Stray Cat Hostel

The door is a bit hard to find for this quirky hostel. The murals are a giveaway, and you just need to ring the doorbell on the steel door on the left. The staff were super helpful with the bus system. The bus station is a few blocks away too. There are a few stray cats here, they roam around the hostel. Definitely add character and charm to the place. Despite the cats, my bed was clean and there wasn’t much cat hair around. They have a kitchen, laundry and a free, small breakfast. There was also a shelf of sunscreen and toothpaste for common use. The dorms were great and open, but the beds do not have curtains.

Such a lovely place to stay. I stayed here a total of 3 nights spread out over 3 months. The staff is very friendly and if u have any questions about transport etc they will give u all the information necessary! They even told me that it would be way better to take the bus rather than take private transport that they can arrange for guests. Very honest and friendly :). The cats are also very cute and despite the three cats everything is very very clean. Couldn’t recommend this hostel more.

Perfect Stay in San José Loved the Cats! I absolutely loved my stay at Stray Cat Hostel! The location couldn’t be better just a short walk from the main bus terminals, which made getting around Costa Rica super easy. The staff were welcoming and always helpful, and I really appreciated the early breakfast options from 5 am, perfect for catching those early buses. And of course, the highlight: the CATS! They’re friendly, adorable, and add such a cozy, homely vibe to the hostel. If you're a cat lover, you’ll feel right at home.

We came to the Stray cat hostel on our first trip in 2023 and the kids insisted we stay again when we returned in July 2025. They have a few small bunk rooms so we just book one out so we can all stay together. There is breakfast in the morning and a small shop that sells excellent chicken just around the corner. The bathrooms are shared but have high walls and private stalls. You can see how clean everything is in the photos. The artwork and friendly staff make for great memories.

close to the buses, clean and comfortable beds, cute cats. breakfast is a nice touch, although they oversalt the eggs. i see i'm not the only person to have left this particular note... the neighbourhood (an inner city transportation hub) is exactly what you'd expect. it usually looks much rougher than it feels, but bear in mind that it will amplify your inner reality. if you're tired, unwell, uncomfortable, etc., the stress will absolutely resonate and reflect back. if you feel any fear about walking: just Uber. your ease will not only bless you, but the neighbourhood too. don't let the staff bully you out of your own intuition! i've stayed several times and recommend it frequently.

I enjoyed my stay here in the 6 bed female dorms for a night between arriving at the airport late afternoon and taking a bus to the coast the next morning. This hostel is very clean and comfortable, even though it is basic accommodations. The cats are so friendly and even come in the rooms sometimes — this makes it six stars for me, but if you are highly allergic or simply don’t like cats this is probably not the place for you. Highly recommend and will likely return! A few details in case this helps other travelers: I stayed in the 6 bed female dorm, which has a small enclosed patio with sliding doors into the room. Noise level at night was medium (could hear doors closing down the hall, toilets flushing, faint music and traffic sounds) with the patio door open. This room is on the side of the hall away from the street. I don’t think there is AC, but temperature was perfect during my stay. Maybe I got lucky with the weather, but I didn’t even see any bugs even though we kept the patio doors open the whole time. Bathrooms and showers were kept clean, but the water didn’t get very warm when I used the showers. The common area was nice, the kitchen was kept clean, and the free fresh cooked breakfast was delicious. Coffee was good too. They took US dollars at check in which I appreciated. I did not see much of the surrounding area, but the close proximity to the train station is why I booked it, you can’t beat the convenience!

Great place to stay if you’re ballin on a budget! For $15 USD you get to hang out with several adorable stray kitties, get breakfast, make traveler friends, and stay in a solid bunk bed - best hostel in Costa Rica!

Where to start? Unfortunately I missed the detail in the booking confirmation that there is a 10% fee for card payment. I've never come across any business anywhere in the world with such a high fee for card payment. They also charge an astronomical mark up if you want to pay in Colones rather than USD. They charge you extra to pay in the local currency... When I asked why, the staff member told me that the hostel operates in USD because "the banks here are weird". I've since been a customer of many other small businesses in Costa Rica. Most take card (without any extra charge) and the others accept cash in USD or Colones at the current exchange rate. Apparently the weird banks that force Stray Cat to charge extortionate fees don't affect other businesses in the same way. I had booked a female dorm one month earlier. But the staff member asked me to stay in a mixed dorm. Why? Because "we're very busy"... that's not busy, that's disorganized. It took a phone call to the manager to solve this conundrum. The staff member showed me to a top bunk bed. I assumed someone else would arrive later for the empty bottom bunk beds. But no one did. So so busy... The room is cramped with nowhere to put your things. The showers are cold. The breakfast was salty and greasy. But I didn't complain because I was so relieved to get breakfast at 5am before my early morning bus. But here's the icing on the cake. After we had all gone to bed and the lights were out, someone came into our room without knocking shining a torch at eye level (as in at top bunk level). He walked through the room to the window. I noticed it was a man. I said "this is a female dorm". "So?" He answers. "So I don't know what you're doing here." "Lady, I work here." He was shining a bright torch directly in my face the whole time. I couldn't sleep after that light stimulation. His demeanor and tone were so rude. He has such an inflated sense of entitlement he doesn't feel the need to offer any explanation for why he just walked into a female only dorm room after lights out for no apparent reason. Fire him!