Hostel Pangea

Amazing experience! The hostel was very clean and amazing inside. The staff didn't talk much, except for the bartender. She was awesome, and made sure we had a good time in the bar. Amazing view from the restaurant/bar upstairs (even cool hammocks to hang out in!). Had a really good time, and the fact that it had a pool added experience points.

Okay, so the hostel isn't located in the best location, unless you like strip clubs, cause there's lots in the area. But that's fine, we paid $7 for an 8 bed dorm, so we weren't coming with great expectations. The hostel itself looks like, at some point, someone actually cared what it looked like and put some effort into it. That was probably 10 years ago, because what's left is a pretty derlicht place. None of the shower doors closed, toilets have seen better days. The kitchen is lacking in cleanliness. All that would have been forgiven if not for the a-hole at reception. Worst service we've had in Costa Rica, the guy just gave us the feeling like we were bothering him by being there. And we were 3 out of 7 guests. We asked for bus options for the airport and he said it was 1000 colones and an hour ride. It was 685 and 30 minutes. Clearly he was trying to get us to take the $45 shuttle. Seriously, I've never felt more unwanted at a hostel. So, do yourself a favor and stay away from this s**thole, unless you like strip clubs.

I have stayed in a lot of hostels after having been to 45 countries. This hostel is probably one of the top three hostels I have ever been to. I don't understand why anyone would leave a review of less than five stars for this place. The location is perfect, the hostel is very clean, they have an excellent pool and a really nice rooftop common area. The price was great and security is perfect as well. Should I ever find myself back in San Jose, I will definitely be staying at this hostel again.

Avoid this place. It's a dive. We were put in a filthy dorm. Asked to be put in one of the other rooms, several of which were completely empty, but were refused. Our bed had other people's belongings on them, but the guy just tossed these off when we complained. We arrived quite late and had few options, so stayed. Kitchen was filthy, fire extinguisher missing, bins unemptied. All really easy stuff to sort, if they cared.

Some of the staff are friendly but most were not and not very unhelpful. Pool table was broken. The hostel was very empty and when asked if there were many other tourists here we were told there are alot which wasn't true. Also the rooms had no windows so they would get quite warm. The rooftop was a nice area and if there were more people could be a nice hangout area.

Great trendy spot, rooftop bar, patio, pool tables, clean rooms, good price, located near local bars, and the downtown walking street. Staff was helpful and the place seemed safe. Walls were not very soundproof though, luckily the other guests stick to the nice common areas and weren't too loud.

Rating it one star because of the attitude of the bartender/cook/whatever he was. Asked for a glass with ice and he said it's the rules not to give it out. After arguing for a while, he said he would give me ice but I had to find my own glass, I couldn't borrow one of the 20+ glasses behind the bar. Also, the kitchen is useless. Cooked dinner with barely any utensils and found mold on one of the plates. Only two power points in a room with 7 young people. Also, unbelievably only 6 lockers when there's 7 beds. Overall not a friendly vibe. And I completely agree with the other comments. They don't tell you about the free meals until you ask, and breakfast is only from 7:30-8:30.

Free pool was a huge plus. We would have preferred the pool table to be open earlier until later, however you cant beat free pool! One thing that was a major downfall was the temperature of our room. We had to change rooms because the heat was unbearable. Our second room was slightly cooler due to an overhead fan. The bed sheets had some stains on them, but we’re dirty kids, so it didn’t seriously impact us. Overall, this was a super hip hostel. Staff was phenomenal and always there to help us.