The Best Hostel in the World? Room2Board in Jaco

These days, I rarely stay in dorms, though I do love hostels for their fun vibe and international crowd.

Especially when I travel solo, staying in a private room in a hostel is a great way to meet new people while still maintaining my privacy (and quiet work space).

While I’ve stayed in some amazing hostels over the years – my recent visit to Room2Board in Jaco, Costa Rica definitely set the bar RIDICULOUSLY high for future hostel stays.

How? There might be too many awesome features to even list, but I’m going to try.

First off, the facilities are super modern and beautifully designed.

Upon arrival, I questioned where I was. Am I at a hostel? Or a luxury hotel? Apparently the building was designed by an Italian architect, and built only 2 years ago.

The whole place is beyond clean (even spotlessly clean bathrooms – the holy grail all top hostels strive for), and I saw maids and janitors cleaning constantly.

While I was staying in a private room, I checked out the dorms for fun. WOW. Even the dorm rooms are bright, modern, welcoming and as everything else – super clean.

Opening the door to my own room felt like stepping into an Ikea commercial.

The trendy yet sophisticated color pallet of dark wood and light, bright walls with all-white linens felt soothing yet energizing at the same time. The big windows let in so much natural light, and the view is amazing.

the view from the edge of the bed

The Ikea-style furniture (only better) provides tons of storage space. Seriously, I could have lived in this room forever.

The big, powerful AC definitely helps, and provides a cool and welcome retreat from the Jaco heat.

The private room looks upon yet another gem of Room2Board – the pool.

A big, fun, welcoming pool for meeting friends, relaxing with a book to read, or just catching some rays. Lining the pool are plentiful beach loungers, and even a few chairs and tables. (guys – there’s even a water slide!)

Next to the pool is the bar and restaurant area.

Open early and closing late, you can get breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks along with any kind of refreshment you choose (Imperial or Pilsner, perhaps?). During my stay, I ate exclusively at the hostel restaurant, and found the portions huge, the food delicious, and the prices affordable. They’ve got a lot of Israeli food on the menu, which as you know, I’m obsessed with. The falafal is delicious, as is the falafal burger, and the hummus platter. They’ve got bagels on offer for breakfast (OMG I’ve missed bagels!) which come with a salad, Israeli-style, so you can feel at least a bit healthy.

Room2Board has even more common areas, including a huge communal kitchen (2 enormous fridges – there’s always enough space) and dining room for saving money and prepping your own food.

On the top floor, there are tons of hammocks strung about, and chairs and tables for having a few scenic drinks with friends.

It tends to be quieter upstairs, and the wifi connection is pretty good, so the top floor is a great place to get some work done (if you have better willpower than me). *Insider tip: the sunsets are AMAZING from up there!*

There’s also an entertainment room.

Bean bags and a projection TV screen are perfect for chilling after a long day of surfing/hiking/beachcombing/ATV-ing. (the pool ALSO has a projection screen for outdoor movies and sports games at night)

For those striving to get a little less couch-potatoey and a little more healthy..

There’s also a yoga studio and classes available several times throughout the day.

If you want to get out and about, there’s tourist agency style services available as well (just ask at the front desk or pop into the surf shack).

front desk reception

Booking is possible for everything from ATV rides to waterfall rappelling to surfing to transportation.

Speaking of surfing, lessons are offered and boards are available for rent at a super low price.

friendly, helpful surf shack / tour bookings

Less than 2 minutes walk from Room2Board and you can be on the beach as well. The beach was pretty blissfully empty every time I went for a walk, and the sunsets from the beach are absolutely amazing.

Need proof?

If I needed to sum up my top 5 reasons Room2Board is the best hostel ever? (aka tl;dr)

1. The rooms (and especially the bathrooms) are modern, pretty, and spotlessly clean
2. There’s a pool. It deserves to be said twice. THERE’S A POOL!!!
3. The restaurant serves fabulous food at great prices. Especially Israeli food. (YUM)
4. There are tons of common areas for meeting cool people – from hammocks on the roof to bean bags in the rec room
5. The hostel is a two minute walk from the beach and super surf-friendly

Also:

take me back!!!

You can book Room2Board via their website here. They also accept bookings via Agoda.

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*While I was hosted by Room2Board with a complimentary stay, I was not compensated for this post and as always my opinions remain unbiased and unaltered*

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