Hostal Divanga, Taganga




There is plenty of choice for hostel accommodation in Taganga (a 15minute shared bus from Santa Marta), and the prices and facilities differ greatly – its worth walking around the town to scope out the best options. You’ll pay slightly more at Divanga compared to others in town, we thought the extra worth it for the swimming pool alone.

After having read good reviews and seen attractive promotional material at other hostels for the Divanga Hostel, we decided to spend a few nights at this hostel accommodation. Divanga seems to be the only hostel in Taganga with a swimming pool, a big plus and selling point for us as the temperatures and humidity can make it hard to cope with during the day.

The communal area comprises of the swimming pool, surrounded with comfy shaded hammocks, a small kitchen, tv room and a roof top bar. All of the communal areas are kept clean and generally well looked after.

Hostel Divanga, Taganga

The local bar man starts ‘running’ the bar at approximately 4pm (varies) and then proceeds to knock back the hostel beer, crank up the stereo to full volume and blast guests with his range of vocal techniques – all of which are very annoying.

Downstairs, a kitchen acts as the hostels ‘restaurant’ and is run by a very friendly staff member. Unfortunately, because she is the only person working in the kitchen, ordering food is a lengthy process – typically an hour until you get something. That said, the food is freshly made and when it does eventually arrive, it doesn’t disappoint. The Prawn pasta especially, is excellent.

The atmosphere at Divanga is mixed. The staff all seem very close to each other, and we felt a strange, one sided atmosphere and attitude toward guests at times. Put simply, the staff are just a little weird.

Our double room was generally clean (we had to request it be cleaned) and in good order, and the room had two fans and shelving space for our things. The bathroom was basic, and immited a strong odour at certain times during the day, which quite frankly was disgusting. The water was generally kept ‘off’, so every morning you had to march downstairs, find a member of staff and then request for the water to be turned on. This got a little old after the third day.

Breakfast at Divanga is included in the price, and you get a choice of either an egg omelette or fruit salad served with watered down fruit juice and instant coffee – below average compared to the competition. As with anything that starts in the kitchen at Divanga, you will have a lengthy wait for the food to be served.

The Good:

  • Swimming pool
  • Free internet
  • Snacks, meals and drinks are available

The not so Good:

  • Not central
  • The staff are just plain weird
  • Long waits for food

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