Hostal El Colibri

The prices are very reasonable, the facilities are good, and the staff are lovely. I’d recommend it. The one issue was an Irish guy in the dorm who kept having sex with his local girlfriend, and three different guests ended up leaving because of it. My noise-cancelling headphones helped. That situation wasn’t the hostel’s fault.

The Wi-Fi was good, and the price was low, 384 GTQ for three nights for two people. We were upgraded to a double room with a private bathroom because the hostel was empty, instead of using a shared bathroom. Even so, I wouldn’t recommend Casa El Colibri. It felt strange to be almost the only guests, especially since staff were often away. We had no light and the oven wasn’t working, so we had to call the owner, who then called reception staff to help. The owner, Carlos, was very friendly and speaks Spanish, English, and French. The kitchen was a mess, dirty and poorly equipped, and the bathroom wasn’t very clean either. Finding hair from previous guests in the shower was unpleasant. The staff were friendly and offered to wash our clothes instead of sending us to a “lavanderia.” We accepted their 10 GTQ offer, but they lost some clothes. We asked three times before getting everything back. The clothes were still damp and smelled of cigarettes. For what we paid, we still expected at least a clean place.

If you’re hoping to meet people, this might be an okay choice. My private room was dirty and the walls were so thin I could hear everything from the neighboring rooms and courtyard. I think there are better hostels around for the price.

The beds were the best I tried in Guatemala, nice and thick, and I slept like a baby. There’s free water, a fridge and freezer, a ping pong table, and a marimba to play. The walls have art, and there are two big lounge areas with a future sauna. The kitchen may need a bit more cleaning, and at first the place can look messy, but that fades once you meet the very friendly owner, Carlos, who makes it feel like home. As elsewhere in Guatemala, the hot showers aren’t very hot because the electric current is only half of what the electric showers need. Get a key for the front gate if you need to get back in quickly. Heavy afternoon rains can flood the road, and the wind can wreck your umbrella and leave you chilled. Nights in Quetzaltenango, also called Xela, get down to only 10 degrees.