Green Coast Hostel — Hotel in Bocas del Toro

We stayed 6 nights, and had booked a double private room with bathroom.||Arrival was confusing as apparently Green coast shares reception with neighbouring EL jaguar. The owner of El jaguar is brother to the owner of Green Coast, and is the primary reason our stay turned out comfortable and Nice. He alone managed to change our perception from initially horrible upon arrival, to decent/good at the time of departure. ||Upon arrival we inspected the room, where i found several black markings on the mattress which could be either from cleaned bedbugs or mold (see picture). I let the owner of El jaguar know, and he immediately upgraded our room to a much nicer one with a bed that had No issues, at no extra price. He didnt want to see the markings which i initially was suspicious of, but after many talks with him about various things i have concluded that he is a great Guy and was only trying to offer the best service to us he could. In general, staff here is great. The owner of El Jaguar was very helpful to us. ||Due to local road blockings related to the strike (summer 22) we had to extend our stay which was no issue. ||Cleaning seems good, and things appear to be clean. We didnt have our toilet waste bin emptied, but had to do it ourselves.  We also frequently had to ask for more toiletpaper, and once had to ask for more soap and towels. These were given to us with no issues. I dont mind emptying my own wastebin, but I feel like these things should happen automatically when you pay for accomodation. ||We were allowed to use common areas of el jaguar which was a definite plus. We used the kitchen several times. ||The place generally is in a poor condition. Sand frequently falls from the roof, rooftiles Are loose, doors Hard to open and close, and there is rust in many places. The colors on the wall Are weird. The bed in the first room left a lot to be desired, and scarred our perception initial ly, which tolk some time to recuberate from. The room is otherwise fine, but I dont think the value for our money is high. This is not an issue in particular here, but seems to be a general issue with Bocas Del toro. Things could generally do with a touch up around here, and the place is pricey. ||Be aware that the price to go from isla colon to Old bank where Green Coast is situated, is 5 USD per person at the time if writing, which makes things more expensive if you plan to go to isla colon. If booking a tour some place Else than at the Hostel, barter for them to pick you up, and drop you off back homenat the hostel, without extra charge. ||As for Bastimentos: There are not a ton of things to do on bastimentos other than tours and going to the beach. You cannot bathe from the Hostel, even though it is on the water as the water is contaminated. Water directly from showers Are deposited straight into the sea, which is clearly not environmentally sustainable. Old Bank is fun to hang around for a little while to experience authentic local culture, but otherwise not very charming in it self. The latter point can be said for Bocas Town as well. Local seemed a bit sceptic of our presence and the local supermarket was expensive and selections spare. This is however to be expected for a small Island. There are many pretty spots around the area, but lost require expensive boat rides as the park on the Island is inaccessible without a tour. It should be noted that fuel prices have soared at the time of writing, and these things may improve with time. ||Kitchen facilities Are spartanic at best, but it works. ||We had arranged a boat trip from Bastimentos to isla colon at 6 am the morning of departure, but the guy...

Hostal Green Coast was not listed on Hostelworld, and it was one of the last ones to appear while zooming in using Google map. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t get many guests, but I am so glad I found it on Booking.com. I had booked for one night but ended up staying two because of the great experience. ||Like most other places on the island, GC is along the waterfront and has its own boat-docking area which means you can have the taxi boat bring you right up to it, and you can also flag down a water taxi to bring you elsewhere. This is also where the hammocks and breakfast tables are, where you can chill in comfort. The atmosphere is serene amongst blue waters and you will not be complaining having nothing to do.||The building is built on water and has a soothing green and white colour scheme. The dorm I was in is spacious and very comfortable, with AC. Most importantly, the owner is very welcoming and friendly, always there for you. Breakfast is meticulously served and I felt quite pampered....

We did not stay here but we did have two dinners and went to them to arrange some isla trips. They were very helpful in setting up a tour and we were also able to rent a kayak through them. This review is about the two dinners we had which were Excellent. At this time ( November 2019) there is a new Manager from Germany running the Hostel and Christine the Chef from Poland preparing all the meals. Had the one of the best hamburgers I have had in a very long time with great fries. It was close to 1/2 pound with bacon and homemade pickles on coconut bread toasted just right. My wife had a specially made vegetarian burger which was delicious. Our second meal was a homemade pot roast and another updated...