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Hostal Cumbres del Volcan Flor Blanca (hereon referred to as Hostel Flor as there is also a Hostal Cumbres del Volcan in San Salvador with the same owners) staggers across the line from homey to someone else's home and back again. The owners are warm and welcoming and very eager to give you any and all information you could possibly require concerning San Salvador, but the other amenities are, unfortunately, too average to say much about.
The Location
This place has a solid location within an easy walking distance of two of most interesting neighborhoods (the historic downtown and the commercial centre) in San Salvador, and an even quicker walk to the major east-west highway in San Salvador along which multiple bus lines run; more buses go along the street on which Hostal Flor is located, and there is even a bus stop right outside the hostel. The owner is also a wealth of information about how to use San Salvador's bus system. There is parking available in the hostel's driveway but it fills up quickly. The building itself is easy to spot but the fact that it is a hostel isn't very well signposted.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Hostal Flor has four-, six-, and eight-bed dorm rooms, which are reasonably comfortable and decently spacious but the lack of any type of shelving or storage areas outside of shoving bags under beds could lead to some clutter. Dorms are not lockable, but while there are lockers available outside of the dorms their number is far below what would be required if even one of the hostel's dorms was full let alone all of them. Private rooms come in double, triple, and quadruple bed options with the option of an en suite bathroom.
Common bathrooms are interesting -- there are two shower/toilet stalls and two sinks crammed into about a four/five-metre square area (at least for the boys -- the girls get maybe an extra square metre to play with). These bathrooms are cramped, and the toilet is the only place to put stuff when you are in the shower except for the top of the walls, which are low enough to be seen over. The cleanliness is ok, but it could definitely be better.
Common Spaces
Common areas are decent, as there is a nice garden area with two dining table and chairs setups beside the kitchen, which is large and very well stocked, but only its right side is available for guest use (but what you are allowed to use is very respectable). There is a TV/living-room-style area with a piano that is reasonably comfortable; it also contains a book exchange. There is a nice patio area upstairs that has a decent view of the surrounds and is quite pleasant in which to spend a summer's day; unfortunately, the hostel dog uses it as its bathroom. This is a reasonably social hostel that seems to be popular among traveling businessmen in town for work and on a budget, but sufficient travelers wander in for a few days' stay.
Summary
This is a solid, all round hostel that needs some improvements in order to realise its full potential and become the hostel juggernaut that San Salvador needs, but it'll do for now.
Photos taken by the Hostelz.com reviewer — Genuine photos you can trust.
Candy
Hostelz.com Staff Reviewer
Published on Jan 23, 2019
Location and Contact
Location
Airport: Autopista Comalapa to San Salvador (50 km). Enter the city at the Hermanos Lejano Monument where you continue straight (North). The highway becomes 49 Avenida after the monument. Continue for about 1 kilometer to Sexta Decima Calle, just before the Estadio Magico Gonzalez (it is the second overpass) where you will turn right. Continue East 6 blocks on Sexta Decima Calle to #1937, on the corner of 37 Avenida Sur. The Gimnasio Nacional is right across the street, and the offices of SIGET (electricity regulatory agency) are on the other corner. Taxi from the airport should b