After writing my general Selina review a couple of days ago, it is time for a deep dive into the locations where we stayed at. In this first Selina location Review, we will take a closer look at the Selina in Lake Atitlán and what my experience was at this particular Selina location. So go with me as we explore the Selina in Lake Atitlán with this review.
Selina Atitlán Location Review
The Selina in Atitlán lies in Panajachel, the biggest town surrounding Lake Atitlán. The city has a population of about 15000, and most restaurants are within walking distance of the Selina Hostel.
It is important not to be fooled by the Selina Atitlán pictures on booking.com. It looks like the hostel is positioned directly on the lake. This is not the case; the hostel is about a 5-minute walk from the lake. However, the Selina in Atitlán does have a beach bar that is positioned directly on the lake.
If you want to stay directly on the lake in Atitlán, I recommend booking La Casa Del Mundo, which has waves of the lake splashing against it.
Selina Atitlán Rooms review
The Selina in Lake Atitlán has six different accommodation types. When traveling alone and used to hostels, you can pick a bed in a large dorm or a bed in a small dorm. The dorms are nice and big, and you have everything at your disposal. The dorm gets cleaned every day.
When you are used to a bit more luxury, you can choose to stay in one of the cabins on the camping ground at the Selina in Panajachel. We stayed at one of the cabins, and it was great, although it did get really warm, so we couldn’t stay inside during the day. When you book the cabin, you also need to share the bathrooms. However, they were very clean, and the showers were rain showers with good pressure.
If this doesn’t appeal to you, read our top 5 best hostels in Lake Atítlan.
You can also choose to stay in one of the rooms with a shared bathroom. These rooms are quite small and don’t give the same experience as sleeping in a cabin. Furthermore, they are also more expensive than staying in a cabin.
If you are used to expensive and friendly hotels, there are options for a standard room and even a deluxe room. Both these rooms are often booked out, as we tried to book one but could not. If you are in the mood to stay at a 5-star hostel, then this is the best option for you, make sure to book in advance.
Check out the availability at Selina and other hostels in Atitlán below:
Selina Atitlán Activities Review
Selina is known for its activities, being a digital nomad-friendly hostel where you can work but, maybe more importantly, network. There were enough activities that you could do, but trying to sightsee Lake Atitlán, we could only go to two of them in the 4 days we spent there. Some of the activities that Selina hosted were Painting and Wine, a Michelada workshop, Yoga, Salsa Night, a Pub Quiz, a Bonfire Night, and a Pub Crawl. Unfortunately, they also had to cancel a couple of events because there was too little interest for them. While staying at Selina, we went to the Pub Crawl and Salsa Night. Both seemed pretty well organized, and we had much fun at them. If you are staying at the Selina in Atitlán, I recommend participating in at least one activity.
Selina Atitlán Amenities Review
Like almost every Selina, the Selina in Atitlán also has a variety of amenities. The pool was great, although no one entered it, and it was quite cold. Furthermore, it had a kitchen, with a fully stocked fridge where many people left their food for other people to eat. There was even a residential tattoo artist for the first few days we spent there. You could also get quite a couple of things from this shop, although that was very expensive compared to local shops, so I would recommend using the shop only in case of emergency. There was also a foosball table and a ping pong table in case you got bored.
Selina Atitlán Food Review
This Selina also comes with a bar and restaurant like any other Selina. Overall, the food was quite okay; it was not the best food we had in Guatemala. However, a lot of their dishes were great, and there was also quite a lot of variety in the food you could get at the restaurant. If you are staying here, I recommend you get breakfast included, but for dinners, it is better to go to one of the lovely restaurants in Panajachel.
How Good is the Coworking Space in Selina Atitlán?
Compared to the Selina in Antigua, the coworking space is quite disappointing. Because of its roof, it gets quite warm in there, and during the time we stayed there I couldn’t connect to the Wi-Fi for the coworking. Many of the chairs were also broken, and the meeting room seemed rather small. If there was one disappointing about our stay in Selina Atitlán, it was the coworking space. However, that was the only thing that was disappointing about our stay here.
Selina Atitlán Beach Bar Review
As far as I am aware, this Selina is the only Selina that has a separate beach bar; it is only suitable to review the beach bar as well. We went there twice on the trip, one for the pub crawl and one for salsa night. The beach bar has some great cocktails and shots. For some reason, the cocktails are only $0.10 more expensive than the beers that they sell, so if you are a bigger fan of cocktails than beers then you should get the cocktails. The cocktails were strong, so you get value for your buck. You should not order food here. The pizza was honestly one of the worst pizzas that I have ever eaten, but it is a bar of course, so I wasn’t expecting too much of it.
How Pet Friendly is the Selina in Atitlán?
It is very, very, very pet-friendly. The whole hostel is full of stray dogs and vacation-goers’ dogs, which obviously can be great for some, like me, as I adore dogs. While we were there, we even kind of adopted a dog and named him Mango. He would follow us around throughout Panajachel.
However, if you are not a dog lover like me, then it might be better to stay at another hotel or hostel in Atitlán where they are not that pet friendly. As the strays are constantly on the Selina terrain, they either beg for attention or food.
Would I recommend Selina Atitlán?
Last, but not least, and probably why you are here, is the question: Would I recommend Selina Atitlán? Yes. That’s an easy but clear answer. The Selina in Atitlán is more of a party Selina compared to the one in Antigua, but that doesn’t make it less fun. Next time, when we are going back to Guatemala, I am looking to book at the Selina in Atitlán. I hope you enjoyed this Selina Atitlán review, and stay tuned for the review of the Selina in Antigua!
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