From Argentina to Israel, Selina hostels are popping up around the globe. And it’s no wonder—Selina has received multi-million dollar investments and acquired Remote Year. Their boutique-style hostels are packed with amenities, many of which have a coworking space. As a result, digital nomads worldwide are relying on Selina for its (mostly) reliable source of WiFi and excellent networking opportunities.
I’ve stayed at and worked in my fair share of Selinas. In this guide, I’ll give you an insider’s view on what it’s like to work at Selina’s cowork spaces in Mexico.
Accessibility Note: Unfortunately, the Selina cowork spaces in Mexico aren’t wheelchair accessible.
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My Selina Experience
I’ve stayed at six Selinas in Mexico. That’s most, but not all, of the facilities that Selina has in the country.
While Selina is my go-to pick in any destination where there is one because of its coworking spaces and good WiFi, my review here is unbiased; Selina didn’t pay me or give me any perks to write this.
On the contrary, they didn’t even know I was writing this article.
Selina CoLive Packages
In addition to offering the option to pay for a cowork space (for both guests and non-guests), in 2020 Selina launched their CoLive program.
Do you want to know whether this package is a deal or flop? Check out my Selina CoLive Review.
General Info About Coworking in Mexico
It may come as no surprise that WiFi isn’t the most reliable in Mexico. So, you’ll be reassured to know that the Selina coworking spaces I’ve used in Mexico almost always had a strong, reliable WiFi connection.
I can’t make the same WiFi claim for other parts of Selina’s common areas and rooms, though, for the WiFi strength outside of the cowork varied greatly.
So, if you need consistent access to WiFi in Mexico, in almost all cases your best bet is to book the cowork space.
Below are some characteristics that Selina Mexico cowork facilities share:
- Decent WiFi* with a separate network from guests that stay at the hostel**.
- You don’t have to be a guest at Selina to use the cowork space. I’d estimate that around 30% of Selina coworkers rent apartments and commute to the cowork space.
- If you are a guest, you have to pay extra to use the cowork space—the cowork isn’t included with the room rate unless you book a special package.
- Free coffee, tea, and water.
*Power outages can happen, as well as city-wide issues with network providers. I also experienced occasional WiFi issues unrelated to these two things, but the WiFi often came back within seconds to a few minutes.
**Sometimes, the “guest” WiFi worked better than the “cowork” WiFi.
Despite these similarities, each Selina cowork in Mexico has its own features. Let’s take a look at them. I’ve put this list in alphabetical order, but at the end of this post, I’ll let you know my top three favorite cowork spaces in Mexico.
Selina Cancun Downtown Cowork
Admittedly, Selina’s Cancun Downtown Cowork isn’t the best place for me to start this review since it’s the only place where I didn’t work in Mexico (my stay landed over days off). However, I did visit the facility, so I’ll comment on what I observed.
The cowork space has a code to enter and there’s a desk at the front where a Selina staff member works during the weekdays.
There are lots of shared and personal desks scattered throughout the open floor plan design. As far as I could tell, it seems like a combination of digital nomads and locals work remotely from there.
The biggest downside to this Selina cowork is that it’s mostly an internal space. For natural light lovers like me, you might be put off by all the artificial lighting.
However, if you want to get outside, I recommend heading upstairs to the activities center where the WiFi is still excellent. From my experience, there are rarely people hanging out in the open-air rooftop workout center.
Are you thinking about staying at Selina? Don’t miss my Selina Cancun Downtown Review to learn more about the good and unattractive things about this hostel.
Selina Isla Mujeres Cowork
Oh, my. Where do I start with Selina Isla Mujeres’ cowork space?
Perhaps this is a good place—it’s the most beautiful cowork space I’ve ever seen. And I’ll follow it with this—I cut my original 6-week stay down to 2 weeks because of it.
If that doesn’t catch your attention, I don’t know what will.
That view you see in the photo above doesn’t even begin to do Selina Isla Mujeres’ cowork space justice in terms of the views it offers. It’s hard to tell, but you can see the pool and ocean from those seats by the window.
Be still, my heart.
What the photo doesn’t show is that the table of four is the only indoor space that offers such prime views. You also have a private office behind it that you can pay to rent out (although the door is often open so it often turns into a free-for-all). Aside from that, there’s the outdoor cowork deck area.
The deck is beautiful, but because of how close it is to the ocean, salty air and sand whipping into your laptop makes it less than ideal for long-term working (in the best way possible, don’t you agree?).
Even if you can’t pull yourself out of bed at the crack of dawn (more on that in a sec) to grab an ocean view seat, large windows offer excellent natural light from working anywhere within the cowork space.
You’ll also have access to a mini kitchen with a fridge and sink (and, of course, free coffee, tea, and water).
Now that we’ve got the wonderful parts of the Isla Mujeres cowork space out of the way, brace yourself for the bad.
The cowork at Selina Isla Mujeres is so popular that you have to arrive at the cowork space by 7:00 am to have a chance of securing a spot. In fact, I used to arrive by 5:30 am to try to get one of those precious four ocean view seats (it almost always worked, but sometimes I had to sit elsewhere).
Right before I left, Isla Mujeres started a new cowork rule—you’re allowed to be away from your seat for up to 30 minutes. Any longer and you could find your belongings in a lost and found box.
Oy vey.
We can only hope Selina starts taking responsibility for overbooking their cowork space so they limit future cowork bookings…
Back to a positive note, you’ll receive a plastic card that’ll let you in the cowork. Although the posted hours state 7:00 am – 11:00 am, the key mercifully let’s you in at any hour.
It’s also a very quiet place, and the people it attracts seem to be ultra-workers; it wasn’t uncommon to see people in the cowork for 12+ hours (myself included!). I believe a portion of this has to do with how comfortable the cowork space is, coupled with how there’s not much else to do in Isla other than to hang out on the beach.
If you need to make a call, there’s one phone booth. However, it’s not soundproof, so it’s barely better than staying in your seat.
Although there are signs around the cowork space and Selina as a whole indicating that Mother Nature may make the WiFi go out, I didn’t have issues with it during my 2-week stay.
Are you thinking about staying at Selina? Don’t miss my Selina Isla Mujeres Review to learn more about the good and unattractive things about this hostel.
Selina Mexico City Downtown Cowork
Selina’s Mexico City Downtown cowork has a 60’s style theme mixed with industrial elements like brick walls and exposed pipes. The facility is huge, with long, shared tables taking up its center and booths and other smaller informal seating areas around its outskirts.
Speaking of outskirts, there are a lot of phone booths and office spaces around the edge of the coworking space. Local remote workers and small businesses rent the office spaces. The phone booths are free to use and are fairly—but not perfectly—soundproof.
And now, let’s talk more about sound. The cowork space sits at a corner of the hostel, on the second floor. The windows are open most of the time, allowing for street noise to enter. I didn’t mind it, but it’s definitely not ideal for people who need a quiet workspace.
Water, tea, and coffee were plentiful. Oftentimes, there were little cookies or other treats, which is a nice touch that not all Mexico Selina coworking spaces offer.
A downside to this Selina cowork is that it doesn’t open until 7:00am. Once open, there’s no code to enter, although they come through and check occasionally to ensure only paying people are working there.
Also, they sometimes hold events in the coworking space. During my three weeks working there, they held an art exhibit and a tattoo event. Yes, there were really people getting new tattoos a stone’s throw away from where I was on the phone with clients!
They never made me leave the coworking for the events, but it wasn’t an environment conducive for working when it happened.
Are you thinking about staying at Selina? Don’t miss my Selina Mexico City Downtown Review to learn more about the good and unattractive things about this hostel.
Selina Oaxaca Cowork
The Selina hostel in Oaxaca is small, which is reflected in its cowork space. Only a handful of long tables and benches are squeezed into the room. It’s comfortable, though, and it was never more than a quarter full during my two-week stay (which fell during the popular Day of the Dead).
Because of how small this Oaxaca cowork space is, they don’t serve tea/coffee/water inside the room. Instead, you need to exit and head around the corner of the hostel to the restaurant and ask for your free drinks there. It was a bit inconvenient, but necessary, given the small space.
The cowork space opens at 7:00 am and there’s no code to enter.
On a few occasions they held special events at 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm, and anyone working there had to leave. It’s not right, and we can only hope that enough people complain so they end that practice.
Another aspect that I didn’t care for at this cowork space is that there are two small offices but no phone booths. They often keep the small offices locked since you have to pay to use them.
So, if you need to talk on the phone, there’s no way to do so in private without sneaking in or paying extra (and even then, the offices aren’t 100% soundproof).
The cowork also has some street noise since it’s on the ground floor and right next to a sidewalk. However, it has big, beautiful windows which fill the space with natural light.
Long story short, Oaxaca City is one of my favorite destinations, as is the Selina hostel. However, in my opinion, its cowork needs improvement.
Are you thinking about staying at Selina? Don’t miss my Selina Oaxaca Review to learn more about the good and unattractive things about this hostel.
Selina Playa del Carmen Cowork
The cowork at Selina Playa del Carmen is tucked back on the second floor. It’s nice because you have the option to work inside or at a workbench and some tables outside.
In either case, expect some noise; the cowork borders a tourist-heavy street so there’s lots of music throughout the day. There are two phone booths you can use to make calls, although they’re far from soundproof. There’s also an office you can book for larger meetings.
Coffee, tea, and water are available. However, it’s common for these to empty throughout the day, as the Selina Playa del Carmen cowork is super popular among remote workers. In fact, you just may have to work outside if you arrive late on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday because there are so many digital nomads.
Upon signing up for the cowork, you’ll be given a code to enter and you’ll have 24/7 access. If only all Selina cowork spaces operated this way!
Note: WiFi was excellent at the Selina Playa del Carmen cowork for my January and February 2021 stay. In March 2021, the WiFi was prone to dropping for short periods (a few seconds to around 10 minutes).
Are you thinking about staying at Selina? Don’t miss my Selina Playa del Carmen Review to learn more about the good and unattractive things about this hostel.
Selina Puerto Escondido Cowork
The cowork in Puerto Escondido has a laid-back vibe and decor to match this beach destination. In fact, one of the windows offers a small glimpse of the ocean past palm treetops and a house where a man feeds his chickens each morning.
During my two-week stay, I heard a handful of non-Selina guests say how Selina is the only place that has reliable WiFi in all of Puerto Escondido. That’s a big claim, and based on my personal experience, I can’t argue it—the internet worked perfectly for me.
That said, I met former guests in other parts of Mexico who said they didn’t have good WiFi at Selina Puerto Escondido. It seems that the surge of digital nomads from the pandemic has caused the WiFi there to become slower and spottier.
A small table at the front of the cowork has water, tea, and coffee. The water supply can get low at times, but overall they did a good job of keeping up with it.
There’s an office you can book to have meetings. I found this cowork to be among the quietest of all the cowork spaces I’ve been to; despite Selina blaring music and the downstairs bar/restaurant, the cowork is blissfully well insulated.
The Selina Puerto Escondido cowork opens at 7:00 am. Once they open the door, you’ll be able to enter throughout the day without a code.
Are you thinking about staying at Selina? Don’t miss my Selina Puerto Escondido Review to learn more about the good and unattractive things about this hostel.
Top 3 Mexico Cowork Picks
Now that we’ve covered these seven Selina cowork spaces in Mexico, you might be wondering: are there any favorites?
Definitely.
Below are my top Mexico cowork picks:
- Selina Puerto Escondido
- Playa del Carmen
- Isla Mujeres*
*I know, I know; I went on a rant about Isla Mujeres and now I’m ranking it number three. But there’s a reason why it’s always so packed—it’s a stunning facility with drool-worthy views. If it weren’t for availability issues, this would hands-down be my #1 pick.
When it comes down to it, the Selina coworks in Mexico had solid WiFi during my stay. Given the nature of my work and that I don’t mind working in noisier environments, that was good enough for me.
Calling All Animal Lovers!
If it breaks your heart to see homeless dogs and cats, volunteering or donating to an animal shelter in Mexico City is an excellent way to help.
Albergue San Cristóbal and Gatos Olvidados are two shelters in Mexico City that are active in their community. They take in abandoned and abused animals as well as promote animal care education.
Ready to Work from Mexico?
Are you a digital nomad planning to work remotely at a cowork in Mexico? I’m happy to help with your questions and would love to hear about your own cowork experience if you’ve worked at a Selina(s) in Mexico.
Leave a comment and let’s get our conversation started.
Psst…interested in (potentially) saving some money and booking a CoLive package? If so, don’t miss my Selina CoLiving Review walking you through the ins and outs of this program.
