Isla Grande Eco-Hostal

We booked this placed based on the amazing reviews, unfortunately, our experience was quite disappointing… We are a family of 5 traveling with 3 kids. And we are used to camping out, rustic places, nothing fancy at all, and we don’t mind it, as long as the place is clean and sanitary. This was NOT the case! We knew this place was rustic, and that there was not AC, but nobody told us that we would be showering with reclaimed/recycled water that’s stored in a tank covered in mold where there seems to be mosquito larvae growing inside. It was disgusting! I showered the kids on their swimming clothes to wash off the sand, and we had to dispose of all the clothes because it smelled like sewer and mildew after taking a shower there (my daughter had a rash) They should be cleaning this tank to prevent mold from growing and they do NOT. The young lady that works the reception was rude and not helpful at all. My mom, who also travelled with us, went inside the kitchen area to ask for water, and she saw our breakfast plates covered in hundreds of flies before they brought our food out. I ordered some plantains with cheese, and my plantains came out cold and almost looked like they were left over food from the day before. I am Colombian, I know how a fresh plantain looks and tastes. She had a very bad attitude when I questioned this… We booked 4 nights here and we ended up forfeiting 2 paid nights and going to another hotel that by some miracle we were able to book last minute. We stayed at Rosario Del Mar just 15min walk from this place, and my goodness, it was beautiful!!!! Rosario Del Mar saved our trip to this beautiful island! The only good part about our stay here was Giovanni, and the tours we had already booked with him, thanks to one of these tours, we came across Rosario Del Mar (used to be Gente Del Mar Hotel) I complained to Giovanni and his sister about our horrible breakfast experience, and the my did try to make things better and bringing us some fresh food with a great presentation the next day. Unfortunately the unsanitary water conditions, the mosquitoes and excessive heat at night, the houses with litter and dirt surrounding the Ecohostal, the amount of stray dogs around the area in unhealthy conditions made it impossible to stay there. We left 3 days earlier, and lost out on our money, unfortunately. Had we stayed here, our time in this beautiful island would have been miserable. We had a great time during the day enjoying the tours, but just the thought of coming back to this place, ruined the moment. I promise I’m not a picky person, we have done camping, we have stayed at very rustic places with the kids, but this place needs some serious improvement.