Hostal Central - Hostel

I can not say enough about how amazing the experience was at this hostel! The staff was amazing! The food was so good you didn't even have to go out and eat. The activities and the community they created was outstanding. I loved everything about this place, but it was more the people that made the experience so special.

Also, the breakfast menu is always so special. I would love to come here again.

It’s truly the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in, and I’ve been to many all over the world! It’s incredible how much activities there are daily, every day of the week, and they really care about the quality of it. Staff is amazing, welcoming and helpful. Super easy to meet new people and hang out with them :) One area that needs big improvement is WiFi. The quality is bad, is hard to work (if someone needs to) as meetings crush and pages don’t load - especially when many people use it at the same time. Signal is very weak at the top floors in the rooms.

Attractive clean well decorated hostel, with great artistic touches everywhere, even an elephant statue in a bathroom. Gourmet free breakfasts and superb chefs. Hot water. Firm beds. Comfortable lounge area. A great outdoor tented taqueria right across the street, with excellent chicken-vegetable soup some nights, open until 2 for latecomers. Near a big local market. Wonderful vibe and staff.. In one of the rooms cannot keep the window open due to some street noise so was slighrly too warm. There are effective fans.

Amazing breakfast, free activities, friendly hosts

I stayed here when coming in to Oaxaca and when leaving as well. Every staff member was friendly, fun and just made me feel welcome and like home. The communal evening activities are great, breakfast is delicious and the beds are comfy. Thanks for everything HH! If I have to mention one thing, it would be that I have booked a tour via the hostel and they never picked me up, never picked up the phone when we called them, they basically completely ghosted me which wasted my full day in Oaxaca City. The hostel staff was very apologetic and sorry and returned my money back immediately. Not necessarily their fault, maybe just consider changing suppliers.

This place is a must stay when in Oaxaca city. The stuff, free delicious breakfast, evening fun including mezcal tasting and food making, informative and warm.

Lovely accommodation with something happening everyday. Staff are helpful and make the effort to create a social atmosphere. They also offer daily tours to hierve el agua and monte alban for those who do not want the hassle. I stayed in both the single room and the room of 4. The toilet for the single room was not private and feels like it is constantly occupied. Would recommend to do the room of 4 where there is a toilet in the room.

-The community rooms were well thought out and comfortable. -The 4-bed dorm was roomy and provided sufficient privacy. Beds were made daily which was a pleasant surprise. -Ensuite bathroom was a bonus. -The activities to build community and meet other guests was outstanding. -The breakfasts were tasty and varied. -Security was good. Felt safe. -The smoke from the internal courtyard(communal area) travelled up to the room. -The dorm at front of the building was noisy(street traffic) and the bathroom not very clean(though cleaning happened daily). -Dorms did not have individual locks on doors. -Lockers located outside of room in hall way. -All the bathrooms including communal bathroom had nothing to dry your hands with after using the washroom other than toilet paper. -Communication regarding which areas of hostel are inaccessible outside of reception hours not well communicated.

Cute, very clean hostel with a lovely community vibe. Great location, about 10 minutes walk to the Centro. Good wifi for working remotely / video calls (and there are dedicated work desks). Staff were always helpful and friendly. There are daily activities to meet people and learn about the city and the culture. Love this hostel and will stay here again if I come back to Oaxaca. It’s not a party hostel, it’s a community-minded place. Thank you! The shower pressure is low, but that seems to be typical of Mexico.

We enjoyed our stay at Hostal Central Oaxaca so much!!! We stayed in a private room which was spacious and clean and comfortable. The common areas (especially the garden) were also inviting, clean and comfortable. The artwork throughout the hostal was interesting and reflective of the Oaxacan culture. All of the staff and volunteers were friendly and informative and welcoming. The breakfasts that were included were absolutely delicious and different every morning. We enjoyed many of the activities the hostal offered, as well as the company of the other guests. The hostal is about 6 blocks straight west of the Zocolo and was an easy and safe walk. We would definitely stay here again and after having stayed in many hostals over the years we feel this one is the best! We had communicated way ahead of time that our arrival would be very late and had gotten a written response that there was no problem with that. Unfortunately the 1am time we warned them about due to our late plane was interpreted by the staff as 1pm so they thought our arrival would be during regular staff hours. We arrived around midnight, knocked loudly many times, telephoned the desk many times and got no answer. We found a taxi and paid for another (more expensive) nearby hotel for our first night. Jaime was very sorrowful for what happened on our arrival night. That next day he made sure we knew that we would be reimbursed for the first night and assured us that he talked to his staff about reading notes from guests more carefully. He thanked us for our understanding of the situation. The rest of our stay at the hostal was great! Some suggestions for improvement that we noticed would be to provide a few more towels to dry hands and dishes in the kitchen area and several more pillows for the garden couches that are nice and deep, such that you need 3 pillows behind your back to be able to sit with your feet on the floor.

this was probably the best Hostal I’ve ever stayed at. The staff were very friendly, the breakfast was amazing, the activities were great as well. Such a great location to build community. Nothing

Could've done with a better shower curtain in my private room but it didn't bother me that much.

It was amazing that there were so many group activities offered, like group breakfast or a mezcal tasting, especially as a solo traveler. The solo room itself was also a private heaven when needing alone time. The shared bathroom/shower means that there was usually a line to use it. However, that is true of hostel cultures and should not be a surprise to any traveler.

Lovely hostel that seems to attract great down-to-earth travellers. Good place to meet new people and make friends. Wonderful staff, towels provided, clean hostel, good kitchen. Well thought-out free activities, good WiFi. We came and went from Oaxaca to visit neighbouring areas for a few nights here and there, was able to leave some luggage there with them which was great. Even when there is loudish music and discussion down on the ground floor the bedrooms are super quiet and super restful. Thoroughly enjoyed our time here and we're sad to leave Would be hot upstairs in the 4 bed dorm we were in in summer, but fine with fans currently. Bit of a lack of available toilets/sinks/showers in the hostel. Only one bathroom (shower and toilet combined) on the 3rd floor for a 4 bed dorm and 2 other private rooms so often difficult to navigate with quite a few people in the morning, you'd often have to go down to the ground floor to use that toilet. Even a separate shower and toilet upstairs would make things easier. As the shower is next to the toilet people walk in with their shoes into the wet bathroom causing muddy footprints. A bath matt and maybe a shower curtain to prevent water getting on/near the toilet would be a simple solution. Just some suggestions, really was only a minor issue. So many other amazing things about this hostel, definitely stay there!

I have been to plenty of hostels but Hostal Central stands out from all the others. I stayed for 7 days and the atmosphere is the best I have ever experienced, every day there’s a different activity to bring together the guests, most of them related to mexican culture! Also the breakfast was the best I ever had! Wifi can be a bit slow sometimes I never had any significant issues while working remotely but better if you have a backup sharing data from your phone.

Best and nicest staff, amazing breakfast!!! No bunks, but beds with separator walls, no way to have curtains, and the beds were open- so kind of unusual, lockers were outside the bedroom. Not located in city center, but rather on the outskirts, about 15 minutes from Zocalo city center. Industrial area, not many shops or food options, bit empty after dark. The building is at the corner of three major, busy, heavy trafficked streets, so there is always noise. I stayed in the 2nd floor, front bedroom, and it was awful - very very loud noise, bright lights from the street lamps, very dusty, and uncomfortable to sleep- the fans in the room are very very loud - overall an awful sleep experience- you should be paid to sleep in that room. As wonderful as the staff were, lack of sleep was not worth it - I had a headache every day.

The whole team here was just amazing. They made us feel so welcome from the moment we walked through the door, and were attentive and helpful throughout our whole stay. Evening activities are inclusive and well-organized, and created a fun environment for everyone.

The team here is incredible, and we benefited so much from their care and attention. Will gladly come again with the family.

Thanks for the great stay.