very skanky but with outside space. Monica is lovely, but Fatima's is for old-style hippie backpacking. And if you plan to lounge in Mozambique it's fine - just low standards.

The toilets don't work and there's no hot water. I saw illegal camping, rude staff, and customers using drugs in full view of others. This place is not clean, and it's an incredible rip off on Forex. There were attempts to misinform customers about Maputo tourism activities in order to monopolize the trade. It looks like a number of hobos found shelter here and they prey on the customers. I can't believe this wasn't made public before.

This hostel is fairly nice. There is hot water, a sometime luxury in Mozambique. Parking can be an issue. It is quite easy to get blocked in.