Private room w/shared bathroom, $46 BZD/night for two, 14th-16th April 2014
Hello! The new management at the Funky Dodo got in touch to let us know that they are now in change and improvements have been made. So let us know if you stay there and can recommend it for others. We’ve left our original review and updates below for reference.
Vibe
Funky Dodo ticks all the perfect hostel boxes upon arrival: lots of colour, an outdoor kitchen and several hammocks. However, after a few nights, certain inadequacies become all too prominent.
Location
Central location, a one minute walk from bus stop and close to all amenities.
Best thing
Clearly some thought has gone into the set-up and lay-out of the hostel. It's well-designed rickety, almost tree-house like construction, suits Hopkins' laid back mentality. The staff are friendly and helpful.
Worst thing
The hostel prohibits consumption of your own beers or alcohol in common areas. This is a ploy so that you 'choose' to drink at their own upstairs bar. Unfortunately, the kitchen lacks adequate storage for non-perishable goods and any communal seasoning/oils. When we stayed, there only seemed to be 2 mugs and some more basic utensils would be nice.
Value for money
As Belize tends to charge a higher premium on accommodation, the Funky Dodo is on-budget. However, the management look like they have stopped putting in the effort, probably due to its high Trip Advisor rating. A bit more money spent on making the kitchen fit for purpose and improving the back bathroom area and this hostel would be worth its almost perfect reviews.
Recommended for
As the only hostel in town, The Funky Dodo has the market on budget backpackers coming to Hopkins, and this is unlikely to change.
Top tip
Bathrooms at the front of the hostel are nicer than at the back. Also, your nearest Chinese supermarket often sells out of date items, so make sure to check.
Rating: 6
(could be an 8 if improvements made!)
Updated 19th May 2014: Following publication of this review on Trip Advisor, we have received a rather threatening reply from the Will, the owner of The Funky Dodo, to what is an honest and first-hand review of this hostel. Our review noted many positives but also that a few simple improvements could justify its very high Trip Advisor ratings. Whilst we still believe that this is a good hostel, the management's acerbic response is unacceptable, and as such, we will share it:
.....Thank you very much for the nice things you wrote about the place but I have to say that some of it is very untrue and you are writing things without even having read the other reviews on the site where you are posting and you are making up false information as you go along....Your blog is hard to find so we were not too troubled with it but this is bad....
.....The Dodo has only existed for 2 and a half years.... Read my blogs, look at the damn photos before talking crap. 2.5 years!!!......
......I understand from what you write that you have absolutely no idea about what you are talking about, you just need to read the other reviews on this site to realise you are talking nonsense and going around doing damage to hard working small business owners like me.....
.....You need to think about what you are doing. You need to know how damaging what you write can be. If you are trying to become a professional blogger as so many people are these days, then I strongly advise you to amend as you have not done any research before writing.....
.....With regards to what you wrote about the "don't bring your own booze" signs.... Nobody except you has complained about this... goes to show. Hundreds of hostels worldwide have the same policy. And look here, now you made me waste another precious hour having to educate you a little.*
* The above e-mail has been abridged for ease of reading and to give a flavour of Will's attitude towards his guests.
