Hostal Mandala Evelyn

Lovely rustic hostel with great staff. Everyone was so helpful, and the beds are very warm in the rainy nights! Also they have great hot chocolate

There was no lock on the door or night guard. The room was basically accessible by anyone walking by. I felt very unsafe.

Showerhead in toilet. Everything gets wet. Beds are old, roof is tin, it's a wooden shack. Nice views, friendly attendant.

Fa un freddo glaciale! Si dorme in una baracca dal tetto di lamiera tutto aperto di sopra, spifferi 80cm per 15 e coperte insufficienti. Posizione molto bella, sebbene lontana dal centro,da fare tutta in salita. Non c’è l’uso della cucina, o mangi da loro, cibo mediocre, o paghi anche solo per una tazza di acqua bollente per fari un tè. Il prezzo è basso, ma rasenta l’assurdo se si va d’inverno. Ho dormito con giacca e cappello.

If you're choosing this hostel because it's one of the only ones online, please realise there are loads of places to stay in San Jose that don't advertise online! You can just go in person when you get there. You get what you pay for with this hostel. It's super cheap, which is great, but the beds are uncomfortable, they don't always change the sheets inbetween guests, and there's a gap between the walls and the roof, so it's cold and the metal of the roof rattles in the wind. Nice people thoug...

The lady running the kitchen and the rituals is so lovely, made me a solid torta the moment I arrived and some powerful lemon tea which had me awake the whole day. This hostel has no 24/7 reception or anything though, which was a problem considering there was an annoying Japanese fella in the room next to mine who wouldn’t stop blasting obnoxious tokyo drift and other goyslop music in the middle of the night after I toldhim to shutup. I would’ve ratted him out & got him kicked out, he was aw...

pretty cold in winter but they give you blanket (I still had to sleep with clothes on, not a problem for me but may be for some people). family management, not really into recommending you activity to do around but almost always available. Not a 5 star hostel but in line with the other places in town, and really cheap

Das Dorm ist eine ungeheizte Wellblechhütte mit Durchgelegenen Matratzen, der einzige Aufenthaltsraum ist ein Restaurant welches um 8 Uhr schließt. Warmes Wasser gibt es nach Anfrage aber die Dusche ist eine Zumutung

L'hostel n'est aucunement isolé et aucun endroit pour se réchauffer. 5° la nuit nous avons demandé pour avoir une couverture de plus et l'employé nous à froidement répondu non. Les toilettes doivent être flusher avec un sceau d'eau et la douche ne fonctionnait pas. Nous avons trouvé des crottes de souris dans les lits qui eux n'étaient clairement pas lavées depuis longtemps. Les portes ne se ferme pas et aucun endroit pour ranger les choses plus précieuse.

The owner was quite rude with us. We were not allowed to use the kitchen but buying from the menu was ok. The owner was hardly available which made it hard to ask question. The room is very old and uncared. Not enough blankets, terrible old mattresses and the roof was untight so more cold air entered. I would be ok with all these problems if the owner would be more friendly with us and more caring about our needs. Also we paid 150mxn per person for 5 people which is incredibly expensive for t...

Amazing well located hostel, close to the town/main street and the hills. Atmosphere was great, u will meet amazing people here. Private room was spacious and comfy with enough blankets.

Ultra basic. The mother and daughter who run the place are lovely and the food was good. But the dorm room was freezing cold, because not sealed to the outside, and the single blanket on the (lumpy) bed felt like almost nothing. There was also a gap under the roof to the next room, so it's light and loud if the neighbours are awake. It's cheap, so maybe fair enough, but for only a little more you can easily find a private room with warm blankets and warm water (but most are not available online)

Really wholesome beautiful stay with the family who runs mandela. Views are killing and the food being served is all homecoocked with family and traditional recepies! Generall really good for the price! OBS you will need warm clothes or a sleepingbag to stay warm during the night:) Highly recommend this place

The place is quite in bad shape, the room had no heating and we only got 1 blanket, we couldn't sleep bc of the coldness Even the bedbunks had messages from other guests warning them not to stay there The place is quite depressing and definitely had not been cleaned in a while Do not recommend

Amazing small family run place. Really recommend if you are coming as a backpacker.

I've read all the other reviews and thought it can't be that bad!!! And it isn't... Yes it's very basic and it's also getting cold in the night but the staff is super friendly and you can ask for blankets. Met some really nice people there. Yes you have to use a bucket to flush the toilets, but the are not filty and smell more after the chemicals used to clean them than anything other. always keep in mind that you can't expect to much for the price! And the Internet is working pretty well

L’endroit est super mignon et le personnel très gentil ! Tout comme les plat proposé sont bon et pas cher. Cependant je pense que la propreté est à revoir, changer les draps, nettoyer les douches.. À part cela c’était bien :)

Hostel Mandala takes a really warm place in my heart. The place is very humble, doesn't have much to offer more then a very simple bed, the shower isn't hot during the night but during the day it's boiling, there is wonderful view to the mountains, and of course it offers you San Jose Del Pacifico. It is quite up the hill so it's more quite, yet prepare to be woken up by the roosters :) Like said in the description, if you see it in their eyes (mine too), the place is 5 stars. Come with an open...

Very basic but I had a great stay!

Pros: Cheapest hostel, social, friendly staff. Cons: I was cold in the night despite three blankets, the bed was hard and uncomfortable and the pillow was like sleeping on a concrete block. Water bucket to flush toilet. No lockers or even lock on the dorm room door or hostel. One socket in the four person dorm