Reviews of Pura Vida Hostel

Super close at the beach , bus station , the family is great

All good

I walked out disgusted in the end out of pocket $22usd. It did not feel safe for a solo female. I reported to Booking.com and was told a refund was being looked into. A small amount to end up out of pocket I found somewhere way better.

This is the worst hostel I have come across in CR. Thought I could do a night, plus had booked on booking.com so felt compelled to pay for one night. Would really like to know where the customer stands with this fortunately they did not have card details. Also to note I mentioned this hostel to a few other hotels in Montezuma and they were aware on how disgraceful this hostel is. I found something else that was so, so much better for $35 this hotel room had a bathroom, hammock, and fridge and clean kitchen.

Location and outside appearance of the hoste, looks and feels cozy. Fast wi-fi

There were no individual lights or individual power outlets at the shared 4-bed female room. The room was also a bit smelly. The bathroom and shower area is too dark and could benefit from a renovation.

Close to the bus station, center and beach

We didn’t feel comfortable in the room. It was not a 100% clean, old mattresses and beds. The kitchen was also very old and quite dirty (a lot of insects) - so we didn’t cook. The bathroom was dirty, with a lot of insects too, no soap. We didn’t want to shower in this small bathroom, because there were so many mosquitoes.

Joel - the volunteer - was amazing! The place is close to everything. There were not alot of people there at the moment, but as I just needed a place to recharge for myself it was great / if you want to meet people maybe a bit harder. The family that owns the place was very nice. Thank you.

- Great location, walking distance from everything - Staff were very friendly - Good reliable wifi that reached the rooms and all common spaces. - Previous reviews mentioned dirty bathrooms, however they were fairly clean on our stay and had a sign saying they clean every 2 hours so assuming they’ve taken feedback on board 😊 - Kitchen was large and well equipped - Cheaper than other hostels (although you get what you pay for)

- Rooms were too hot & humid with poor ventilation, the the fan provided was not powerful enough, didn’t reach the bad. Room smelled weird which I assume is from being too hot - Mattress was extremely worn out and I could feel all the wires/springs, it was very painful to sleep on. Pillows extremely lumpy. Both need fully replacing. We had 2 nights very bad sleep. - Kitchen closes at 8pm-7am and is LOCKED which means no access to your own food in the fridge. We had snacks & drinks that we couldn’t eat which was frustrating. I could understand “no cooking after 8pm” but to lock the kitchen shut at these times is ridiculous. If you’re booking tours and getting home late you’re forced to eat out. If you want to grab a cold drink from the fridge you have to walk to the shop and buy a new one. Super annoying. At the very least it would be nice to provide a fridge in an area that isn’t locked. - The common areas are nice and the pool is nice, however both evenings there were several young children running around and screaming. Really weird vibe for a hostel to be honest, felt a bit awkward using the pool with my boyfriend in the evening and being sprayed with water guns by 6 year olds 😅

I didn’t die

The kitchen closes at 7:30 pm so if you are not done cooking by that time they will ask you to finish and leave, also there is no fridge access when the kitchen closes. The rooms are very hot themselves.

Location was amazing, history is really cool, absolutely beautiful with all the plants and you can see the beach from the front porch , staff are very friendly and helpful

The bathrooms were pretty dirty and no soap to wash hands .

It’s really in the center right in front of the beach.. they attend the checking on time

For the dorms :They don’t put hand soap, they don’t give you a towel, bring your own, they don’t have a towel for drying your hands after doing the dishes.. they don’t have hot water just cold in the shower.

The location is nice, very close to the town but still in the middle of nature. You could see monkeys from the terrace. The staff is not too friendly, but luckily there was some nice volunteer!

Overpriced for you get. Kitchen closes at 8 pm

Basic hostel down a dirt track in central Zuma. The access track is opposite the bus stop/taxi rank which backs on to the beach. Great location MZ only a small town so everything is walkable. Quiet hostel perhaps too quiet.

Beds were ok, lumpy pillows. Dorms like a sweat box but fans help. One ground floor loo and shower for 10 people not a good ratio. Bathrooms are small and cold water shower only which is ok. Kitchen is tired but it works ok. Social space is a bit weird in that the hostel owner and family live there and are always around so always seem to be watching, the social space is a bit small and quiet.

Location very convenient for access to beach/restaurants

Bathrooms were a bit more basic than described. It was also quite hot in the rooms and the fan provided wasn’t really powerful enough.

Location near town and beach

Very comfortable and convenient spot, love having breakfast incl. & the communal kitchen. Altho a very busy town, it was pretty quiet as rooms are centered around a courtyard. The young lady at the desk, Georgie, was super sweet & helpful.

That people are allowed to smoke in the common area. Not very pleasant at all, esp when you are trying to eat. The owner needs to put in a No Smoking policy inside the hostel.

Location is perfect! Right the centre but far enough from the main road. Clean, fresh bedding and clean toilets. The family who owns this hostel is very nice and welcoming. There are super cute dogs and cats too :)

Showers and the main sink in the bathroom would need a deep clean. Cookware in the kitchen is very old and rusty which makes cooking really difficult.

The hostel is in a good location, close to the beach and the waterfall and supermarket. It has some nice community areas. The kitchen is well equipped. You pretty much live together with the people running the hotel, but if you want you can find that a bit charming too! We rented the apartment, and it was nice to have your own kitchen (but be aware of monkeytheft!).

We rented the apartment, which said 2 bedrooms and a kitchen and a living room. But it was actually a bedrom outside of a kitchen which also had another room where the people from the hotel was living, so little privacy. The second bedroom was more of a basement room with a bed in it, and a door leading in to the communal kitchen. Also there was none cleaning, and we had to ask for towels for the shower (not even sure they were included?).