Skip to main content
  1. Hotel reviews homepage
  2. Dominican Republic hotel reviews
  3. El Valle hotel reviews
  4. Reviews of Ganesh Hostel & Shivas Bungalows

Reviews of Ganesh Hostel & Shivas Bungalows

Carretera Samaná El Valle Km. 8, 32000 El Valle, Dominican Republic

#4 of 5 hotels in El Valle

Guests' Choice

Review Score

Based on 22 hostel reviews

6.4

Score breakdown

  • Cleanliness

    6.8

  • Comfort

    6.9

  • Location

    8.0

  • Facilities

    6.2

  • Staff

    7.5

  • Value for money

    6.4

  • Free Wifi

    5.8

Verified guest reviews from real Bookers

Real Bookers. Real stays. Real opinions.

Read more– opens a dialog box
Write a Review

Showing 1 - 22

  • Reviewed: January 6, 2024

    5.0
    Abandoned and not maintained
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    The accommodation looked very abandoned and not maintained. The pool was dark green with a hose in it. There was no one present at check-in and the cleaners had little or no desire to help. For dinner, the owner asked $25 per person for dinner, which in my opinion is way too much. I didn't think it was a nice place to stay and certainly wouldn't recommend it.

    The location between the trees

    Stayed in January 2024

  • Reviewed: April 26, 2023

    7.0
    Nice and chill hostel
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveler
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    The bathroom is nice but would rather prefer a separation between the toilets and the shower to avoid all the water around. I had a good sleep the first time but unfortunately not the second night, really loud ecstatic music not coming from the hostel!

    The location is great! I liked the private room and the chill area around the pool. The people working at the hostel are very nice!

    Stayed in April 2023

  • Reviewed: January 23, 2025

    4.0
    COLONISM at its worst!
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveler
    • Chalet
    • Stayed 4 nights
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    The first lady who i met was absolutely lovely. The others gave an aire of imperialism about themselves. For a hostel led accomadtion the clique that was created by the staff was very uncomfortable for a solo traveller. My understanding is they are Spanish. Which is ashame that no locals were getting paid to do FOH jobs. Which btw they are so much more accomadting then the people I encountered working there. At least women or man makes and effort to talk to you. Unfortunately these people really showed their colonialism.

    Stayed in January 2025

  • Reviewed: February 26, 2024

    9.0
    Wonderful
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    It was a bit weird that the rooms are OPEN (two walls only and no windows) with privacy curtains that dont close properly. It was a bit weird wandering round the room naked knowing that if others pass by they can easily see in. I would have felt very vulnerable were I alone knowing that anyone can just walk straight into my room and I'd never know.

    The fireflies. Being able to use the kitchen. I wish they'd listed that on the facilities so we could have brought food to cook since the local restaurants in Samana are so expensive despite being shabby. There are no decent supermarkets anywhere nearby. Great views and beach and woodland walks.

    Stayed in February 2024

  • Reviewed: January 9, 2024

    1.0
    Dirty, neglected, poorly organized and no service at all: never again.
    • Leisure trip
    • Travelers with friends
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    Usually I am no one to write long reviews, but our stay at this hostel was so bad that I have to blow off some steam. This might have been the worst experience I have ever had in a hostel. When we first got there, nobody was there to receive us. We had to come back one hour later just to be told to go to another lodge to do our check-in. The lodge we then went to didn’t really know about that either. Our final check-in consisted of a woman showing us our rooms. There were no keys to our rooms and no helpful information about who we could contact in case of a problem. When we got to our rooms, we were shocked. They didn’t look anything like the pictures shown before. The rooms were dirty, especially the bathrooms; the mosquito nets had holes, and there were spider webs on the shower. The same can be said about the rest of the hostel. The kitchen was dirty and dirty dishes were lying around everywhere. The pool that looked very nice in the pictures was dirty as well and could not be used. We could not get a decent sleep at night either. While the sounds of nature we could listen to were very calming, our sleep was disturbed regularly by different kinds of noises. The hostel is next to a party location where an open-air disco took place, so there was extremely loud music playing until four o’clock (we had to get up at 7 to visit a tour we booked in Samaná). Due to the holes in the mosquito nets, we also had to deal with a bunch of unwanted visitors at night and our toilet was constantly pumping water with a very loud noise. So all in all we got to sleep about two hours in the first night. From the next day on, there was no water available, and it didn’t work for more than 30 hours until we left the next. Electricity regularly stopped working as well, sometimes for hours. What made this experience even worse was that there was no one we could talk to about all this whatsoever. There was no staff or manager present who we could complain to.

    The location and El Valle as a town is the only positive thing I can mention about this place.

    Stayed in January 2024

  • Reviewed: April 4, 2023

    10
    MEJOR HOSTEL DE SAMANÁ | BEST HOSTEL IN SAMANÁ
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveler
    • Budget Double Room
    • Stayed 4 nights

    The hangovers and sunburn at a beach that is way too close. Kidding! I liked everything yo!

    Great decor and space to meet other travellers. All the staff and the manager, Ana, were exceptionally friendly and attentive. Diez puntos!!

    Stayed in March 2023

  • Reviewed: January 31, 2023

    8.0
    Very Good
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveler
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    Very close to a night club so if you think you're going to get peace and quiet, you won't.

    Able to relax, sounds of nature and close to the beach.

    Stayed in January 2023

  • Reviewed: May 2, 2022

    10
    Absolute dream! Definetely raccomended
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night

    If we had to say something, it would only be that the pool pump seems to be loud during the night not having any noises other than crickets that could cover it up. No reason not to come...

    This place is a must! Definetely our favorite place to stay during our round-trip in the DomRep. Starting with a drive through a Jurassic-Park-looking jungle, only 300m from the beach to this absolutely gourgous natural-vibing place. Sleeping in the bungalows is a dream, kind-of having a shower in the nature, the three girls that are running the place in the moment are perfect and kind hosts. In the evening it is also a place to connect and eat well. We wanna come back to badly!

    Stayed in March 2022

  • Reviewed: August 28, 2024

    6.0
    Pleasant
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in August 2024

  • Reviewed: November 24, 2023

    6.0
    Pleasant
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in November 2023

  • Reviewed: March 18, 2024

    9.0
    Wonderful
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in March 2024

  • Reviewed: June 15, 2023

    10
    Lovely friendly staff, the hostel itself is properly maintained and well located
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveler
    • Single Bed in Mixed Dormitory Room
    • Stayed 4 nights
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in May 2023

  • Reviewed: April 10, 2023

    10
    Exceptional
    • With a pet
    • Leisure trip
    • Group
    • Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in February 2023

  • Reviewed: March 24, 2023

    8.0
    Very Good
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in March 2023

  • Reviewed: February 27, 2023

    10
    Exceptional
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in February 2023

  • Reviewed: February 23, 2023

    9.0
    Wonderful
    • Leisure trip
    • Travelers with friends
    • Chalet
    • Stayed 3 nights
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in January 2023

  • Reviewed: December 14, 2022

    8.0
    Very Good
    • Leisure trip
    • Group
    • Two-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in December 2022

  • Reviewed: August 22, 2022

    10
    Exceptional
    • Leisure trip
    • Couple
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in August 2022

  • Reviewed: August 7, 2022

    10
    Exceptional
    • Leisure trip
    • Family with young children
    • Two-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted from a mobile device

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in August 2022

  • Reviewed: July 31, 2022

    9.0
    Wonderful
    • Leisure trip
    • Group
    • One-Bedroom Chalet
    • Stayed 2 nights

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in July 2022

  • Reviewed: May 11, 2022

    10
    Exceptional
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveler
    • Single Bed in Mixed Dormitory Room
    • Stayed 1 night

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in April 2022

Showing 1 - 22

We Price Match
We Price Match
Low rates • No booking fees • Find something cheaper? We'll refund the difference!