El Jacal Backpacker

The staff were sweet, and the rooms and facilities were nice. I shared a private room with a big group for a few nights before our trek. My only complaint was how unreliable the WiFi was on the 3rd floor, but we came to unplug, right? :)

The place is beautiful and well located, and our room was clean and nice enough. It was on the ground floor behind reception, though, so there was no natural light. That might have been fine without the noise from people coming and going. We asked the receptionist to keep it down because we had an early bus, but she kept watching shows on speaker late into the night with the lights on, lighting up our room and making it hard to get the rest we needed.

The location is nice, on a quiet street near the city center, and the hostel has a garden, terrace with a view, and plenty of space. It could be a really nice place, which makes the basic problems frustrating. In the dorm and especially the bathroom, there are no hooks for towels or clothes. The kitchen lighting is poor, and so is the sink. There was basically one knife and one fork, so guests had to fight over them or eat with their hands. Please put some money into the kitchen 🙏 and add hooks. I’m giving one star and hope the hostel responds.

We came back to stay here after finishing our Santa Cruz because we’d enjoyed it so much, and ended up there for a week. It’s convenient to the square but far enough away from its noise, though dogs roam the streets barking at all hours, which seems common everywhere. The hostal has lots of shared places to sit, a lovely mountain view from the breakfast terrace, decent WiFi, and helpful staff who can book common tours. There are three shared bathrooms as well as rooms with private bathrooms, and the beds were decent. Hot water was good. Breakfast is included: orange juice, tea, coffee without milk, flatbread with jam or butter, and one fried or scrambled egg with ham and cheese. I’d suggest picking up avocado and fruit at the central mercado; the nearby grocery has little fresh produce. You can cook in the kitchen, but bring your own oil and seasoning. Pots and pans are there, though not the best, and there’s a shared fridge. You can wait in the common area for a night bus, and showers after checkout cost 15sole. Laundry is 4sole per kilo and sun-dried.