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Reviews of Selina Puerto Viejo - Hostel

3 out of 5
Selina Puerto Viejo - Hostel
Calle 256, 800m South of Puerto Viejo, On the way to Playa Cocles, Cahuita, Limon

Reviews

8.0

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 45 out of 108 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 34 out of 108 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 15 out of 108 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 6 out of 108 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 8 out of 108 reviews" "

7.8/10

Cleanliness

8.6/10

Staff & service

7.4/10

Amenities

7.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Jason, North York

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great!
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Selina on 10 May 2024
Thank you for your feedback! We're thrilled to hear that you had an excellent experience with us and that everything was great during your stay. We appreciate your kind words and hope to welcome you back again soon for another fantastic experience. If there's anything specific you loved about your stay or anything we can do to make your next visit even better, please don't hesitate to let us know.

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Ricardo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I asked the staff for a very late check-in (11pm), due to transportation issues, and they were very understanding and help me out with no dificulties at my arrival
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Selina on 11 Mar 2024
Hello Ricardo, thank you for your review! We are happy to know that you had a good time with us and we hope to see you again soon, Pura Vida!Thanks & Regards,

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I wasn’t planning on even leaving a review because I think this place caters to a certain demographic and for that demographic it is maybe a cool happening place. Here’s what I didn’t like: 1. The RUDEST staff. Everyone in puerto viejo was so kind and welcoming. I feel like they actively had to search for the rudest most unwelcoming people they could find. 2. Forget about trying to find this place in the dark. There’s a tiny tiny sign that says Selina which is not very lit at night. When I called the front desk for help they were wildly unhelpful then the security guard was also unhelpful when trying to figure out where to park when the gates were both locked. 3. I had a private room. It was FULL of mold and pretty gross. The toilet leaked from the bottom all over the bathroom floor and constantly smelled like poop. 4. I was feeling sick and asked the bar to SELL me a cup of ice, I offered to pay and did not ask for it for free. They would not SELL me a cup of ice (honestly should have been free but ok, I get it I’ll pay if that’s a policy). THEY WOULD NOT SELL ME A CUP OF ICE WHEN I FELT SICK AND JUST WANTED ICE WATER. That was really the straw that broke the camels back. They bartender went over to the “boss” likely the manager or owner to ask and he just said no. What an abysmal policy. They said because there’s a “festival” well I’m not part of the festival (literally 10 people in front of a dj booth, and 4 people at the bar) I’m a paying guest at the hostel who also
Toilet leaking from the bottom
Mold in shower
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023
Response from Selina on 3 Nov 2023
Hi, thank you so much for your feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to help us improve our guest experience. We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced while here. We pay close attention to your comments and we will work hard to improve as much as we can. Thank you for your stay. We wish you all the best and hope to see you again soon! Pura Vida!Thanks & Regards,

8/10 Good

Elias

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Flora

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very friendly and helpful team. Good location, close to Puerto Viejo and Cocles. Our suite was very spacious and quite with a good size fridge. In general very good but a bit expensive for what you get.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023
Response from Att: Keylin Fonseca on 13 Jun 2023
Hello Flora, thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback. We really appreciate that you're helping us to continually create a better experience for our guests. We will continue working hard to improve even the little details. Pura Vida!

10/10 Excellent

KARINE

Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Raquel Rojas. on 15 Apr 2023
Hello Karine!We feel very grateful for your rate, we wish to continue sharing the best experience with you in all our Selinas.

8/10 Good

Melissa

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We had a nice stay. My son loved the pool and the location was great. It was a nice quiet spot right on the beach with a cool hike through the jungle.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Raquel Rojas. on 15 Apr 2023
Hello Melisa!, tThank you so much for your comments, we wish to see you soon in hour Hotel.

10/10 Excellent

janice

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Has everything you need and more. Staff are super friendly. Great hang out areas. Nice walk to town on the trail. Great pool area. Very clean :)
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Selina Staff on 15 Apr 2023
Hi Janice!We feel very happy to see that you enjoy, feeling comfortable, feel very welcome to visit to us again in the future.Cheers.

10/10 Excellent

Karla

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We loved it. The place, the vibe, it was amazing. Also the breakfast was awesome.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

tammy

Stayed 7 nights in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Dale

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022
Response from General Manager on 21 Sept 2022
Hello Dale.We are so happy to know that your experience were so good, we hope to see you soon back.Pura Vida.

10/10 Excellent

Alan

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
all great
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Justin

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in May 2022
Response from Selina on 29 Jun 2022
Hi , Thanks for your feedback! We're growing quickly and it's great to get some feedback on our progress. If there's anything else you want us to know, don't hesitate to email us again. We hope to see you again soon!

8/10 Good

Jan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Super gelegene Unterkunft inmitten von Palmen, direkt am Meer, sauberes Zimmer mit Internetzugang. Superschöne Umgebung, unweit von schönen Stränden entfernt. Nettes Personal, große Auswahl beim Essen (Frühstück, Mittag- und Abendessen). Kostenloser PP bei der Unterkunft. Sehr herzlicher Empfang und Verabschiedung.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Corrinne, Fort Lauderdale

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very accommodating
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2022
Response from Selina on 12 Apr 2022
Hi , Thanks for your feedback! We're growing quickly and it's great to get some feedback on our progress. If there's anything else you want us to know, don't hesitate to email us again. We hope to see you again soon!

10/10 Excellent

Sean

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
My stay here was amazing! For that little bit extra per night compared to other hostels in the area you really do get a luxurious hostel which offers a lot of activities for the guests and a very high quality of service from the staff! When i arrived there was a problem with my reservation and instead of not letting me stay they upgraded me to a private room at no extra charge! I made a last minute decision to extend my stay for 2 nights and they were very accomodating and gave me another private room! The rooms i stayed in were always spotless and i ate in the hostel nearly every day due to the high quality of the food!
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2022
Response from Selina on 31 Mar 2022
Hey , Thanks for the feedback! We are always working to make sure we give guests the best experience possible, so we'll take your comments into account as we continue to improve. Hope to see you again somewhere along the road – don't be a stranger!

6/10 Okay

DOUGLAS

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2022

10/10 Excellent

Pedro

Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Amanda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Ziv

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021
Response from Ziv on 23 Dec 2021
Hey Ziv, It is a pleasure hear that, you are more than welcome whenever you would like to come, thank you for visiting us. Beste Regards

10/10 Excellent

Ziv

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good place
The place is tidy and inviting. The rooms are clean and the service is courteous
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021
Response from Ziv on 23 Dec 2021
Hey Ziv, It is a pleasure hear that, you are more than welcome whenever you would like to come, thank you for visiting us. Beste Regards

10/10 Excellent

Veronica

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fun and Pleasant stay!
Selina is the place to be if you wanna make friends and have fun. It is located a few minutes from Playa Cocles the most popular in Puerto Viejo. Staff is very friendly and the place has all kind of activities to make your day entertain or relaxing as you wish. The property is big and with beach access. Rooms have all type of options from shared dorms till private king. There’s a common kitchen where you can cook yourself and fridge storage or the restaurant has a full day service if you rather don’t cook. So you can choose what type of experience you want to have, knowing that is a priority for the chain to relate within guest as weekend parties are big event in the area.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2021
Response from Ziv on 23 Dec 2021
Hey Veronica, It is a pleasure hear that, you are more than welcome whenever you would like to come, thank you for visiting us. Beste Regards

10/10 Excellent

Gal

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021
Response from Gal on 5 Nov 2021
Hola Gal, Muchas gracias por tus comentarios, esperamos verte pronto de vuelta en nuestra locación, sera un placer atenderte,

2/10 Terrible

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
For the price this property is disappointing. No ecological aspects to be seen, crappy mattress, bad shower and the list goes on. More like a dressed up campsite than a proper hotel
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021
Response from Selina on 23 Oct 2021
Hi Andrew, Thanks for your feedback! We are very sorry and apologize for the inconvenience, we're growing quickly and it's great to get some feedback on our progress. If there's anything else you want us to know, don't hesitate to email us again. Take care!

8/10 Good

Carlos

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
A great place to stay but not the best
It was good overall. I just wish the place was a little bit taken care of.
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2021
Response from Carlos on 5 Nov 2021
Hola Carlos, Muchas gracias por tus comentarios que nos ayudan a crecer y mejorar la experiencia de nuestros huéspedes dia a dia, esperamos tenerte pronto por nuestra locación y veas los cambios que cada dia vamos haciendo para mejorar la experiencia de nuestros clientes.

6/10 Okay

Roger

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Had a great experience. The resort was in a central location and close to everything. Staff were great and would definitely stay here again. The resort is adorable and clean. Pura Vida!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2021
Response from Selina Puerto Viejo on 8 Apr 2021
Thank you very much for your comments, we are glad you had a great experience. We hope to have you here again. Greetings

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Stayed 9 nights in Jan 2021
Response from Selina Puerto Viejo on 5 Mar 2021
Hello, Thanks for your comments. Greetings

2/10 Terrible

Jeanette

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Poor quality customer service
I couldn’t event go because I was diagnosed with a disease and you guys don’t even answer the damn phone! I would never ever would book with Selina, you guys have the worse customer service ever, you haven’t even returned my money back , I hope everyone realize how bad your service is
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2020
Response from Marilyn Selva General Manager on 7 Sept 2020
Hi Jeanette, It's such a shame about your disease, I hope you feel better soon, We are really sorry about this situation, no worries about the payment, we are gonna proceed with the process of the refund for sure. Just to let you know, because of the situation of the COVID-19 we had to reduce almost all the staff, so not all the time we have somebody at front desk, because the reduce staff that are working at this moment we are doing everything to accomplish the daily operation, we are completely sorry about your feeling about us, because we are trying to doing our best besides all the COVID problems we have to face every day. We are gonna contact Expedia to refund you as soon as possible. We really appreciate your comprehension about this and you can give us the chance to visit us, when you feel better. My best regards,

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2020
Response from Marilyn Selva on 16 Sept 2020
Hi dear friend, Thanks for taking your time to give us your score, we hope to see you again to provide you an exceptional experience

8/10 Good

Gans

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel is divided into two sections. On one side of the street, you have the hostel, which has a pool, kitchen and restaurant. On the other side of the street, you have rooms and tents, quieter side of the two. The hostel can arrange tours / surfing etc. Beach is about 5-7 minutes walk. Puerto Viejo town is about 15 minutes walk. Restaurant is tad expensive compared to restaurants in the town.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019
Response from Manager on 9 Dec 2019
Hi Gans Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us, I appreciate it. In both sides of our location we have differents types of room for your comfort. Ans as you mentioned we have tours, transports, daily activities and much more. I invite you to continue coming to our Selina locations and share more experiences.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
I like Selina, it was the second time I’ve stayed here. Love the vibes, the pool, the music and the beachfront. Good food, kind staff. I don’t like that the hit tubs are never warm, the lockers in the dorms are busted or in bad shape, bathrooms could use some remodeling, single lamps on the dorms like Selina San Jose would be such a big plus. Other than that it’s my favorite place in Puerto Viejo so far
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019
Response from Manager on 16 Aug 2019
Hi dear friendThanks for sharing, we are happy to know that you are enjoying the Selina Experience, we love to create authentic and meaningful connections for you all. Thanks you very much for the feedback, you help us to improve, we are now working on it. Pura Vida!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Overall a good stay. 10 min walk into town can rent a bike at hostel if needed. Good vibes at the bar with food and drinks. (Did stay in private room not in dorm)
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019
Response from manager on 17 Apr 2019
We are happy you had a good stay with us and enjoy the vibe at Selina Puerto Viejo! Come back soon!

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Do not book here. Ever.
Do not book a reservation here. They canceled our reservation even though we showed up at 3:00 pm on the day we had a reservation. At first they acted like they were just getting our room ready, then we finally realized that they didn't have a room for us. They had given our room away and shrugged it off like, "it's a busy weekend." I responded with, "I know, that's why we booked a reservation before coming here." All the hotels in town were sold out. We ended up having to drive for hours in the dark and rain through a mountain pass arriving at San Jose around 11:00 pm.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018
Response from manager on 12 May 2019
We are sorry you had this experience with us! Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve!

10/10 Excellent

SGB, Cincinnati, OH

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I like the jungle feeling with all the trees in the property.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2019
Response from Manager on 27 Mar 2019
Amazing experience having the jungle around with animals, trees and ocean right in front! Hope to have you again soon with us!

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from Manager on 1 Apr 2019
Thanks for your feedback.

10/10 Excellent

Anton

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I want to come back!
Selina is such a great spot for those who seek a social, backpacker-type of stay but without too much loud parties going on. Perfect location and great service with access to book all kinds of adventures from the hotel.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2019
Response from Manager on 5 Mar 2019
Anton! Thanks so much for your feedback! We are so glad you had a great experience with us! Come back soon!

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities
The property itself was nice, the cabin they put us in was across the street from the actual property, that should have been disclosed in the booking. The amenities were fine except no coffee maker and when we asked at the front desk they looked at us like they did not know what a coffee maker was, had to go out and buy a sock coffee maker or pay for it at the bar, for $150.00 a night you would think coffee would be free. Bartenders could keep the bar tab correct, so there was a few disagreements there.
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2019
Response from Manager on 25 Feb 2019
Thanks for your feedback! It help us improve!

4/10 Poor

Eoghan

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
In terrible condition, location and staff good
Put me in a (Deluxe) room NOTHING like the pictures. I complained, got upgraded to a room with a guest already in it! After that was sorted out, we had NO HOT WATER for rest of stay. Entire hostel needs a deep clean, paint job and round of maintenance. Filthy shower floors, cracked paint and stains all over walls, cracks in the walls, falling apart shower doors. Only savior is location which we liked and the pool/bar area although kind of dirty was fun. Staff were also friendly and helpful but the overall management of this hostel is terrible. 100% do not reccomend.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2019
Response from Manager on 30 Jan 2019
Eoghan. Thanks for your feedback.

8/10 Good

LH

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Pool was very nice; property right beside the beach (not for swimming though); saw lots of sloths and wildlife which was awesome. Was a little far from the main core of Puerto Viejo - so when your'e getting off the bus, it's a pretty far walk.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018
Response from Manager on 30 Jan 2019
Nature here its amazing! We are located 700 meters away from town! And the best way to move once you are here its riding a bike!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019
Response from Manager on 30 Jan 2019
Thanks for your review!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This place is pretty cool. Highly recommend sleeping in the teepees. No shortage of jungle noises - including the Howlers. Small rooms and no air - but surprisingly temperate and comfortable. Recommend bug spray as there is no shortage of cracks. We sprayed door and window frames and were without incident. Communal toilets and showers were unexpectedly clean. Very unique and worth a night or two.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019
Response from Manager on 18 Jan 2019
The teepees are an amazing option at Selina Puerto Viejo! We are so happy you had a great time with us! Pura vida!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I liked everything about Selina!! I wish I could stay for many more days!!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2019
Response from Manager on 12 Jan 2019
Hope you can come back! ;) Pura vida

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great atmosphere but low value rooms.
Great staff and service. Awesome, location on the beach and 5 min. walk to a swimming beach. 15 min. walk to town which is nice because the hostel is located in a more quite area. Great food in bar and nice atmosphere with daily nightly events. Very good WiFi. However, this hostel is highly expensive compared to what you get. Low quality private rooms and often cold showers. Most private rooms are very small. Shared bathrooms could be cleaner. Woke up between 6-7am daily due to noise from construction on site. Shared kitchen is often dirty and pans and equipment are in poor condition. Due to all this, asked for a refund but was denied.
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2018
Response from Manager on 9 Jan 2019
We are so glad you had a great time with us! Thanks for your feedback! Pura vida!

10/10 Excellent

Ricardo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
nice vacations
incredible I should return is really good
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018
Response from Manager on 9 Jan 2019
Ricardo! Hope you see you soon again at Selina Puerto Viejo! Pura vida!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Hip hostel on the beach, but not the best experien
The bathroom was full of bugs and the room was very loud late at night. It said quiet hours after 11. We went to bed around midnight and couldn’t sleep because of the absurdly loud karaoke. We dis enjoy the bar/restaurant, the beach, and the activities organized by the hostel.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Manager on 14 Nov 2018
Thanks for your feedback! We do have entertainment at Selina Puerto Viejo, we are so happy you enjoy our bar and facilities and sorry to hear you didn´t have a great experience with the karaoke! Hope to have you soon again!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Having a pool and close to the popular beaches in Puerto Viejo.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Caribe on 12 Oct 2018
Hi Anonymous, thanks for your feedback, hope to see you soon. Pura Vida!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018
Response from Caribe on 12 Oct 2018
Hi Anonymous, thanks for your feedback. Pura Vida!