Nirvana Taganga

There were only Israelis during my stay, so the crowd didn’t feel very diverse. People were noisy through the night, and the staff didn’t do anything about it. The helpful staff, great location, and handy 24/7 kitchen were the bright spots. The facilities were quite dirty, though.

I stayed five days and came in with high expectations, but left disappointed. The rooms weren’t very clean, with ants crawling on the walls. The water stopped running at least four times while I was showering, and it also cut out when I was brushing my teeth. There’s a large pool, a snooker table, and a nice upstairs sitting area. The restaurant is open 24 hours and has beers and snacks. Those features make it easy to stay in and spend more than usual, but you get less of a feel for life and the atmosphere in Teganga itself.

The facilities are nice, and there are plenty of places to hang out, socialize, or relax. But the constant loud party music ruins the comfort. It isn’t really a party place, and some lounge music, or no music, would fit much better. It’s also a bad choice for non-smokers, since people smoke everywhere and there’s no clean air. That feels especially ironic in Taganga.

The bathrooms and beds were in good shape, and the living area has a beautiful design, with a pool, cute lights, and billiards. The rooftop would be lovely too if the cushions weren’t so dirty. They, along with the couch in my room, had disgusting stains. I wouldn’t even put my bag on them. The eating tables weren’t cleaned often either, with cigarette butts left there from the night before. There was music blasting everywhere until late at night, clearly audible in my room. It started around midnight. The mattress was thin, and the AC was out of our control: it came on around 8 p.m. and ran until 11 a.m. Drinks were too expensive, with a small Coke costing 5000. Someone told me outside drinks weren’t allowed. The 24-hour kitchen had food at okay prices. Breakfast was small and too simple for about 12k, while a tasty meal was around 17k. Most of the people I met were party tourists, and during my stay there weren’t really chill vibes. Some guests seemed broken, and I heard stories about nights out with sketchy people and alleys, though there were also stories about good parties. I came for diving, but most everything else was a disappointment. I like relaxing and connecting with people, and that didn’t happen for me here. I got the impression this is mostly what you get in taganga.