Name: Ivy Hostel
Address: Carrera 44 10 Sur -4,10 Sur, Medellin, Medellin, Medellin, 050021, Colombia
Rating: 9

24-hour reception

Smoking areas

Smoke-free property

Garden

Terrace

Private check-in/check-out

Outdoor furniture

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Locker

Linens

Rooms

Ironing

Laundry

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Snack bar

Vending machine

Meals

Internet access

Internet

Spanish

English

Languages Spoken

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Barbecue grill(s)

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hostel

Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport

Jose Maria Cordova International Airport

Ivy Hostel

Medellin

I lived here for a week in May 2021. I am posting to warn others about Ivy. I am a long-term renter in Medellin and decided to quickly leave this place. I was sold a bunch of lies about the building. I had pre-booked the apartment and shortly before I arrived they texted me that they needed to do some work on my apartment. Turns out that work involved tearing down the exterior wall of my apartment. They removed the entire exterior facing wall in the living room and put up an awful temporary wall. They tore down the entire exterior wall in the master bedroom and stacked up all the furniture in the corner. They took out the vanity, the shower doors, the toilet and mirror in the master bathroom. I have attached photos for you to better understand. They promised they would put it all back together in a month while I took shelter in the second bedroom, and that was a lie. Men were crawling outside my windows on scaffolding, jack hammering away for hours, the entire apartment shook and there was an incredible amount of noise and vibration that made it impossible to live or work there. When they weren’t jack hammering, they came inside the master bedroom and had lunch and chatted away, it was like sharing an apartment with a bunch of construction workers. They would enter the apartment on a daily basis through the master bedroom or the main door. The apartment and building are completely uninhabitable.

As I was leaving, Ivy administration tried to change the terms and conditions of my stay. I let them know the day after I moved-in that I was looking for another place to stay. As soon as I gave notice, they tried to keep 2 weeks of rent (they literally made up us agreeing that I would give them notice) and it was only after I threatened to post online about what is going on at Ivy that they gave me back my money. I warn you to not believe the photos you see online, go see the place in person for yourself without warning them you are coming so that they clean up and stop all construction. Photos online show the apartments in great condition and the co-working in awesome shape — it’s a lie, go see it for yourself.  I have attached a photo of the exterior of the building that I took in July 2021 - it’s still under heavy construction and it’s been that way for months.

Here are some other lies: that construction would almost certainly be done in June 2021 - don’t believe this (even with the rent discount it’s not worth it and they aren’t even close to completing the project). The building at the time I took a tour was full of construction dust, dirt, bags of cement, scaffolding, workers, little to no security at the building since men need to work and they can’t be bothered to keep the door closed. The entrance to the building, the hallways, the elevator, everything is covered in dust and dirt from full on construction. They have a woman that cleans but it’s impossible to contain the construction mess. The building is covered in black construction enclosures that make it look awful and block the view from your apartment. There is scaffolding blocking the garage - there is no parking here since the garage is used for all their construction and it’s a mess.

The internet was always disconnecting. The Smart TVs have a defect that causes the apps to not load so you are always resetting your tv to factory. The washer and dryer are located in the kitchen so the sound and heat flow throughout the entire apartment. The dryer is vented right outside your apartment door, so every time you leave the apartment you step on lint that gets pushed into your apartment’s floor and entrance. The bed and furniture are poor quality. They hung some fabric art on the wall and it’s of poor taste.

The building is made with poor materials - you can hear everything, every where. Shockingly, the owner would take audio from two floors below of me with my girlfriend having conversations and doing other things and send it to me - it’s the building, not me. The administration never leaves you alone - constant knocking on the door, messages, etc.

Beware - Worst Place to Stay in Medellin

Ivy hostel was the first hostel I have been to, and it was a great experience! I am an exchange student at the local university in Medellín, and my plan was to stay at Ivy for a week to get everything done that I needed to do to prepare myself for the coming semester. The hostel is super cheap and very nice. They have warm water and comfortable beds. If you are concerned that your Spanish is not good enough to communicate effectively, do not worry, just ask for Sarah or Victoria (and I'm sure others) and they will speak to you in near perfect English. Coming to Medellin, I was also very concerned about things I needed to do such as find an apartment. The staff helped me find a great place to stay and helped translate the WhatsApp messages I did not understand with my now landlord. There were many times I needed advice on Colombian culture or what to do around the city or even just needed my passport copied and printed. Every single time they were so happy to help me and I am so grateful for an amazing experience. Lastly, and probably the best part. Ivy is a great place to make friends and talk to people. I went out to bars and restaurants with people from the hostel (locals and visitors) and it was a blast. Would recommend your next stay at this place.

Amazing Hostel


The staff offered to switch us to bottom beds as soon as possible but didn't. When we used the bottom beds they charged us an extra night for that. They came into the room in the middle of the night to check which bed we sleep in, even though we locked the door. VERY creepy!

CANNOT recommend 

 Our holidays in Colombia were undoubtedly great, but they would not have been the same without Victoria, Guillermo, Pau and Mauricio, their super warm and attentive people, they would undoubtedly return, just as Ivy's location is very good.

The best vacation ever!

Amazing location. Amazing staff ( Pahola is awesome). Amazing/delicious breakfast. Bathrooms (yes, there are many bathrooms to choose from) and rooms are well kept.  One of the best hostels I stayed in Colombia for sure.

Amazing hostel in Medellín

Staff are incredibly friendly. The email instructions to find the Hostel were so perfect from Aguacatala. I got a wonderful breakfast from the beautiful Pahola. Great advice on how to visit Guatape and Park Arvi. The only thing it needs is mosquito barriers in the front entrance. You can get bitten badly overnight even if you put on 50%DEET. There was a Californian traveller with zika virus illness there which was contracted from Cartagena and not accessing to healthcare for fear of not being able to communicate to doctors in Spanish and healthcare costs. Barriers like mosquito nets and window and door nets would be more effective and especially become more important in hostels where foreign visitors find accessing healthcare very difficult for language reasons. Otherwise Ivy hostel was a wonderful stay for me.

Great Place

I went to Medellín with 3 friends, two of them where coming from United Kingdom. We stayed in this hostal due to a recommendation of a friend and she was absolutely right ! Friendly host that gives you a lot of recommendations on what to do on Medellín. As well they’re super friendly, and they are always up for a fun night out. 
If you are looking where to stay for a couple of nights in Medellin this is the place, as is not too far from many interesting places in Medellin and the metro for easy transportation.

Super recommended to stay in here 

Couldn’t ask for a better place

I spent five nights at the Ivy Hostel and would always book here again. It's not a party hotel. It's quite large, though, with a garden, terrace bar, TV lounge and kitchen. The rooms are clean and the beds are very comfortable. All the staff were super friendly, breakfast was included, and you feel like you're in a family with the other travelers, since it's not a mass hostel. Not too small, not too big, perfect as a restroom and to meet people to go to parties later.

Super Accommodation Located Central

The location is excellent, very close to the metro station, shopping malls and supermarkets. The staff is very friendly and always attentive to the demands of the guest. The rooms are spacious and the beds very comfortable. The cleanliness is very good. The breakfast is included and is very complete. We stayed with a friend and everything is wonderful! I recommend you and I would definitely stay here again.

Super recommended!

The location is very good as it is located 6 blocks from the metro station and close to the shopping center.The staff is super friendly and attentive to the needs of the guests.The rooms are spacious, nice and comfortable (very good mattresses) like the bathrooms; the cleanliness of the place is super remarkable.I recommend you to spend a great stay in the beautiful city of Medellín.

Ivy Hostel

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