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Hotel Tip Of The Week: Hostel El Colibri in Leon, Nicaragua

Hotel Tip Of The Week: Hostel El Colibri in Leon, Nicaragua

Last Updated on April 13, 2020

Welcome to our Where to stay in… series. Being on the road every day of the year means we stay at countless hotels along the way. For all the dingy, disappointing budget digs, there are as many budget accommodation gems. In our Where to stay in… series, we share places we feel confident recommending after having tried and tested them ourselves. This week’s edition – Where to stay in Leon Nicaragua – brings us to Colibri Hostel.

***Note: Sadly, this hostel has closed since we visited Leon. I am keeping this article just for sentimental reasons – I don’t want to forget this beautiful hostel. You can find the ten best hostels in Leon Nicaragua listed here.***

Leon, Nicaragua has quite a few of those uber-cool popular hostels – which have limited double rooms, cavernous always-packed dorms and bars blasting Manu Chao and offering cheap beer to backpackers from around the world. We don’t mind hanging out in these hostels. We went often for the cheap beer and food, and it’s fun to meet the international crowd. In Leon, this means hanging at the Via Via and Bigfoot Hostel right across the street from each other.  But during our two weeks in the city, we were always relieved to go home every night to our secret little Nicaraguan home from home – The Colibri. This hostel won’t be for you if you are looking to party hard, but if you are looking for peace and quiet, this hostel offers everything you need to feel at home.

The clean, if dark, double rooms go for only $15 per night – and you won’t find anything cheaper unless you stay in a dorm either here or at one of the other hostels in town. There are also triple and quad rooms available. Each room has bedside lamps, a fan, and comfortable beds. Some rooms also have outdoor seating – one with two rocking chairs and another with a little breakfast nook. Bathrooms are shared with cold water, which is all you need in the Leon’s 90 degree (35 Celcius) heat. The price per night includes a basic breakfast with toast & jam, juice and coffee.

The Colibri, like most Nicaraguan houses, is built in a rectangle around two courtyards, one in front and one in back. The front space has two high quality glass patio tables with umbrellas and comfortable chairs, while in the back there is a green garden (with hummingbirds) plus a covered patio with two tables and two hammocks. In between is the kitchen (see Stand Out features below) and an eating area with enough seating for a medium-sized restaurant, where the bottomless coffee machine is kept (and kept full!).

Hostal colibri leon nicaragua

Stand Out Features

The Kitchen: No matter how much we like a hotel, we feel most at home when there is a clean kitchen, and the Colibri definitely delivers in this category. The kitchen is spacious, with loads of counter space for several people to prepare food at the same time, all the utensils, pots and pans to create a tasty masterpiece with all the goods you pick up in Leon’s excellent central market nearby. We also give bonus points for the refrigerator – it is kept spotless.

Internet: The wi-fi connection at The Colibri is excellent. We almost always had maximum reception which was consistently reliable and Skyping was a breeze. For those who need to get work done or call friends from home, this was one of the best accommodation choices we have found for that in Central America.

Location: El Colibri is just a few minutes walk from the Cathedral and Central Park, and a big supermarket (La Union), movie theater (with film in English), Leon’s main market, clothes stores, internet cafés, parks, other hostels, El Desayunazo breakfast restaurant, and lots of other restaurants are within just a few blocks. The hostel could not have a better location!

Room for improvement – The Friendliness Factor

To us, the manager of the Colibri was helpful, talkative and friendly. Unfortunately we heard conflicting accounts from fellow guests at the hotel.  One couple shared a great rapport with the manager and found her helpful as well. However, another couple at first felt she was grumpy and a few days later reported that she had made a fuss with baggage storage after they had checked out, as they wanted to explore for a few hours before they moved on to Laguna de Apoyo. She stored our luggage with an at-your-service attitude and a smile, so hearing this was a surprise. Most relationships are relative, and different people get different vibes from people, but it is the job of the hotel staff to make sure all guests have the same feeling of welcome.

Hostel colibri leon porch & chairs
We felt most welcome at this peaceful budget hideaway in Leon, and even taking the friendliness factor into consideration, we can highly recommend The Colibri to our readers.

Extra tip: The Colibri has a sister hostel two blocks to the west. La Iguana is a brand new super chic hostel. The hostel has a cafe onsite and all rooms have private bathrooms, and is a great deal for $25 a night.

If you do stay at the Colibri, we would love to know how you felt about your stay, what your stand out features would be and room for improvement would be.

Location: The Colibri is located in 1 Ave Norte, 50 meters north of the church La Recoleccion.
Price:
$15 for a double room, $10 single room, $6 dorm
LGBT Friendly:
A resounding yes
Amenities:
Excellent high-speed wi-fi, bottomless coffee, excellent workspace in front and back, hammocks
Digital Nomad Friendly:
See those amenities? Definitely!
Website:
http://www.hostalcolibrileon.com

Albertus Valkenburg

Sunday 2nd of September 2012

Hello Sally & globetrottergirls!

We are the new owners of Hostel Colibri, since June 3, 2012 It´'s good to hear you had a great time at Colibri and sorry to Sally about the NO-communication. I wanted to write you, just that you know that things have changed! Everybody will get a answer within 24 hours and reservations are very welcome! We have face lifted the Hostel and it is looking good!! Soon our new web page will be up in the air: www.hostelcolibri.com For now some info:

Hostel Colibrí is located in the center of the Colonial City of Leon, Nicaragua. The hostel has a long history in Leon but is now under a new management, with eyes for details, service and comfort. We have two dorm rooms, each with 4 single beds, lockers / night tables and bed lights. The other nine rooms are singles / doubles or triples, all fully equipped with private bath rooms or shared bath rooms. It’s a beautiful house with lots of space. We have a rancho with hammocks, garden space for the hummingbirds, patio space for your rocking chairs, chill room for watching movies, computer area to check your mails or travel plans and last but not least: Fully Equipped Kitchen! We like it ´tranquilo´, good atmosphere – nice people, not a lot of hassle! We make sure you enjoy your stay and sleep well while you stay with us. We have lots for FREE: Computer use, WIFI, DVD´s, Breakfast, coffee and our service. We run daily tours / * Volcano Boarding, transports and other services all around Leon and Nicaragua; just ask.

Hope to see you travelers soon!

Regards,

Hostel Colibri, Leon Nicaragua

Jess

Wednesday 5th of September 2012

Thanks for letting us know, Albertus! We hope we'll get to return to Leon and to meet Colibri's new owners :)

Sally

Tuesday 27th of March 2012

This sounded like such a great place but I have been trying to reach them for 2 weeks to make a reservation for 7 nights. I got an automated response to my online booking inquiry saying they would be in touch very soon but after 2 weeks and 2 more attempts, I am losing patience. Seems quite rude, I guess they don't want my business.

Dani

Tuesday 27th of March 2012

So sorry to hear that Sally! We were big fans of the Colibri when we were in Leon last year, I hope they are still open?!

Tabby

Thursday 19th of May 2011

After reading reviews, and seeing pictures this looks like a great hostel! You mentioned visiting other nearby hostels (specifically BigFoot). I also want to go volcano boarding! Are they very close together?

Also, Colibri's website says they have some tours similar to said hostel. Did you try any of that stuff? : )

Seriously want to visit this place now!

Thanks, Tabz.

jess

Sunday 22nd of May 2011

Hi Tabby, yes Colibri and Bigfoot are about three blocks apart, so no big deal to get between the two. They are the total opposite in terms of clientele though. Bigfoot is a young party hotel, while El Colibri is (mostly) quiet, relaxed and clean. The manager varies between very nice (to us) and a bit cranky (to others). The Colibri does offer the tours, but through the same companies as other places, they don't run any tours themselves. So you might as well book with Bigfoot, or Quetzaltrekkers or Terra Tours. Let us know how you like it!!