The Barrel Hostel, Bar, Restaurant

The hostel is located right on the beach, offering a stunning view of the endless beach of Popoyo throughout the day (especially during sunsets). The open common area is beautiful, featuring a pool table. While not all employees speak perfect English, they manage to communicate effectively. On our way to the hostel, our taxi got stuck in the rain, but when we called the hostel, the owner personally came to pick us up for free in their pickup truck – a very kind gesture! If you're looking to save money, booking a dormitory room is a great option as you won't have to share it, essentially giving you a cheap private space. The hostel also has a kitchen that guests can use. Alternatively, you can order food from the bar/restaurant. Beer can also be ordered for $1.50 at the bar. This hostel has the best beach atmosphere we've experienced in Central America. We highly recommend it.

Thank you for the hospitality at the restaurant with a swimming pool on the beach and drinks at sunset.

I don't even know where to begin with this restaurant. The food is ridiculously expensive, especially considering it's not even that good. I expected higher quality for the prices they charge. On top of that, they have misleading pricing - if you pay in cordobas, they apply an unfair exchange rate. For example, my $1 item ended up costing 40 cordobas plus a 10% service fee that wasn't mentioned on the menu. That's 44 cordobas instead of 35-36, so about 25% more than the original price. I would give this place two stars solely for the amazing sunset view, but really, that's the only good thing about it.

Over priced, small dishes and pizza was packed with oil. We payed 24$ for pizza, salad (which was very small) and 2 local beers.

Location’s good and the room’s are well put together. That’s about it for good points. The vibe is awful due to the regular bursts of loud terrible music sometimes going on into the early hours. The toilet and shower in the room didn’t work the whole time I was there (7 days). The food is insanely overpriced and not good, you’d struggle to find anywhere more expensive in Popoyo. The air con isn’t run off the generator so when the power goes down (daily) the rooms get really hot. Keep track of your bill as when I came to pay they added about 30% to it. When I questioned this they just shrugged, made a new bill which was about 15% more than the advertised cost and when I refused to pay that they put me onto the woman who owns the place who started ranting at me about how she runs the best hostel in Popoyo. Super unprofessional and they finally agreed to just charge me what it cost, minus a dollar a night as there’s been no facilities in the room. I feel for the staff here they’re friendly and helpful but higher management seem loco.