Island Life Hostel

Overall great hostel experience

✓ Solid breakfast! Cool staff. Great overall value. Good vibes. The small pool, free mamajuana shots, and pool table are all nice adds. I stayed here several times and would return.

✗ The AC in some communal rooms actually gets too cold. Not just for me: I talked to five other travelers who concurred. A simple temperature adjustment. Otherwise, a great stay.

Best hostel in Santo Domingo

✓ Amazing and lovely stuff! I would go there again

Pleasant

✓ Location in the colonial zone was a plus.

✗ N/A

The Good Life

✓ The staff are very helpful and friendly, especially Henny. The breakfast was a real bonus, with fruit, toast, eggs and coffee all plentifully provided. The location is near to some interesting sights, bars and restaurants, and it's easy to walk around the Zona Colonial from the hostel. The bed was comfortable, and there was a personal light and fan for each bed in the dorm. The pool is also a lovely addition. It's a great spot to cool down in after a long day, or to sit in or by during the day. The hostel is in a lovely old building which has been nicely restored.

✗ I found the top bunk a bit tricky to climb up to (there's a metal ladder) as I had sore feet, and it was very hot in the dorm. Some of the personal fans aren't positioned very well, so they don't blow where you need them to. The communal areas could have been cleaner: the showers, pool and floors by the dorms.

Fabulous

✓ Social areas

Pleasant

✓ Great place and breakfast

✗ It could be more clean in shared bathroom and also the sheets

Very good

✓ Beautiful house, staff service 10/10, location

✗ Pillows smell weird, needed to put a cover

For a good time in Santo Domingo

✓ The hostel has a nice and social vibe, the owner is nice and so is the rest of the staff. There’s plenty of space to chill such as the huge couch with tv or downstairs near the bar. Also, facilities are within walking distance. I recommend the hostel for Santo Domingo and if you wanna have a good time.

✗ Im going to be honest: the sanitary (showers and toilettes) and kitchen space are dirty. Although there’s the hostel owner and two volunteers, there’s only one cleaning lady for the entire hostels it appears who also does the entire breakfast. Or at least, she was the only one I saw clean out of all staff. The kitchen smells really bad and there’s not enough dish washing soap/sponges etc, which leaves people to just rinse there cups & spoons instead of actually washing it. Besides, the defrosting raw meat for the dog, that’s in the kitchen everyday, does not add to the good smell of the kitchen either. Also, I didn’t see the cleaning lady use actual cleaning supplies and saw her clean the shower with what appeared to be hand soap or shampoo one time. In my opinion improvement could be made in this area!