The Hostelz.com Review
The Hostel Pangea is quite a well-known hostel in San Jose and is popular amongst travelers.
The Location
Pangea is located a taxi ride away from the San Jose bus stations but within walking distance of ten minutes of the city centre´s main attractions and shopping areas. The hostel is run as more of a commercial business than many Central American hostels. The hostel employs a security guard and every guest is given a wristband to ensure that there are no unwanted intruders in the hostel. Staff advise travelers to take a taxi if traveling around the city late at night. The hostel is located about five minutes away by taxi from the bar and nightclub area.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The dorm rooms are small but not too crowded and the hostel provides security lockers -- but you must provide your own lock. Rooms are also equipped with fans. The bunk beds are comfortable and clean linen is provided. There is a refundable key deposit.
The bathrooms are also kept clean, however there is no hot water. There is an adequate number of spacious bathrooms in the hostel. There are no hooks or shelves for clothes though.
There is a twenty-four-hour reception and helpful multi-lingual staff. Facilities provided at the hostel include bar/restaurant, swimming pool, laundry service, free internet, and a ten-minute free phone call to Europe, North America, or Canada. There is also a pool table and common area for guests and a TV room. Checkout is at 11 a.m. and departing guests are allowed to use the hostel´s facilities for the rest of the day if they pay a small fee.
Common Spaces
The hostel bar gives backpackers an opportunity to meet other travelers. Similarly the pool area is another area to do this.
Summary
Overall this is a good hostel, with good location, good facilities, and a proper hostel atmosphere.
The Location
Pangea is located a taxi ride away from the San Jose bus stations but within walking distance of ten minutes of the city centre´s main attractions and shopping areas. The hostel is run as more of a commercial business than many Central American hostels. The hostel employs a security guard and every guest is given a wristband to ensure that there are no unwanted intruders in the hostel. Staff advise travelers to take a taxi if traveling around the city late at night. The hostel is located about five minutes away by taxi from the bar and nightclub area.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The dorm rooms are small but not too crowded and the hostel provides security lockers -- but you must provide your own lock. Rooms are also equipped with fans. The bunk beds are comfortable and clean linen is provided. There is a refundable key deposit.
The bathrooms are also kept clean, however there is no hot water. There is an adequate number of spacious bathrooms in the hostel. There are no hooks or shelves for clothes though.
There is a twenty-four-hour reception and helpful multi-lingual staff. Facilities provided at the hostel include bar/restaurant, swimming pool, laundry service, free internet, and a ten-minute free phone call to Europe, North America, or Canada. There is also a pool table and common area for guests and a TV room. Checkout is at 11 a.m. and departing guests are allowed to use the hostel´s facilities for the rest of the day if they pay a small fee.
Common Spaces
The hostel bar gives backpackers an opportunity to meet other travelers. Similarly the pool area is another area to do this.
Summary
Overall this is a good hostel, with good location, good facilities, and a proper hostel atmosphere.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
April 2008
Their Description
Hostel Pangea Details
|
|
(To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.)
Location/ContactHow is Hostel Pangea rated on other websites?
Not listed.
Hostel Pangea Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Average Arrived late after walking around downtown San Jose in a downpour looking for the place. No one knew where it was or had even heard of it. Neighborhood is not very safe but they do have a security guard that did not want to let me in. Staff was not particularly friendly or helpful but my experience was not as bad as some of the other reviews here. Pool seemed like a nice thing to have although I didn't get to use it. I liked the view from the observation deck at the bar and met some other travelers but the beer was definitely over priced. Only stayed here one night but I wasn't impressed compared to other hostels I stayed at in Costa Rica. Probably would not go back again. — Kirk , USA (2011-09-16) Filthy, noisy, smelly bathrooms, high crime area This place is terribly overrated. The bunk beds are crammed into the rooms like sardines, very crowded. The overall cleanliness is poor, especially the bathrooms. If you would like to get some sleep, bring big earplugs, as the noise from the bar and neighbors is horrendous. And walking outside the hostel during the day or night, is taking your life into your own hands. Check out the razor wire front gate photos. Stay somewhere else. — Jay (2010-01-12) Don't go! I returned with leeches. The swimming pool was empty and I couldn't sleep of the noise. — Saskia , Holland (2009-12-26) Not very impressed This place was recommended to me but I was not very impressed. We arrived late and absolutely no lights were on in the entire hostel, not even the rickety stairwells. It was under construction so there was debris everywhere, and a nail even went straight through my birkenstock on the dark walk to the bathroom. The private rooms are plain, there's not much privacy, beds are uncomfortable, but that's pretty standard of hostels. On the bright side, there's a pool and a bar and after hours they sell beer behind the front desk, but there's usually no attendant so you have to go knock on his room door. — Coloradoan Couple , USA (2009-12-01) Socially Fun yet Small/Noisy for Sleeping Helen, the cashier, and Fernando, the security guard, were amazingly amicable! Shuttle greeted us at airport yet looped the airport five times waiting for another guest for thirty minutes. Murals beautiful, rooms are too small, bathrooms some hot water but smelly, roof-top bar was great for socializing, cheap drinks, movie theatre with bean bags was cool place to hang. Rooms too small! — T. Soli , USA (2009-08-16) Sh*tty service If I was with a group of people who wanted to party and not leave our hostel, this is the place to be. It's clean and has a bar upstairs. If you are looking for some help to plan your time in San Jose or Costa Rica, they are horrible liars that want tour commissions. I had a friend stay at Hostel Pangea and she liked it. Since it was Semana Santa (Holy Week), I was nervous about finding a hostel and made reservations for two nights. When I got there around sunset, they made me pay for both nights upfront and dimed me with deposits. I hadn't been to an ATM since I left Bocas del Toro, Panama, because I didn't want to be carrying a lot of cash, so I almost didn't have enough. Anyway, I get settled and go to ask their trip planning staff (I forget what they call it exactly), what is the best route to walk to the TUASA bus station so I can go to Volcan Poas. Are there better streets? Ones to avoid? He tells me there is no bus to Poas anymore. I thought that was strange because before I left Monteverde, where I had been volunteering for six months, I made it a point to check that the national park had reopened after the earthquake in December. I asked if he was sure. He said that the bus didn't take you all the way to Poas because the road was still broken from the earthquake, but I could sign up for this $65 tour that included a coffee plantation tour and butterfly garden. I explained that I was meeting friends at Volcan Poas and didn't want a tour. I asked if there was some other way to get to Poas. He told me that if you took a the Poas bus, it would only take you too the town, then you had to find a taxi to take you to the park and pay for it to wait for you and it was really expensive. After much thought, I asked him about how much a taxi would be. He didn't know. I asked if he could find out an estimate from the hostel to Poas. He fiddled with his computer for a bit, then talked to two guys behind the counter. Ten minutes later he comes back and says that he doesn't know how much a taxi would be. I ask him if he could call a taxi company for me and ask. He didn't really give me an answer and started helping someone else. He suggested the tour again, and I reiterated that I didn't want a tour, only to get to Poas. Then he tries to sell me a tour to Irazu. I told him my friends weren't at Irazu, they were going to be at Poas and then gave up. Later I decide that I should try and call my friends to tell them that I might not make it to Poas to see them. I ask the same guy if I could use the phone, I had a Costa Rican calling card. He said I could use the phone for 50 colones a minute. I repeat that I have a phone card and would like to use it. He said I had to go use the public phone on the corner then. So at 8 p.m./9 p.m. at night in San Jose, I wander off to the street corner to call my friends. The next day I set off early to the TUASA station to ask them if there was a way to get to the volcano. The man working there said, "Yes, it leaves there at 8:30 a.m." I asked him if it went all the way to the park and he gave me a strange look and said, "Claro que si (of course)." I got all the way to the park, which hadn't clouded over yet (I had a view time of an hour before the crater disappeared behind the clouds), and met my friends, no problems. So, in conclusion, the service sucks! — Rachel , USA (2009-06-12) Scam and No Pura Vida lives here! I arrived the San Jose airport with the expectation to be picked up by Hostel Pangea as booked. Upon arrival, no van was there. So, I called Pangea and they said the driver had just left and that if I took a regular taxi, they would have to charge me anyway. One hour later, they arrived to pick me up! Upon arrival at Pangea, the staff were rude and nasty. The free internet, if one could find a terminal that was working, was so slow that I had to leave the hostel to pay for one to use. The food was horrible -- the worst Gallo Pinto in all of CR. Sure, it's cheap, yet, better to pay $10 more for a place that will treat you fairly and has decent food. — Intrepid Traveler , USA (2009-05-15) Don't go there There was no chance to sleep in this hostel, because of a rock band above our heads. And the (cocaine using) staff didn't take any responsibility and were really rude to us. Although we paid 30 dollars we got a small sh*tty room at the back of the hostel with a rack in the ceiling above our heads. Then a rock band started playing above our heads at 9 p.m. and it didn't stop all night long (we had a plane to catch the next morning at 5 a.m). When the rock band was still playing at 11 p.m., I went to the reception and they told us that it was not their responsibility because the band was outside the hostel. When we asked them for another room they told us they were full. We didn't get our money back either because they don't do refunds. So they let us pay 30 dollars to hear the worst rock band of costa rica banging on our heads all night long. Then me and my boyfriend got really mad again at 2 in the morning when the rock band was still playing. We went together to the reception and told them to come and listen by themselves. They yelled at us that it was not their problem. Then three other people from the rooms that were beside ours came complaining too (They had complained earlier in the evening too). All of a sudden it became to threatening for them and four rooms at another part of the hostel were empty. So at least we slept one hour for 30 bucks. The staff were really rude to us the next morning when we went to the airport. I think this happens every night and they rent the rock band rooms during the day (when there's not yet a rock band playing). And people that arrive at the hostel at night get other rooms (because otherwise they would hear the rock band and wouldn't take the room). — Ruudje , Netherlands (2009-03-25) Good even for honeymoooners! My (brand-new) husband and I stayed here a couple nights, and enjoyed the bar, the restaurant, the pool, the free internet, the pool tables, beautiful wall murals, telephone, TV room, airport shuttle, and comfortable private room -- all for a very fair price. This hostel provides many conveniences if you like to travel in style occasionally while in Costa Rica. — Lizerd , US (2008-12-30) Better then I had anticipated After reading through comments, I was regretting having made a reservation at this hostel. Once we arrived though we were not disappointed, the staff was friendly and helpful, the rooms were clean, bathrooms needed some work, the bar/restaurant upstairs had excellent food. And it was in a central location, which was good for when you needed to get a cab, go to the bank, or go buy bus tickets. — Christy , Canada (2008-12-15) Surpassed my expectations! From reading all the comments, I was a little hesitant to stay here but I couldn't have been more pleased with Hostel Pangea. The staff were very helpful and pleasant. I thought the staff were definitely one of the highlights. We were in a private room, $14 each. The room was small for four people but we were only in the room to sleep so it wasn't a big deal. The beds were comfortable and the mattresses were the best I've slept on in Costa Rican hostels. The hostel has a funky design and layout. There were couches and little nooks everywhere so it was great for meeting people. There were also plenty of bathrooms. The location is good. Security was top rate. We had to leave our car keys at the front desk but that's no big deal. There is gated parking and a security guy at the gate at all hours. The restaurant/bar was slightly overpriced but not too bad overall. Food was decent, drinks were reasonable. People were very cool. All in all, Hostel Pangea is highly recommended! — Ryan , USA (2008-09-11) Avoid at all costs This place is awful! We've traveled all over and stayed in countless hostels, and this place had the rudest staff we've encountered. In fact, I posted a review about our negative experiences at Hostel Pangea on another hostel site and was sent an aggressive and name-calling email from Pangea for speaking the truth about our experience! Hostel Pangea obviously blames their guest for its own shortcomings and will not hesitate to retaliate in a child-like manner. Although our experience while at the hostel was a negative one, the behavior of Hostel Pangea now, in regard to my honest review of our experience at their establishment, is shocking, pathetic, and utterly unprofessional. — L , usa (2008-08-08) Rude Employees and scamming "exchange rate" The hotel has an exchange rate for colones much higher than the rest of the city, though they claim its like that everywhere in San Jose. It's not. We checked. So basically they screw every person who comes through the door who pays with colones out of a few dollars. Then, when they give you your key deposit back, they screw you again because of the "exchange rate." It's only a small amount of money out of your pocket, but its quite a bit of money into their pockets. Basically, our room was $28 but after exchange, it really cost us around $32. The guy at reception was pretty rude to us, and a different guy at reception giving us our deposit back in the morning was even worse, throwing my boyfriends extra 60 colones at him across the desk that he would have lost through this elusive "exchange rate." We paid 1060 colones for key deposit, so we should receive 1060 back. It is a deposit, not a rental. Yeah, its 60 colones, but its principle. Guessing they have about fifty beds/rooms for rent. they're thus pocketing over $100 a day by screwing their guests out of small amounts of money. It's shady and unappreciated. I call BS on Hostel Pangea. — Courtney , US (2008-05-08) I liked it alot! There is high security there, you can't enter unless you have the wristband showing that you are staying there. Really decent rooms, beds, and bathrooms. Tons of computers for internet access. The pool was a little dirty while I was there. This place definitely accommodates to party people. There's a dance floor upstairs and huge signs with recipes for mixed drinks decorating the walls. The restaurant upstairs is really big and nice. The prices for food are not so bad. The TV room has a huge television. The painted murals at this place are amazing! There are also hourly shuttles to the airport here. — mary , USA (2008-04-27) Excellent hostel with super helpful staff and awesome murals everywhere! We stayed in the original Pangea because we are not really the party type and we appreciated the kitchen use more than we would have a pool (it's rainy season presently) The only thing about the older Pangea is that the rooms on the street side are way too loud so as long as you check your room first you'll have a great time. Check out the other Pangea's rooftop bar and grill for amazing food too! — Chelsea and Raul (2006-12-02)