Casa del Mar Surf Destiny

The hostel has a new owner, so the old photos, comments, and Booking rating of 8.7 don’t reflect what I found. I expected a decent place and was very disappointed. During my three nights, the shared kitchen was unusable because there was no gas for the cooking plates. The shared rooms had no hot water, the pool wasn’t there, and there was no soap in the dispenser even though one was installed. There was also no lock on the shared room, so there was no way to secure the room with all your belongings. The owner said there was 24-hour security, but that was completely false, he was the only one there. The rent is very cheap for Santa Theresa, but don’t expect much service or rely on older reviews and ratings.

The rooms were fine, and we liked the veranda outside. The location was convenient, too. But the pool was empty, and the service was poor. After an incident, we asked if we could move our stay one day later. Staff said they would have agreed if we hadn’t booked through Booking. Then Booking sent them a request, which the hostel turned down. We lost a day, so we booked an extra night afterward. Somehow the earlier booking was then changed as well, leaving us charged for two nights that overlapped, even though only one room was available. It made no sense.

I had a horrible stay and would tell people to find another hostel. The owner unplugged the fridge to save money, there was no hot water in the showers, and the room felt humid and damp unless the AC was running. One night, he came out of the shared room next to ours, where it seemed like he had been sleeping or trying to spy on us. At first he came across as relaxed, but later he went on and on accusing me of trying to get a free night because I hadn’t found him to pay earlier that day. It was dumping rain, and since he’d initially seemed chill, I thought I could pay the next day. I understand a misunderstanding, but he didn’t try to work it out. He kept calling me shady even after I offered to pay him right then.

We booked two nights and wound up staying four. The owner Luis and the staff were friendly, and the hostel was clean. Our spacious room had a clean attached bathroom and toilet, and the hot showers were much appreciated. The kitchen was new and well equipped, with baskets for storing food, a nice touch. The beach is across the road, about 2-3 minutes away. Highly recommended.