The Urban Jungle Hostel

A clean, central hostel with comfortable beds and friendly staff. It felt safe and quiet. In the dorm, each bed had a shelf, an adjustable light and 2 outlets. The curtains worked well, and there were spacious lockers under the beds with a key/lock included. The shared bathrooms were clean and well maintained, and I always had warm water, though they got busy on my floor. The rooftop is small and the kitchen is small too, but it has what you need. It’s not the easiest place to socialize since there isn’t much common space besides the rooftop. They had activities going on through the week, though. Drop-off laundry cost 10€ and smelled really good when it came back.

My first impression was positive. The hostel looked nice, the staff were kind, and someone did me a big favour at the start. I was really looking forward to staying. My health issues mean I need to rest for 2/3 of the day, and although I used to work in bars and still have that late rhythm, holidays are difficult for me. Most of the staff were genuinely nice, and I had some heartwarming chats with other guests. I’d rather say something positive, but a lot of things here weren’t okay. My private (economic) room was beside the shared bathroom. That might have been fine, but showers and doors sounded as if they were happening inside my room. The street noise was even worse. If you sleep very deeply, you might manage, but I wouldn’t recommend it to others. The rooftop and kitchen were open only 7-23, so after 23 there was nowhere to sit or talk except your room. I’ve never been to a hostel where you can’t sit anywhere else after 23. The rooftop and kitchen were also closed 16:30-19, supposedly for reparations, and I never saw or heard anyone working there. I wanted to switch rooms so I could stay in the room until late. I understand that switching isn’t always simple when you’re already in a room. But they charged me the first room’s rate, 108 euros for two nights in a shared dorm, even though that dorm cost 74 euros for TWO nights. I didn’t raise it at first because I wanted to avoid hassle. Later, he said he’d given me a good price because the system said I had to pay 90 euros for ONE night in a shared dorm. I felt squeezed out. That wasn’t right. While I was in the shared dorm, which they knew, housekeeping came in and left the door wide open. I assumed they’d return soon, but half an hour passed and nobody came. I got out of bed and asked reception, which was nearby, why the door was open. She sounded super annoyed and said housekeeping was coming. 1,5 hour later they arrived, cleaned a bit and again left the door wide open. I thought they might come back, but nobody did, so I had to close it myself. The girl at reception could see this and did nothing. I was in bed and people’s belongings were in there. Anyone could have walked in, and there isn’t someone at reception every minute. It felt super careless and unbelievable, like they didn’t respect our privacy or belongings. The place has the potential to be a really nice hostel, and the social side was lovely, but too many things felt questionable and not okay.

The location is convenient and close to everything, but it’s pricey for an average hostel. The rooms often get messy from other roommates’ clothes and belongings. The bigger issue is the shared bathroom and shower area, which isn’t cleaned often enough. There are only two shared washrooms for everyone, each with two sinks, and they smell bad. I’d like to see the bathrooms cleaned more often. The bed sheets also didn’t smell freshly washed.

We had an amazing stay at The Urban Jungle Hostel! Umberto, the host, was welcoming, super friendly and always helpful. He even cooked for us, which was a real highlight. He also arranges fantastic Coiba tours, which we’d highly recommend. Everything was perfectly organized and the experiences were unforgettable. The rooms were clean and comfortable, the bathrooms were always spotless, and the atmosphere felt like paradise, right on the beach with real jungle vibes. The location is unbeatable. Absolutely top from the atmosphere and cleanliness to the service. If you come to Santa Catalina, this is the place to stay!