El Zopilote Hostel, Restaurant, Pizzeria

El Zopilote is a unique hostel in the jungle surrounded by a judge variety of plants and wildlife. I absolutely loved my stay, there was so much to explore, the place is big and there are so many hidden Corners to explore. The rooms are big and build from natural materials. The free Yoga class was my favourite activity. I absolutely enjoyed the organic and vegetarian food options. Most of the food is grown right on the property and the salad has a special taste. Moreover I was able to visit the pizza night hosted there 2 times a week. The music and party was great and the fireshow an absolute highlight of my trip. They even have vegan Pizza! I had a Magarita and the taste and mix of spices put on top of the pizza was absolutely delicious. Not to forget, I never have been to a hostel with this kind of variety of fun and mindfulness activities. I expand my knowledge in many ways, especially while joining the permaculture tour. Super Interesting! Hope to come back in the future!

I arrived with no expectations, especially after the short hike you have to do to get to the hostel. But my god, it's actually paradise on earth! I extended my stay three times because I didn't want to leave. The activities offered are different every day and also very diverse and interesting. The yoga instructors, in addition to being free with voluntary contributions, are incredible and talented. The atmosphere is nourishing and rejuvenating. Furthermore, the food is exceptional, with a special mention for the fact that everything is grown locally on their huge permaculture property. It's absolutely worth the trip. I'll come back to Nicaragua just for this place. Simply wow.

I loved my stay at Zopilote on Ometepe! The rooms are clean, cozy, and surrounded by beautiful nature. The service is great, with super friendly and helpful staff. What really makes the place special is the big group of volunteers—all very kind, welcoming, and fun. There are lots of activities, workshops, and parties, creating a lively sense of community among travelers and volunteers. At the same time, the location offers peace and quiet in the forest, with wildlife and nature all around. A perfect mix of relaxation, nature, and great people. Highly recommended!

The staff were nice and welcoming. The location was great. The events offered by the hostel were super fun!! The rooms were in pretty rough condition, really worn out and old. Looked significantly worse than pictured online. The paths to get to the rooms and up to reception were a nightmare. I completely understand they don’t want light pollution, but at this point it’s a safety risk for all the guests. The walk up to reception is a good 10 minutes and up to my room was another 10 minutes. The terrain was very rocky and with big bags late at night it was horrible. I would recommend arriving during the day and not with young children or lots of luggage. My phone died and I literally could not see a thing at night to get to my room. Proper lighting should be added or head lamps should be lent to each guest. It’s unsafe.

This place wasnt for me. I thought I would love it because i love being in nature, but there were too many challenges. First off, i found my bedsheets kinda smelly like as if they were not washed at all (ive been at other eco hostels before so I know its not just that its because its an "eco hostel" that they smell bad). Theres also no light at night if you need to go to the washroom, you can easily get lost, but luckily there is a guy working at night like security he found me on my first night and showed me back to where im staying. It was also mad raining in the evening and theres no roof so you just get rained on. Same with the mosquito situation, definitely bring repellent, or you can buy some natural repellent from the front desk). The permaculture tour and yoga were cool, im sure the paid tours (ex mushroom) would also be cool but it seemed so expensive so I decided not to do them. Volunteers were great, and so was the food. I think its an interesting place to stick around for a couple of days, get to know the volunteers and experience the pizza night fire show among all the other activities, but honestly, theres noooooo way id stay long term like some people did.

Zopilote has so much to offer. The open vibes and closeness to nature & all the activities/offerings are a wonderful way to spend your time at Ometepe. The food is very crafted and you can tell care is taken to prepare each dish. Zopilote is very close to nature so there are bugs of all kinds very close to you, as long as you can handle this and are okay with compost toilets you will love it. Also the manager, owner and staff are all lovely, friendly and helpful.

El Zopilote is always a favorite stay for us here on Ometepe. They are extremely helpful and intentional with their guest services. They go out of their way to accommodate your needs and even changes in your travel plans. It’s a good spot to stay as a single person, a group, or an entire large family like ours. The food is delicious, inexpensive, nutritious and made with care. There are also so many activities to get involved in like yoga, breath work, fire show, garden tours, mushroom tours, and more. It is a beautiful, rustic, back to land experience that feels incredible to experience. If you have a heart for sustainable travel practices this spot is true to their vision of earth care.

I hate to write a negative review about a place but it’s the kind of place I thought I’d love and didn’t. I go camping a lot and am a very outdoorsy person but there were a few things here that I did not enjoy. The beds in the rooms were dirty with bat poo and there were bats living in the rooms. There is no light in outside and the facilitated are fairly spaced out and I got lost 3 times going to the toilet sober. There are signs (for reason apparently) everywhere to not leave any belongings in the room unattended including charging phones and not even in the lockers: cages provided. It just makes things a bit inconvenient and makes you feel uneasy (although I never felt unsafe, just nervous of robbers!!!) It did annoy me as well that on one of their booking sites they said they do meals for $2 and it’s not expensive but it’s more like $5 which is something to consider when there’s no kitchen. Beautiful looking though and some people love it. Very close to el peten and there’s a shop down the hill and laundry and scooter rental