Casa Santaella

Really great hostel with a beautiful garden and very nice people. Very relaxed. Would highly recommend.

Casa Santaella quickly felt like home. The gardens are beautiful and immediately became my happy place lying in the hammocks every morning. The family that lives on the property is also so friendly and make everyone feel safe and welcome. I had dinner with the fafamily on one occasion, and it was a beautiful experience despite the language barrier. Mayela(the hostel manager) is super friendly, making an effort to speak with all the guests (and speaks perfect English). 11/10 best hostel around!

I normally never leave a bad review, however I wouldn’t recommend staying here. It’s location is quite far out (20 min taxi to the main centre) though 5 mins from a gorge lil beach. There aren’t really any nice restaurants around either. The hostel itself has cold lights, the room only had a main light and there is AC but the staff have the remotes so when they’re not around they don’t turn it on in the night and it was almost unbareable to sleep in the heat! In addition, it wasn’t a very clean hostel, the bathroom has mould and there was always left out fruit on the table for guests which was covered in insects. The bed very uncomfy and springy, with no plug next to the bed or bedside table to put your things on. Also no lockers. The people there were quite cold and it was very much like you’d walked into a home and were intruding. In addition, bring mosquito spray if you stay here!! You will be eaten alive otherwise! Nonetheless, there are some good points, the garden is absolutely lovely to chill in and though the hostel owner was away when we stayed she was brilliant over the phone and very sweet. Ana the volunteer was also great when we needed her. Sorry to give a bad review, but there are many things that could be improved.