Joan's Hostel

Calle del Mediterraneo 12 Colonia Jardines de Guadalupe, San Salvador El Salvador
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About

4.5
#2 of 8 hostels in San Salvador
Location
4.5
Cleanliness
4.5
Service
4.8
Value
4.4
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Wifi
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Detailed Reviews
redhandrail wrote a review Apr 2015
Boquete, Panama3 contributions2 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Ana and the rest of the staff are ultra sweet. This hostel is located in a very safe part of San Salvador, and if you're worried about what to do, where to go, how to get anywhere, Ana will help. If you only speak English, no problem. Ana's completely fluent. If Ana's not there, the sweet, and majestically named Rigoberto will make a call to Ana and she is more than happy to talk to you and help you figure out whatever you need. My flight was cancelled earlier that day and I couldn't call the hostel to let them know. I arrived around 11:45 at night and Rigoberto greeted me with a smile and happy/helpful attitude. The hostel has hot showers with great water pressure. Right next to the hostel you will find a pupuseria. Super cheap and tasty. Across the street during the day is a taqueria. A couple blocks down is a smoothie shop called Oasis. They also sell chili cheese dogs. Down the street from there is a papa john's, domino's, and there is a big mall very close. There also happens to be a vegetarian chinese fool place very close by as well. Supermarket, banks, convenience stores, it's all right there. There are few other hostels in San Salvador, and this one is more than likely in the nicest, safest part of the entire city. This is a very affordable way to go and a great jumping off point to use to visit other parts of ES. Read all of the other positive reviews. They're all right.
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Date of stay: April 2015
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
5.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
alphabetty2 wrote a review May 2015
Vancouver, Canada101 contributions12 helpful votes
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Joan’s Hostel was for me, an inexpensive basic room to stay, in a safe neighborhood when transitioning from one part of El Salvador to another. I stayed here twice when connecting with international buses that go to Nicaragua and Guatemala (PS used El Sol bus line and loved it). This hostel is in the university area so during the day there are a lot of outside vendors with different food options. And around the corner, one of the best comedors I ate at in El Salvador run by a family. I did make an effort (and it is a big effort to figure this out) to get to the recommended sites like the Cathedral and El Rosario Church in city center, Santa Tecla, and Museum of Art of El Salvador. The Museum of Art is the easiest to get to and I would suggest sticking to that with a seafood lunch or dinner at nearby Beto’s. I did not find San Salvador a pretty city to visit.

This hostel is a good hangout place if you just want to do email in their little garden area. Ana the owner does not live here but the staff working here are very friendly and if you want to talk to Ana, they will call her. I did ask Ana to drop in as I had to plan a lot of details for my trip and she did help me out a lot which I was very grateful for.
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Date of stay: April 2015
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
3.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wisbey89 wrote a review Apr 2015
Hong Kong, China35 contributions5 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
We had a great time here, the beds are easily the comfiest in the whole of Central America and the showers are the best too (hot with pressure!!), the wifi works in the bedroom (luxury in my eyes!) Ana is so welcoming and friendly and patiently helped us a lot with planning our onward journey, thank you for everything!
The hostel is peaceful and a comfy, friendly environment to chill out after a long journey..would highly recommend it as the place to stay if visiting San Salvador.
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Date of stay: April 2015Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
suska444 wrote a review Jan 2015
Pori, Finland3 contributions2 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
I stayed at Joan's for three nights and I can higly recommend it to others. The hostel in very clean with nice rooms and common spaces. There's a kitchen where you can cook your own food but nice restaurants near by aswell. (And big supermarket few minutes walk away). I met the owner, Ana, and she is very welcoming, friendly and super helpful with good information about the city. Oh, and this hostel has the best showers in El Salvador!!! :D
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Date of stay: December 2014Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben_RC2013 wrote a review Dec 2014
Madrid, Spain248 contributions61 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
I stayed for three days in this hostel and felt at home. It's actually in a house, and can be difficult to find because it's not written hostel anywhere. The location is perfect to go to the malls or anywhere in the new parts of the city, it's close to the bus stop. You have a lot of restaurants around. The common area is really nice with couches, board games, and an outdoor patio. Staff is super nice.
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Date of stay: March 2014Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mitz_85 wrote a review Apr 2014
Toronto, Canada132 contributions47 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
After a very long bus ride from Nicaragua, we had booked to stay at JoAn's due to the location being near the Zona Rosa area.

I had actually booked the wrong night on the hostel website and after I had received a prompt welcome email from Ana I noticed this and requested the change of date which she accomodated straight away without any issue.

The instructions for directions left on the welcome email were extrememly helpful as our Spanish is quite limited. I had wrote this down for any taxi's to take us to the hostel which they did without having to ask anybody else.

The boys at reception were helpful in recommentidng where to go in the Zona Rosa area that evening and told the taxi driver to take us straight to the bar. The next morning we were trying to plan what to do in San Salvador and I spoke to Ana on the phone who explained how to get around to the places we wanted to see. It would've been nice to have met in person but maybe next time.

The room itself was very clean and tidy as were the bathrooms which had fully functional hot showers. Wifi was fairly quick to access and use aso.

I would recommend staying here as it was in what seemed a safe area and the staff were helpful.
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Date of stay: March 2014
4.0 of 5 bubblesValue
5.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
5.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
5.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
5.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from analuisa67, Owner at Joan's Hostel
Responded Sep 4, 2014
thank you so much for your comments! we are here to help and to service you! ana
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
robotwigs wrote a review Mar 2014
London, United Kingdom38 contributions19 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
This was a brilliant first stop in El Salvador. The hostel staff were very friendly and welcoming, it had a lovely inclusive atmosphere. We enjoyed meeting the other guests in the generous courtyard area. The owner, Ana, was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and while the country, and spent a lot of time helping us to plan our trip, including booking travel and accommodation recommendations. We really appreciated it. A wonderful introduction to El Salvadorian hospitality.
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Date of stay: March 2014Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from analuisa67, Owner at Joan's Hostel
Responded Sep 4, 2014
thank you so much for your comments! We are here to help and to serve! ana
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Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
wwnnm25 wrote a review Aug 2012
London, On38 contributions24 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
I stayed here for three days with 2 other travellers. Although the sleeping quarters were tight, the friendliness and convenient location more than made up for it. The hostel is very homey and clean, I could have spent most of my time there, listening to stories from the other guest and enjoying the patio but, JoAn’s is within walking distance of a few great bakeries, a variety of restaurants, a grocery store and a short (cheap) cab ride to the mall. It was nice to get out an experience the local cultural life.

As I did not know what to expect from this hostel we took the room assigned to me because it was so affordable. Next time I will ‘splurge’ and take advantage of one of the other larger rooms, just because I like my personal space. The shared kitchen and bathroom were kept clean by the staff. The beds and linens were clean, soft and comfortable. I felt safe and secure at the hostel and while I was exploring the neighbourhood. The only real issue I had during my stay was trying to cross a busy intersection!

Anna the hostel owner was incredibly helpful and delightful (and fluent in English). She took our safety and need to have fun in to her own hands. She was a great asset to our trip, she did everything from arrange cab rides to recommended amazing locations for us to visit. Her knowledge of the country, the community and tourist site was extensive. All of her recommendations proved to be as great as or greater than we expected.
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Date of stay: August 2012
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
3.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
5.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
4.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
4.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip: JoAn's has a variety of rooms, be sure to inquire about them to ensure you get a room that...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from JoAnshostel, Owner at Joan's Hostel
Responded Aug 29, 2012
We thank you very much for all the good vibe and great review you are giving us!!! that makes us work harder and keep the good work!! Thank you so much!!!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
9ek9 wrote a review May 2012
34 contributions35 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
We stayed at JoAn's for a few days--what a lovely place. It's super clean and quiet, located in what seemed to be a safe part of the city. I didn't feel unsafe walking around alone, even around dark. It's close to plenty of restaurants, within walking distance of the museum area and a big mall. There are two indoor sitting areas plus an outdoor living room and patio with a tv/garden/dining table area. All really nice. We didn't use the kitchen, but it seemed adequate. There's a fridge with drinks in it and a notebook to record the price, which is nice when you don't want to leave. The wifi is fast and reliable and there is a second router upstairs, so there's no worry about the signal not reaching.

The thing that sets JoAn's apart, though, is Ana, the owner. She was super friendly and helpful--let us borrow a map, showed us where things were and how to walk there, and told us about places that would be interesting for nightlife. (Plus, she speaks fluent English, which is helpful.) She also gave us information about day trips and told us exactly what buses to get and where to catch them, which was really helpful--San Sal has SO many buses. And, she gave us a local cell phone to use for free in case we needed to call her and ask anything. When we left, she called us a taxi.
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Date of stay: April 2012
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
4.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
5.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
5.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
4.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip: The dorms are a bit crowded, but the beds are comfortable.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from JoAnshostel, Owner at Joan's Hostel
Responded Aug 29, 2012
We thank you very much! We are doing all we can to help the backpacker in all possible ways!! It is really a pleasure to take care of our clients....we treat them as good close friends!! Hope you come back soon!!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Corey Y wrote a review May 2012
Belleville, Michigan73 contributions44 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
First place I stayed on my trip. Anna is very nice and helpful; full of advice and just all around nice and sweet. The Hostel is newer and very nice; located in a University district not a far walk from a major bus stop, the mall, stores, etc. Anna has all kinds of suggestions on where to go and what to do.
Read more
Date of stay: May 2012
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
5.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
4.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
5.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
4.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from JoAnshostel, Owner at Joan's Hostel
Responded Aug 29, 2012
We are very happy to hear that you feel comfotable and taken care of! that is our goal and we are happy to know that we are getting it! We will continue improving and fixing what needs to be fixed! Thanks alot!!!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ggravino wrote a tip Oct 2015
Antigua8 contributions8 helpful votes
4.0 of 5 bubbles
"private rooms as well as 4 bed dorms quiet and with fan"
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Marie C wrote a tip Apr 2015
Le Tampon, Reunion Island9 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
"dormitory has only 4 beds..one has its own bathroom.. there are lockers"
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Xuelan Z wrote a tip Jan 2014
Shanghai, China1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
"Rooms on the south side are quieter"
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smartcooki wrote a tip Jan 2014
Westchester County, New York4,598 contributions136 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
"The dorm with the ensuite bathroom faces the street, so it's not as quiet as the other rooms."
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International_Mel wrote a tip Dec 2013
Leon, Nicaragua73 contributions99 helpful votes
5.0 of 5 bubbles
"I had room 4 and it was comfy and quiet!"
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LOCATION
El SalvadorSan Salvador DepartmentSan Salvador
NUMBER OF ROOMS
6
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JOAN'S HOSTEL - Reviews (El Salvador/San Salvador)

Frequently Asked Questions about Joan's Hostel
Which popular attractions are close to Joan's Hostel?
Nearby attractions include National Palace (0.6 miles), Centro Monsenor Romero (0.5 miles), and Museum of the Word and Image (0.3 miles).
What are some restaurants close to Joan's Hostel?
Conveniently located restaurants include Faisca do Brasil, NAU Lounge, and Picasso Stone Flame Oven.
Is Joan's Hostel located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.5 miles away from the center of San Salvador.
Are there any historical sites close to Joan's Hostel?
Many travelers enjoy visiting Hospital Divina Providencia Chapel (1.3 miles) and Lenka Tours (1.0 miles).