The Fort Hostel — Hotel in Magdalena

If you’re looking for a home away from home - this is it! The fort is a beautiful unique hostel in the middle of nature with majestic views of the jungle and the Caribbean Sea. Every detail is made with so much love and passion. Dani, Guillaume and their amazing staff will make you feel so at home, they’re all so attentive and sweet and helpful. The space is amazing, upon arrival you’ll walk up a hill and already feel like you’re in the middle of the jungle although you’ve just left the main road. You’ll be surrounded by cacao and fruit trees, lots of colorful birds and if you’re lucky you might even hear or see monkeys. You have a beautiful kitchen you can use, a cute shop to buy groceries in and prepare your own food. They also offer family style dinners prepared by the amazing Alec and every meal he makes will be the best you’ve had in Colombia. (Try his self made ginger beer and hot sauces - insane!) The fort has a beautiful bar and cocktails made with home made liquors with ingredients from their land. Guillaume will prep whatever you want on or off the menu and every single drink will be high class and absolutely delicious (try the cacao espresso martini and the coconut margarita and Lulo sour - ah can’t decide they’re all so good!). And my absolute favorite part is the sleep! You get to sleep in a treehouse-like dorm, overlooking the jungle and the sea, at night you’ll see so many stars it’s hard to look away and the beds are so comfortable and although it’s a dorm, you have absolute privacy due to curtains you can close around you’re bed and the best part is waking up to this insane view and the music of the jungle. Even though you’re in the middle of nature and everything is open, it still is so clean and luxurious, it almost feels like a little hotel somewhere in Europe. The fort is located close to beautiful beaches and in the middle of nature but not far from party hostels and Buritaca or palomino, but exactly the home you need when you want to wind down, relax and recover. You can really see the love and dedication Dani has put into this magical place, you feel and see it in ever detail, in the construction of the buildings, in the lighting and decoration, the colors and the beauty. Thank you all so much for an absolutely amazing time and this magical space you’re created and opened to guests. I will definitely be back, hopefully...

This was a nice hostel, the staff were lovely, the cats and dogs are friendly, and the vibe was certainly unique being a treehouse in the middle of a beautiful jungle, I’ve never stayed anywhere quite like this before.

There are a few things to be aware of though:

The location isn’t great, nothing is in walking distance and it’s very very far away from any sort of restaurant or supermarket. You really do need to bring any food and snacks with you. I’d see this place instead as an isolated retreat.

The social vibe wasn’t fab as a solo traveller I was the only guest in the entire hostel the first two nights which was lonely. Was kinda scary being in an open treehouse in the jungle alone to be honest.

The biggest issue I faced here was my arrival. The instructions they gave me on how to get there by bus from Santa Marta were unclear and incorrect, so in theory would have missed the last bus. Note there are two different bus stations in Santa Marta with totally different bus types and departure times. As a result of this I had to walk quite a distance alone in the pitch black with my bags along an unlit road with trucks passing by, quite unsafe.

The driveway up from the road to the hostel is also unpaved, steep, and unlit, basically a jungle trek, making it really treacherous and scary walking up in the dark and alone. I feel like they should explicitly say that it is not safe / or appropriate to arrive here when it’s dark, or they should install lights along the entire driveway which are turned on between say 18:00-21:00 when people are still arriving.

It’s certainly a quirky hostel, and I would recommend staying if you like the complete isolation / jungle detox vibe, it was a really beautiful setting and the staff and animals were all lovely. But, I wouldn’t recommend for solo travellers given how small it is and the risk you’ll be totally alone like I was. And I would make sure you arrive in...

The best hostel I have ever stayed in. The rooms have an amazing view, the beds are comfy and have good mosquito nets and personal fans for each bunk (and there is a gorgeous breeze in the morning from the mountain). The bathrooms are very clean and some of the nicest I’ve seen in a hostel (it feels more like a hotel), and they are cleaned thoroughly daily. The staff and owners are friendly and helpful, and have great recommendations for activities in the surrounding area. My partner went to Tayrona Park overnight from the Fort hostel and it was an easy journey and the Fort staff were very helpful. I had to stay as I was unwell, but the staff looked after me so nicely and I was glad to recover from my illness in such a beautiful place. There is lots of wildlife surrounding the fort and it was a great hostel to meet people - the other more ‘party’ hostels are close and easy to get to also. Currently there isn’t a pool but despite the hot weather there was no need, as there is a breeze and the buildings are cool (not to mention there are amazing cocktails to cool you down). The breakfast is great (especially for vegans as there is toast and cereal) and there is a shop where you can buy extra snacks. The kitchen is clean and well equipped (good knives for chopping - rare in hostel kitchens!). |Such a brilliant hostel - I would not hesitate to...