Selina Manuel Antonio

The cowork was excellent and offered an abundance of indoor and outdoor space. I often liked working in the outdoor area, which provided a really nice view of both the jungle and the ocean on either side.

This Selina also had a very good social scene and congenial atmosphere. It was very easy to make friends and there were frequent events like movie night, barbecues, bird watching, cocktail making class, and DJs. I met quite a few people that came to the Selina to hang out, realized that it was a nice and friendly place, and then become guests there themselves.

One of my favorite parts of this Selina was the great yoga, flexibility, and pole fitness classes, which at $40 for a month of unlimited classes was an amazing deal. The teachers were all very good and I learned a lot, sometimes taking two classes a day.

The staff was also incredibly friendly and helpful, and I thought my room, a “micro”—a small room with just a bed, a clothes hanger, and air conditioner, and a shared bathroom—was quite good for the price of $650/month.

Now for some light criticism. The kitchen left a lot to be desired and the fridge and stove both stopped working while I was there and weren’t fixed for multiple weeks, leading me to eat out more and spend more money.

The location is a half hour walk from the beach, so I didn’t make it down there too often, although a cheap bus also provided easy transportation from right in front of the Selina. There also weren’t too many restaurants around and I often went to the same three or four places over and over again. For this reason some of the people who came by thought it was boring, although for my part, I was never bored.

Speaking of restaurants, the Selina restaurant definitely got old after seven weeks. The breakfasts were expensive (around $8) and often not very tasty, especially compared to El Avion across the street. The burgers were truly atrocious and once I had a soggy quesadilla. Because the kitchen where I could make my own food was often broken and other restaurants were a bit of a walk away, I ate basically everything on the menu at least twice and can’t really recommend any of it. Except for the Recovery Smoothie (price $5), which was really good.

All told, however, this was unequivocally my favorite Selina, and the only Selina I could have stayed seven weeks at happily. If you’re looking for a nice jungle/yoga retreat to work remotely, this is an unbeatable option.