Name: Island Life Hostel
Address: Calle Isabel La Catolica #356, Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, 10210, Dominican Republic
Rating: 9

Smoking areas

Smoke-free property

Ticket assistance

Garden

Television in lobby

Terrace

No elevators

Reception desk

General

Non-smoking rooms

Locker

Linens

Rooms

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Dry-cleaning

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Common kitchen

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Airport transportation

Transfer

Spanish

English

Languages Spoken

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Barbecue grill(s)

Billiards

Picnic area

Barbeque

Sun Deck

Recreation

No parking

Parking

Spa tub

Pool and beach

Darts

Sports

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hostel

Las Américas International Airport

Island Life Hostel

Santo Domingo

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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40-beds

5-beds

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7-beds

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9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

While I just stayed here one night, I enjoyed it. Nice bar and restaurant, great empanadas, cold beer, I stayed in a 4 bed hostel, but I was the only one there. The owner Chris was interesting to chat with, he is a traveler and was pure friendly. The facility is in the Colonial Zone and is a classic hostel. They are creating some private rooms in these days. That was the what made me switch hostels as it is just dormitory beds right now.

Island LifeHostel

This place is absolutely awesome. 10/10 time with a great crew that works hard for making you feel welcome. Chris is a good guy and you can tell he has put a lot of effort into making this hostel a very happy place to visit and come back to. I will be returning next time I visit Santo Domingo. 

10/10 Hostel & a great time 

We stayed here a few nights while visiting the capital.  Chris and his team are very very accommodating, knowledgeable, and helpful!!   Not to mention they have one of the best and fully stocked bars in the DR :))
Friendly staff, great location, great rooms, great prices  - what else do you need.
Thank you and until next time!!!!!!!

Highly Recommended

Friendly, welcoming and very very nice! It's a true gem, in one of the old colonial buildings in Zona Colonial. Close walk to anything you want to see, and a lot of restaurants nearby. Perfectly renovated, nice courtyard, a small pool to relax in after a day in the city. The rooms are small but have everything you need and are clean. The breakfast is very good - scrambled eggs, sausages, waffles, porridge, bread, fruit, juice and coffee. It is also nice to participate in their dinners arranged at the hostel. And of course the seven o'clock welcome drink every evening :) Two dogs and a cat to keep you company.

Perfect stay!

First time to the DR and was recommended Island Life as good location on arrival in the Colonial area and a great way to meet people. Well that was good advice.  I did take a private room with shower and suprised to find  a new a/c that worked perfectly. Result. Not at all expensive and the staff and helpers were so very friendly .Lots of really good advice and all over a beer or two at the bar. They also have an unexpected open relax area with tables and chairs and in the shade. Place to chill out. Spent Chtistmas there, ate in for a real Xmas dinner with lots of fellow travellers for company. Brilliant. Thanks to you all and to the owner Chris and his lovely family.
Oh yes and the security at the hostel was excellent.
Thank you all.Nick

Top Hostel. Great Christmas

The Long Island Backpackers is really a great place to stay, they help ed us out with everything we needed and provided us with good tipps!
Especially Christian was really welcoming and made us feel right at home! Had a great time!

Awesome!

Nice, comfortable, good food and excellent service and attention by hotel owners. Also well located in city center, near the Amber Museum, the Cathedral, Colon Square and the ruins of ancient San Francisco Hospital.

Excellent quality/price ratio

Let me preface this review by saying I have never stayed in a hostel previous to this trip so I really did not know what to expect.  I have to say I was extremely pleasantly surprised.  So much so that I would now chose a hostel stay over that of staying on a resort or in a hotel.  I have traveled extensively for business purposes  so this review is from that viewpoint.  I did stay in a private room with a private bath and AC and was on par with any hotel room I have stayed.  

First and foremost Chris and his staff made me feel very welcome from the moment I walked in the door.  Check in was easy and simple with no demands for immediate payment covering the length of my stay as some others have reported in reviews.

After check-in that took all of 5 minutes,  I was taken to my room.  The room was clean.  A bit smaller than a typical hotel room and minus amenities such as a in-room coffee maker and television.  However I would not expect those amenities in any hostel.  To be perfectly blunt anyone expecting those amenities should not stay in a hotel.  I did see one complaint in a review about the guest's room being too cold however I was provided a remote for the AC so likely Chris took the feedback to heart and resolved that situation.  I found my room and it's amenities perfectly adequate.  The rooms are all non-smoking but there are areas within the hostel you are able to smoke.

I also read some reviews stating the hostel was dirty.  Again, this may have been an issue where Chris took the feedback on the chin and fixed the situation as I found it clean and tidy at all times.  There are permanent employees dedicated to cleaning every day

The wifi in the hostel was great the first couple of days of my stay but then there was a neighborhood power outage and it became unstable.  As I work in IT, I spoke to Chris and asked if I could take a look at it and he agreed.  It took me a couple of days--I was on vacation afterall--but I found the issue and the stable wifi I enjoyed the first 2 days of my stay was restored.  Any recommendations I made to Chris were not only welcomed but also appreciated with a genuine "Thank You."

Prior to my leaving for this trip I also read a complaint about the beer being portioned out from bottles and being small servings and over-priced.  I was poured a mug of beer in a standard size glass from an extra large bottle of beer (around 3 times the size of a "normal" beer bottle) and the price was very reasonable compared to other businesses around Santo Domingo.  This is also standard practice here in any of the many business I frequented during my stay.  Yes, it is cheaper to go to the store and buy the same bottle but this is true anywhere in the world.  I would compare it to being poured a glass of draught beer back home—the only exception was that I could see them pouring from a bottle versus a tap.

The Hostel is in a decent location with many of Santo Domingo's features within a short walking distance (5-15 minutes to many features).  Yes, if you take a wrong turn out the front door, a couple of blocks over is unsavory, however Chris and all the staff are very open about this and make guests aware of any potential dangers.  Guest safety and satisfaction is clearly a top priority and is very evident to anyone that sits at the bar and watches Chris or his staff check someone in for the first time.

There is a "no passport" policy in place but this is clearly stated in their TOS and on check-in it is one of the first things staff tells you.  Locals are always welcome to stay as long as they register like anyone else with a passport.  To be perfectly honest this is a pretty standard policy, from my experience, throughout the Caribbean and South American locations.  This is for your own safety, and to be quite frank I would refuse to stay any length of time anywhere if this policy was not in place.

I always felt safe at the hostel at all times and the staff was always quick with advice on popular attractions and were all very knowledgeable, always listing the pros and cons for each recommendation--often freely inviting guests along on their own planned outings.  If I had to describe the staff's level of engagement I would say they routinely would go over and above what I would expect from employees at a lodging establishment.  The staff's ever-present upbeat and friendly demeanor also set the tone in the hostel as a whole as guests reciprocated the warm and friendly welcome any time someone new arrived.  Even though most people only stay for short durations a feeling of acceptance and inclusion is constant at all times.

Chris is a constant present onsite and is very "hands-on" managing the business.  He spends a great deal of time (is at the hostel every day and almost always open to close.  He genuinely wants each one of his guests to enjoy their time and often is quick to offer advice and directions on things to see and do.  His explirary leadership example clearly rubs off on the staff as everyone that worked at the hostel durng my stay mimicked his professionalism and genuine personality.

I felt so appreciative of how welcome everyone made me feel I asked Chris if I could take over the kitchen and cook everyone a dinner of Spaghetti and Garlic Bread one night and he graciously conceded.

In conclusion, this was the best vacation I honestly have ever had and am planning multiple return visits.  I felt at home.  I still chat with Chris and Emma and others from the hostel on a regular basis and am already planning not only my next visit but making it a routine.  I honestly feel as though I have found my home away from home.

Thank you so much to Chris, Emma (who took me for a wonderful all-day walk throughout Santo Domingo—better than any paid tour you could get and is also the hostel’s chief cook—thanks for lending me the kitchen!!), Keith (not an employee but a great new friend) Lea, Grandma Jess, Haines, Max, Erik, Amber, and anyone else I forgot.  

Of course a very special thanks to Gary, without whom, I never would have experienced this adventure in the first place!!

I hope to get to see you all again soon and miss you all very much!!

Upscale Hostel Life Where You're Instantly Made to Feel At Home

A warm welcome and an amazing staff as first impression, comfirmed by a lovely place to stay, peacefull and well decorated. The Hostel will satisfy every traveller from every age and horizon. Location is perfect to visit by foot the old historical center of Santo Domingo. Walking distances aren't exceeding 20 minutes. All informations are on display at the entrance. The staff will always help you and give you trully welcome local tips. 

I trully recommand this place for your stay and i hope to be back soon.

A home feeling thousands of miles away from home. 

If you are young and looking for a western styled low-key party hostel with walking distance (read: walking friendly) to multiple places you need/want to go to in Zona Colonial with great value for the price, this is it.

When you get there, ask for the welcome shot (free) of Mamajunana. They make it in-house and it is better than store-bought versions (I can vouch).

There is a clothesline if you don't want to get your laundry done for 250 RD.

The Hostel isn't directly in the heart of the Zona Colonial, but is on the safest lit street within sight distance of two banks. The sound at night wasn't that bad, but bring earplugs and eyemasks. Note that few people in my large mixed dorm actually woke up super early.

Be prepared to buy water. There is a Supermercado I went to on La Conde (main tourist strip) and 5 liters was ~85 RD

Any museum you'd want to see are somewhat nearby.

Highly suggest Ubering from the airport. Very cheap (compared to US), even with a foreign transaction fee with my credit card.

The hostel volunteers are all friendly and young. The breakfast was actually pretty good. Bread, butter, scrambled eggs, juice from a mix, oatmeal, potatoes/onions/hot dogs, mini pancakes and waffles (I think I covered everything).

Overall, I highly recommend for either short or long stay for its good value. Security is good because there is controled access day or night, and Chris, the owner, is there all the time with his two large dogs. Ask to see the scrapbook his mom made showing the process of creating the hostel-he's personally built much of the hostel with his own hands.

Tip: if you WANT an airconditioned room, you ask and pay for it. Otherwise there is no escaping the heat no matter where you go.

Bring bug spray and use it before going to bed!

I only stayed during the weekdays so I can't tell you about the weekend.

Overall, I felt really welcomed here. I was incredibly sad to leave but happy I got to interact with the staff and stay at this incredible hostel.

Island Life Hostel

Main amenities of the hostel

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hostel

What other amenities are there?

General

Rooms

Services and amenities

Meals

Internet

Transfer

Languages Spoken

Tourist services

Recreation

Parking

Pool and beach

Sports

Pets

Health and Safety Measures

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Paid on the spot

Additional information

Payment