Hostel Pangea

Hostel Pangea is a well-known hostel in San José, quite popular among travellers. I read different reviews about it, from very good to very bad ones. But from what I saw on the pictures it looked quite nice, and besides, it seemed very safe. Usually I try to get away from party hostels and rather stay in quiet places. But since it was only for one night it was fine. From my past experience, private rooms get booked quickly in big cities, so I made a reservation well in advance and confirmed it a few days before the arrival.

Unique Quality: The hostel is located in the heart of the historic Barrio Amón area, three blocks away from Avenida Central, and just steps from the supermarket, restaurants and bars. The hostel was fully renovated in March 2010 and is extremely well run and safe. It has a security guard at the door and electronic locks on every door. There is a 24-hour reception with helpful bilingual staff. Each guest gets a free map upon arrival. The hostel offers dorm beds as well as private rooms with shared or private bathroom. I had a private room with a fan and shared bathroom which was 32 US $ (December 2010). The room was small and very basic, and there was nothing but a double bed with a comfortable mattress and a digital safety deposit box for passport, money and camera. It had a tiny glass window to the corridor. Clean linen was provided. The bathrooms were kept clean, however there was no hooks or shelves for clothes. Facilities provided at the hostel include a rooftop bar/restaurant with amazing view of the city and mountains, swimming pool, big TV room, laundry, book exchange and shuttle service to and from the airport.

Since I only stayed here one night I could not take advantage of everything the hostel offered. After the whole day in a bus, all I needed was a nice meal (which I had in their rooftop bar/restaurant, offering costarrican and international food), warm shower and a good rest and sleep. But overall, Hostel Pangea seemed a great place to stay and meet other travellers.

Directions: Barrio Amón

Pangea is a big hostel with a nice terras and restaurant on the roof. They even have an own disco but it was ready on the day that I left.
Its a crowded hostel so when you want some peace you have to go to my second Hostel.
The rooms were clean and the staff is very friendly, Dont walk the streets around the Hostel at Night by yourselve... its not save... but you dont need to be outside at night because you have everything inside.

I chose this Hostel because they had an Airport Taxi, the came to pick me up so that was perfect. Its an good hostel for your first Night in Costa Rica.

Unique Quality: Free internet
Restaurant
Beers on the roof
Swimming pool
Disco
Tourist Office
Airport Taxi

This is THE hostel to stay in, in San Jose. It's quite large as it has two buildings. It's very cheaply priced and you can meet a lot of fun and amazing people there. It's within walking distance of restaurants and shopping centres.

Don't listen to cabbies, the hostel is never full.

Unique Quality: There is free internet and a shared kitchen (in both buildings) with a living room and TV (in the main building).