The Thirsty Turtle Hostel

The location is about a 20-minute walk from the central town and beach, which means it's quieter than the bustle there. I booked one night in an air-conditioned dorm and ended up staying six. The price was good, the staff were friendly and helpful, and they felt more like friends than staff. The food made on site was great, and I really liked the pool. More hostels should be like this!

The rooftop patio has a great view of Jesus, and the place is only seconds from the beach parties, so you can enjoy going out and still get some sleep. It had just opened in December 2017 and was super clean when I stayed. The two guys running it are doing a great job. They even have a Canadian dog in charge of morale and security.

The facilities were basically untouched and very clean since this is a new hostel. I only stayed because everything else was booked, and the service and organization were the worst I've seen in Central America so far. For Sunday Funday, Eric told us someone would drive us to get tickets at 9am. Everyone at the hostel got up at 8, but at 9 nobody said anything. When we asked, the time changed to 10, then noon, even though the pub crawl starts at 12:30. We wanted to be sure we'd get tickets, so we walked there and back at 10. A couple of days later, I reminded Eric he'd said we'd get a ride. He said he was supposed to take us but had drunk too much the night before to wake up. When I told him everyone had been waiting since 9, he replied, “really? That’s hilarious.” The shuttle was VERY unreliable. Sometimes it simply didn't run, and we were left stranded. On Monday the kitchen closes, but they don't tell you. They order pizza, and if you don't want pizza, it's dark, and the shuttle isn't running, you're out of luck. I had no dinner until I said it was unreasonable to have no food and no shuttle, especially since they said it was too dangerous to walk after dark. Eric told me, “I don’t know what to tell you. It’s a hostel in Nicaragua and I’m just an ignorant American.” They offered to call a taxi. I said yes, but they needed to take it off my bill because keeping the shuttle running was their responsibility. Megan said they'd cover the taxi into town and back. When I went to settle my bill, some prices had also been changed. I said I'd deduct the taxi fare I'd paid the night before. They told me to pay the bill first in USD and that they'd give me the taxi fare in Cordova afterward. I paid in USD, then they locked the money away and said THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME MY TAXI FARE. It felt so sneaky. Eventually Megan reluctantly reimbursed me, even though she'd approved it the night before. Construction was still going on, starting as early as 8am. There are no quiet hours, so you sleep when the last person wants to and wake up when the first person does. The staff didn't know basic things, like the names of nearby beaches. They knew NOTHING about Sunday Funday, including which bars the crawl visits, what time it starts, or how much it costs. My experience was terrible. This is just a small look at how poorly the hostel was run while I was there. I don't know if it's like this every time, but this is what happened to me.

The staff are amazing, the food is great, and it's super cheap. This place rocks, so why wouldn't you come here?