Tayrona Juancho House Hostel

Such a neat building, with beautiful plants and artwork. Our drinks were really good too. I had the coco loco.

Our stay at this hostel was a letdown. We spent two nights there, but the rooms looked nothing like the photos. They were dirty, damp-smelling, and the shower had no water on the second night. Most of the staff weren't welcoming or helpful. César at the restaurant was the exception. The restaurant wasn't anything special, and I wouldn't recommend the place for coworking even though I wasn't working during our stay. Trucks kept driving past, so it was very noisy, and there wasn't much atmosphere. More attentive, helpful staff would have made the experience much better. I hate writing bad reviews, especially for small businesses.

Juanchos House is an amazing place, just a 1-minute walk from the warm Caribbean water. We loved the views, the restaurant, and the staff, who felt like family. The room was comfortable, with a mini split A/C, and the Condor room has a private balcony with a mango tree growing right through it. The bus from Santa Marta is fast and cheap, and it's easy to reach nearby towns like Palomino. We had a great time. There's a lot of road noise because the house sits right on the region's only main road, so bring earplugs if you're sensitive to it. Hot water is basically unavailable anywhere in this part of Colombia, but with the heat and humidity, the cool showers feel good. Power sometimes goes out here too. When it happened during our stay, they started their big generator and had the Wi-Fi and other things working again quickly. For the trip from Santa Marta airport, we were advised to take a cab to somewhere along the Mingueo-Santa Marta road east of town, then catch the next bus to Palomino. That worked beautifully.

I rented the tiburon private room for one night, then moved out the next day. It was spacious and bright, but had no ventilation, felt extremely humid, and likely had untreated mold. I couldn't sleep well, and the sheets made me really itchy. The online photos are very outdated. The hammock area that impressed me wasn't there, and the atmosphere was nothing like the pictures. The worst part was that they planned heavy construction while knowing guests were coming. I had been in touch with them for a while, and they knew I was arriving with an infant, but they scheduled it anyway and didn't warn me until I got there. By then I had no choice but to stay at least the first night I'd already paid for. My one star is only for Rafael's good service.