Selina Monteverde

The Selina Monteverde is a comfortable place to stay with fun features like hot tubs, a pool table and an open fire. The rooms were clean and staff were friendly. It’s quite a way out of town though so the location wasn’t super convenient for me.

My fiancé and I stayed at the Selina for a night when we were passing through Monteverde. I’ve stayed at other Selina properties before, and this one lived up to my expectations. The staff is incredibly friendly and welcoming, and the rooms are nice and comfortable. For anyone looking for a fun, nice place to stay without a full-blown resort vibe and without breaking the bank, I would definitely recommend the Selina.

Great location within walking distance to the Cloud Forest Presever. Staff was friendly and helpful on arrival, showing us the property and giving us tips for activities in the area. Private room was cabin style, with plenty of space, trendy furniture and huge king bed. Bathroom was a bit utilitarian. Common bar/restaurant area was cool, variety of seating options and decent food offering. Would have appreciated more vegan/vegetarian options.

It’s a youth hostel, not a hotel. Inappropriate for a family. Loud, no amenities at all, poor beds, people yelling obscenities and smoking pot all around. Way overpriced. Concrete floors in bathrooms. Probably the worst value hotel stay I’ve had in 20 years of traveling. Expedia ad was misleading. Both the hotel and Expedia were utterly indifferent to our concerns.

This is definitely a great place to stay if you are more of the adventurous type. The location is great if you are planning on doing the Cloud Forest. The Selina chain of Hostels/Hotels provides a great place to stay for the backpacker type traveler. If you are looking for resort accommodations these are not those locations. But, if you love the outdoors and enjoy a community feeling this is it.

Quiet location with a great view. Food at restaurant was very delicious!

The location was great! The experience in the shared kitchen was not the best - some of the people did not wash their dishes properly and we did not have enough utensils to go around.

We had a private room and it was so nice but we also had the amenities of a hostel. Would absolutely return and recommend to others!

Loved staff member Panda, the guy actually gets it (which is rare in Latin America). The way he presented options of things to do was amazing, I willingly gave him my money. The other staff were nice, but they didn't sell the dream the way Panda did, he really made our visit special. As for the venue, the hot tubs are great, the movie room and library area are fantastic. I worked one day in the co-share area but in the end it didn't make sense. There was ample room around the property that was very comfortable. I don't know if it was a once-off, but the staff and their marketing manager (Meagan?) use the co-working space as their office so it's full of noise constantly. Personally, I find it easier to work in the main room or downstairs in the reading room. We've been travelling for about 4 years now and never done hostels. Selina changed our mind on them, it's a great concept well put together. My only criticism is that when we got to Santa Teresa they were not very proactive in offering us the best price. I found it much cheaper on Expedia than booking.com or through the hotel itself. When I pushed them they agreed but by then I was mighty frustrated. However that has nothing to do with MonteVerde, those guys were great. So to summarise, book this place it's the boss!

The place is spotless and a great space, with a party vibe, however the let down is the bar/restaurant. Virtually no local dishes on the menu and food/drink prices high. The business plan is obviously to get you in with cheap accommodation and then make their profit on food and drink. On the 1st night my mac and cheese was absolutely delicious but a TINY portion. To be fair the manager did give me a complimentary starter when I complained but I doubt the portion size will be changed. The service was hit and miss, several times having to go up and remind staff about drinks/food. And also 2 of the 5 Margaritas I ordered on the night were put through as more expensive drinks, but I didn't realise at the time as we were a group and didn't look at the bill closely until the following day. I think from memory that meant my last 2 drinks were about £7 each!!! Location wise it is great for Monteverde National Park (which was a disappointment) but go to the cafe right outside the park as it has a hummingbird garden and you'll save yourself $15 on going to an official one. It's a 10 minute drive to Monteverde itself. If you want somewhere with a good buzzy vibe and are not on too much of a budget it's an option but I'll be steering clear of the chain in future.