Kasa Kiwi Hostel & Travel Agency, Quetzaltenango

What could be hidden behind those almost-nondescript doors at Kasa Kiwi Hostel & Travel Agency? It's a great hostel that is welcoming, fun, and an excellent place to base yourself for your adventures in Xela.

The Location

This place has a solid location, situated in Zone One; Kasa Kiwi is just below the historical heart of the city, Central American Park. A lot of the points of interest are located in and around this park, and a twenty- to thirty-minute walk will take you past sites like the stadium and Mercado la Democracia to Zone Three, which contains a few sites of its own as well as Terminal Minerva, from where the chicken buses leave. Other forms of transportation are readily available; all bus terminals are within walking distance, and taxis tend to lurk around the park for adventures further afield. Also clustered in and around the park is a great variety of restaurants and street food vendors as well as supermarkets and every other conceivable type of store you could desire.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Dorm rooms come in five-, six-, and ten-bed varieties and privates are doubles only with or without bathrooms. The dorm rooms are lockable and lockers are available outside of the rooms, near the reception (bring your own lock). Dorms are quite nice -- the beds are not bunks, and they're very comfortable. Power sockets are plentiful and there is a variety of cupboards and shelves scattered around the rooms in which you can store possessions.

Bathrooms are on the ground floor and on the rooftop, they are clean and roomy. Showers are clean too but a little sparse with only two showers (one is also a toilet) on the ground floor of the hostel. The showers themselves are roomy with a hook for clothes, and the toilet doubles as a shelf.

Common Spaces

There are only two real common areas in the hostel -- the kitchen (exceptionally well equipped for a hostel, with a cheese grater, wow) and its little dining balcony and the rooftop area. The kitchen is great --there's lots of stuff to use, and it's clean and roomy enough for multiple people to cook at the same time (a win). There is a book exchange at the top of the stairs to the kitchen.

The rooftop area is big and well stocked with tables and chairs and an even better-stocked bar. The rooftop bar gets jumping at night, with most guests heading up to take advantage of whatever special is being run that night and enjoy the live music or DJ featured a few times a week. The size and openness of the rooftop area make it easy to meet people, but it's also possible to get away from the crowds a bit and have some privacy. And those looking to head to bed early need not worry, the party doesn't touch midnight and somehow the noise doesn't filter down as much as you'd think.

Summary

Kasa seems to have just gone the extra mile everywhere. There are no bunk beds; each guest gets his or her own bed and a tiny bubble of privacy; lots and lots of information concerning what's going on in Xela at the moment as well as up-to-date info on buses and tours (including prices); and just an overall welcoming, comfortable vibe. You wanna party? Happy hour starts soon. You want some peace and quiet? Of course, be our guest. If they add a few more showers to cope with the peak hours, you'll have as close to perfection as you are going to get.