Mandala’s Hostal — Hotel in Sololá

Ok first and foremost, if you do come here be prepared to have NO IDEA where you’re going, but let me give you a tip. If you go into Mr. mullets, go to reception and there is like a secret door in the back that leads to the alley. The door right in front of you is the entrance to Mandalas. Then ask the staff how to actually get there, you could not believe the maze it is to find this place and like NO SIGNS ANYWHERE. It’s a mystery. Also, if you think you’re coming to Mandala to have a quieter hostel, think again. And that’s not because Mandala is loud, it’s because Mr Mullets is about a foot away and you will hear them partying, but just know by 11pm it’s quiet time, assuming the local neighbors aren’t throwing a party themselves. We don’t get the best sleep here. We had a private room, and trust me it gets very warm in there, not even a fan! You’ll have to leave the windows open which is usually fine but there are quite a lot of mosquitos at sunset, a bug screen would be nice but I can see they don’t do that because of the unbelievable view that is the lake! If there’s anything about this place, is the view from the common area and the view from our room. Unreal. The bathroom in our private room was totally messed up, the toilet barely worked, a girl in the room next to us’ shower didn’t work, so they definitely have some plumbing issues or something. All in all it’s a decent place, not the best but it’s decent. Front desk can’t give you any advice on activities, so they’ll ask you to WhatsApp them until someone who knows...

The hostel has a cute flair with a cat living there, a nice roof terrace overlooking the lake and a hammock to relax in. The people working here are friendly and the owner can give u all kinds of information. My room was super small and had 5 people in it. There's no room to store things, just some small lockers so all of it is on the ground and as I checked in it just looked like a mess (super messy people is not their fault but bigger lockers could prevent it). Beds have no privacy curtains and are super wobbly so you'll definitely wake the other person. There's just one bathroom each floor and sometimes I had to wait bout 45 minutes to brush my teeth and ended up brushing them at the sink in kitchen. More outside sinks would help. Water in the shower is only warm when you literally shower with the least pressure you can get- jumping from one drop to the next then. Location is alright - walkable to the lake and loads of bars and restaurants. It is super close to Mr Mullets Party Hostel but you get noise just until 11pm, so not too bad. Kitchen is spacious but it's one if the first kitchens I had in hostels which literally has no common products. Not even pepper or other spices! Let alone oil... What quite annoyed me is that they clean the kitchen directly at lunch time and I had to wait a few times bout half an hour for them to finish ... Why not do it bout 10 or around 3 when people usually don't cook? All in all it's relatively cheap but you'll get definitely better...

Location is in an alley which might seem daunting at first but it’s perfectly safe . Hostel is very homey. I stayed in a three bed dorm and it was comfy , comfortable beds and clean bedding. Small lockers to stow your valuables. The kitchen is amazing , however I couldn’t figure out how to work the oven or toaster oven to reheat food. Multiple bathrooms which were always clean. In the bathrooms I thought it was weird that there’s no way to dry your hands ? Maybe put paper towels in the bathrooms , as there are in the kitchen. It was too much of a hassle to climb the stairs to dry my hands . Loved that there was a picture of the map of San Pedro, that was helpful. Doug was super nice and always there if I needed anything. Wifi is horrible , like really bad, even with three routers so that was a buzzkill. Also note that the hostel is super loud until 11 pm with the party hostel next door playing loud music.

I think the prices on the board should reflect actual prices of things . The board says it’s the same price from San Pedro/Pana to Antigua however that’s not the case . I was charged an extra $54 at checkout for laundry, towel rental , and the shuttle but prices should reflect that so it doesn’t seem like customers get ripped off . I still had an...