Awesome hostel – El Hostal in Antigua, Guatemala!
A few times in my life I have stayed in the “best hostel in the country” which includes in Paraguay in 2010 (the Black Cat – unrivalled) and Armenia in 2013 (Penthouse – pure class) and mostly it’s voted by Hostel World, TripAdvisor etc. Guatemala has seen me stay in so many top rated hostels and hotels, it’s clear the industry here is oriented for customer service, unlike some other countries…
Ahem – best hostel in Guatemala? Yes please – double room for a few nights!
When we finally made it to Antigua, we stayed in El Hostal, which is the best hostel in Guatemala on Hostel World for 2014. Having previously been in Panajachel and San Pedro La Laguna, we arrived in the more touristy Antigua and checked into this hostel, which yes…is pretty cool! Here are 5 things we loved about it:
El Hostal – the noticeboard.
1. Cool Staff
As soon as we arrived we are welcomed and greeted in Spanish and English – the staff make a big effort to work out which customers “hablar un poco espanol” (us) and which are fluent in the lingo. We digressed back to English while we were shown our excellent double room.
Panny and Klabberth in El Hostal, Antigua.
2. Wifi
El Hostal is small and this means the wifi signal is pretty good! I was able to do a fair bit of work in El Hostal.
Sorry guys – I’m online again – wifi is fast here in El Hostal!
3. Happy Hour at the Bar
2 beers for 20 Quetzals. That’s less than 3 US Dollars. And 2 wines for 30 Quetzals. Search the world for better hostel beer deals and maybe only China and Belarus come close. Pure bliss.
Happy Hour at the bar in El Hostal, Antigua – 2 beers for 20 Quetzals.
4. Awesome Breakfast
Included in your bed/room price is an awesome breakfast with one drink!! Having stayed in a few hostels the last few months which charged for breakfast it was nice to get ours included in the price.
Breakfast in El Hostal is included in the price.
5. Organising Tours
Some of us get lazy and I’ve been prone to it a few times myself when work gets on top of me. The good news is El Hostal in Antigua can do it all – you want to head to Copan in Honduras next day? You can! You want to head to Tikal? No probs! You don’t know if you can get to San Salvador safely? You can!
Tours and buses can be easily organised at El Hostal.
El Hostal is the best place to stay in the city, no poncing around, genuine cool staff and a great safe, comfy base for you! Not just that – it’s pretty cheap too – dorm beds from 90 Quetzals ($12 USD!).
Here’s a video from the excellent breakfast at El Hostal, Antigua:
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