Selina · Medellin
in Colombia 🇨🇴 and 5 more locations
→ selina.com








The largest network of hip spaces across the globe, most being hostels with shared or private rooms for shorter stays. Some offer dedicated coworking (extra cost) and other facilities such as pool and restaurant.
Reviews please interpret per your own needs

1. They need to fix the core issue about the internet. Its one of the reasons selina didnt work out.
If youre a coworking hotel the wifi needs to be 100%, even in the rooms = put an ethernet cable to all the privates.
2. I had a confirmed and paid for booking. On arrival I was asked to cancel it by myself via the booking site, becuase the hotel already was full. This is not acceptable, ruined 2 days of vacation, putting the burden on me with burdensome cancel process, apply for refunds, telling the booking site they had to call Sociatel (and not them calling the booking site)
3. Its basically empy. Its not a hostel experience. There are other better hostels then, like Patios.
Think most reviews are fake. Its not adding up to the stars if you check.
Ive done most hostels in medellin, do yourself a favor and pick Los Patios or Viajeros instead, they're more serious and social hostels with better standard and value, Sociatel is a complete mess. Don't get drawn in by lower prices.
The hotel knew ahead of time it was full but kept the booking confirmed in the app and didn't actually cancel it at all, instead asked me to cancel it by myself when I arrived?! By me contacting the booking service?! What is this? 😅🤣
0% accountability for their error when picking booking platform and organizing rooms. And dont overbooked the hotel when fully booked.
On arrival my booking was confirmed and paid, but hotel was full and no refund was given, no help or contact was offered to handle the situation. Later bookings were accepted than mine, even if i booked before them - at least cancel in order?
Putting me in a bad situation finding last minute hotels in a fully booked Medellín and spending a day of my vacation problem solving, packing and in uber.
------------------------
I stayed the days before in the hotel and the review of the actual rooms:
Wifi and internet in rooms are not sufficient for work or video calls. Router extender in the hallway. Around 10-20 mbps sometimes but spotty.
Very noisy on the Provença side of the building, loud music until late night.
No people, Basically a large empty building.
Charging 8000 for a small water at the reception and no nearby options. Laundry is self service but you have to buy detergent - come on? Its supposed to be a coliving co-working place? Why squeeze pennies of petty things. Just a bad vibe.
Basic, building is old and in need of renovation, overall low value despite lower prices, spotty wifi internet in the rooms, no people at all, loud music at night, messy bookings and unhelpfullness. This could have been managed in a much better way.
Other hostel places have better value, standard and sociability.
Stayed in a private room and it was great, very spacious and clean. Housingkeeping was also friendly and very helpful although there didn’t seem to be a schedule they followed, some days our room was cleaned and other days they hadn’t been by the time we got back. Can‘t speak to the co-working space as we didn’t use it but it seems it is a paid add on which is definitely a no no. Food isn‘t great but theres plenty of options right outside the door. The poblado area is a popular tourist area with streets of restaurants and bars back to back.
We chose to stay at this SocialTel in Medellín because we trusted the SocialTel brand from our previous experience in Thailand (Koh Samui), where everything was professional, modern, and welcoming. Based on that trust, we booked a 3-night stay as a couple.
Unfortunately, our experience started very poorly at check-in. I entered the hotel first with our luggage and approached the reception desk, while my wife followed a few steps behind, casually recording a short video on her phone for her YouTube channel. The female receptionist who assisted us — not the younger girl with glasses, but a more mature woman — was already cold, rude, and uninterested while speaking with me.
When she noticed my wife entering with a phone in her hand, she visibly shook her head and looked at her in a very dismissive and judgmental way, clearly making an inappropriate assumption. When I addressed my wife and it became obvious that we were together, the receptionist seemed shocked and realized her assumption was wrong. Despite this, she did not apologize and did not change her attitude. She continued to behave in a rude, unprofessional, and unwelcoming manner. Even simple questions were answered with the same cold and unpleasant tone.
After our stay, we reviewed previous guest comments and it became clear that we were not the only ones who felt uncomfortable with this staff member’s behavior. Multiple reviews mention similar issues, which suggests this is not an isolated incident but an ongoing problem that management should seriously address.
Another strange and disappointing situation happened when we asked for a hair dryer. Even though I had already fully completed the check-in process, the staff requested that we leave a passport, driver’s license, or some form of ID in exchange for the hair dryer. This felt completely unnecessary and excessive. We have stayed in many hotels and SocialTel properties before, and this is something we have never experienced. It did not feel professional and did not align with the standards of an international hospitality brand.
I would like to sincerely thank Miguel at the reception and the event coordinator (I apologize for not remembering his name). Both were kind, respectful, and professional, and they truly represented what hospitality should be.
To be fair and objective, the breakfast was actually good and enjoyable. The hotel’s location is also excellent and is clearly one of its strongest advantages.
However, aside from these positives, this stay was a complete disappointment. The rooms are very old and clearly in need of serious renovation, and the overall service level does not reflect the SocialTel brand we trusted. The behavior we experienced at check-in — especially from a senior staff member — was particularly concerning and not appropriate for the tourism and hospitality industry.
In summary: good breakfast, excellent location, and a couple of outstanding staff members — but a very poor first impression, disrespectful behavior at check-in, no apology for inappropriate assumptions, unnecessary ID requests for basic amenities, recurring complaints about the same staff behavior, and outdated rooms made this stay far below expectations and a complete disappointment.
The experience would have been good except when we wanted to borrow an iron so I could press my shirt for church they wanted to hold my id when they already took a copy of it! They forced my girlfriend to give them her id so I checked us out early. It was very shady policy. Then they tried to refuse my early check out so I will have to call the credit card company. They treated us like thieves. Why would I steal an iron?
The hostel is dirty. Beds are dirty. Bathrooms are filthy and they are never cleaned (in the 3 days I was there the same filth was in the sink every day). The communal toilets are just as dirty and none of them have any paper. The sink in my room didn’t work-unhygenic. Staff were told of this 3 times and eventually I was moved to another room (thankfully). The next room had ‘clean’ beds. All 3 separately had many black long hairs all over bed sheets. I complained, and was moved to another room. The last room’s beds were cleaner than the other ones but there was still a lot of dust on the beds and some of them were still dirty. I found a bed that was relatively clean but I could see the sheets above me on the bunk bed were dirty.
David should be the owner. The rooms was nice even tho it was a little bit hot and the tv didn’t work. In general David was the highlights of my trip, I recommend for everyone:)
👁🗨The page may include unverified public content from both official and user social media, as linked for attribution.