For a full description of all our terms and conditions including all house rules, we refer to our Terms and conditions. When making a reservation, you agree to comply with all Terms and Conditions.
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
RECEPTION from 9:00 to 21:00
We're a small, family-run hostel and we do our best to be available and meet all your needs from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. During that time, we might be preparing breakfast, directing another guest to the bus stop even though it's just around the corner… or, well, making a quick trip to Oxxo to buy extra flour for pizza night. That's why we'd love it if you could let us know when you're arriving, even if it's before 9:00 am or after 9:00 pm…. That way we'll be ready to give you a proper welcome to Whale Tales Hostel! In any case, whenever you need us, you can contact us by Whatsapp +52624 21 38 642. We pinky-promise to turn the sound on.
Check in from 15h00
Starting from 15h00 you’ll have your bed ready for a well-deserved siësta surrounded by the smell of freshly washed bedlinen. If you arrive before check-in time, you're very welcome to drop off your backpack & enjoy a cup of coffee / tea / a glass of water while you wait. Or for those very early birds who want to do nothing else but enjoy every minute of the day: feel free to leave your backpack in our storage while you explore away.
Check out until 11h00
Especially for those who love waking up slowly, we’ve made sure you won’t need to leave your bed at the break of dawn on the day of your departure. Instead, you enjoy a nice breakfast followed by a hot (or cold, whatever you prefer) shower and you’ll still have plenty of time to clear the bed. As long as it’s before 11h00, we’re fine. For those catching a late bus / flight: no worries, we’ll let you hang around and keep your luggage safe during your final hours in San José del Cabo.
FREE WIFI
We know you’d like to keep in touch with your beloved ones back home, so we got you the free wifi. Ask for the password at check in and absolutely do not forget to tag us in your videos. Just make sure to enjoy the Baja vibes too, they're notoriously known for not being able to get caught on screen… you’re not visiting Baja to stare at your phone all day anyway, aren’t you?
If you would need to spend quite a fair bit on the interwebs, we would like to remind you that using a shared Internet access requires a fair use of bandwidth and download amount. In case of excessive use that hinders the experiences of other guests and staff, the management retains the right to cut off internet access to the guests involved.
Don’t forget that when you access Internet content, you do this entirely at your own risk and you are responsible for ensuring that any accessed material does not infringe the international laws governing, but not exhaustively covering, copyright, trademarks, pornography, or any other illegal, offensive or defamatory material.
COMMON AREAS
Staying in a hostel can be the absolute best way to travel: a gateway to new friends and adventures, with all comfort just like home, without breaking the bank. Sharing common spaces together with other people, like in a hostel, does require some mutual respect for others, as for the environment you find yourself in. We welcome you into our hostel home in Baja California Sur, with the expectation that you’ll care for the hostel and keep it a clean, relaxed, cozy and welcoming space for all our visitors. Thanks for being a conscious traveler!
Shared bathrooms
Especially when traveling to a semi-arid area such as Los Cabos, water can be scarce and is at times a real luxury - don’t waste it. Keep your showers short and turn off all taps when not in use.
You only flush human waste and toilet paper. Use the garbage bin for all other sanitary waste. Yes, this includes feminine hygiene products and “flushable” wet wipes. In the bin they go!
Don’t let your personal belongings take up space in the showers or bathrooms, we will be moving any finds to our ‘Found’ Box, which will be emptied into the ‘Free’ Box every new cleaning shift.
Make sure to turn off the lights after using the bathroom.
Common Room & Laundry Area
Feel free to use the board games or books available, as long as you tidy up after use and return all items in the same condition as you found it in the first place.
Keep clean after yourself and place used kitchen items back where they belong…after cleaning them first, of course!
Treat the plants with respect. They have feelings too. The ones outside are particularly prickly.
Treat the furniture with due care and try to prevent any serious damage to the hostel. Please don’t remove any furniture or other inventory items (this counts for bedlinen, towels too…we’re happy to provide you with a clean towel or a change of sheets when asked!) from their respective rooms.
Please report any damages, malfunction and any other issues to our staff as soon as you notice.
Outdoor areas
Make sure not to disturb other guests during quiet hours.
Make sure to close the door when entering or leaving the toilet or shower in the garden area. Not only to avoid dust and sand from entering, but also the unwanted multi-legged / winged type of visitors.
Also here we would like you to keep clean after yourself, especially when dealing with food…we don’t want to attract any furry visitors in the hostel.
Treat the plants with respect. They have feelings too. The ones outside are particularly prickly.
Feel free to use the lavadero to wash your clothes, as well as the clothing lines to dry your wet items. For a bigger load of laundry, you can always ask our staff about our laundry service.
FOOD AND DRINKS
BREAKFAST
Every day from 8h00 until 10h00, you may fill your belly with toast, spreads, fresh fruits, ‘agua del dia’, coffee, tea & a surprise hot breakfast of the day. The only thing you need to do? Enjoy your meal and wash your dishes afterwards.
KITCHEN RULES
The kitchen area is available for your cooking adventures from 11h00 until 21h30. You are welcome however to clean at any time - wink, wink.
We provide cooking oil, pepper and salt for your culinary adventures during your stay, as well as unlimited free filtered tap water + free coffee and tea in our designated coffee corner.
You are expected to collect your garbage and put it in the correct bin, wash your used dishes, mugs and kitchen utensils and store them away when you’ve dried them. You are also expected to clean the kitchen’s counters and appliances used for the preparation of your meals after you are done, including spills in the fridge.
All your food should be stored in the fridge or the designated storage areas in the kitchen and you label it with your name and departure date.
Every Monday, Hostel staff will deep clean the fridge and remove unlabelled or expired food, as well as food belonging to guests who have checked out.
To keep any unwelcome critters out, food and drinks are only allowed in the Common Areas - which includes the Kitchen, Common room and Outdoor Areas - with the only exception of drinking water (hurray if you bring your own reusable bottle), which is allowed in all areas of the hostel, including the Dorms and Private Rooms.
BEDROOMS AND PRIVATE ROOMS
QUIET HOURS from 23h00 to 7h00
To keep your sleeping room mates AND our neighbours happy, we ask you to keep as quiet as possible from 23h00 until 7h00. You might just had the wildest party of your life and want to share all about it, or would love to find someone to accompany you on a last minute stargazing trip, but trust us: your fellow dorm mates don’t want to wake up to light shining in their eyes at 2h00 in the morning, drunk singing in the shower or the crumbling sound of plastic bags because you forgot to pack your backpack in the evening before your early departure.
DORM & ROOM ETIQUETTE
Make sure not to disturb your roommates during quiet hours
Keep light to a minimum during quiet hours: use the light on your phone or the night light next to your bed instead of switching on the big light in the room
Make sure to close the door when entering or leaving your room. Not only for the peace and quiet of your fellow room mates, but to avoid any unwanted multi-legged / winged visitors.
We know it’s a Mexican custom to share your favorite music with all people within a 5 km radius, but we would love you to use headphones when listening to music or watching videos on your cellphone/ laptop. This counts for the Common Areas too.
Any longer phone calls should be taken outside the shared dorm.
Please keep your personal items organised in a reasonable, clean and tidy state, limiting the spreading of personal belongings to the minimum. Lockers are provided to store your luggage and personal items. If you didn’t bring a padlock to secure your locker, you can buy one at reception.
You are not permitted to throw items out of the window, hang clothes or fabrics out of the windows or doors. If you need to dry clothes, you can use the clothing lines provided outside in the garden.
Unregistered visitors in the dorm / private rooms will result in an additional charge for each offending person and a cancellation of your stay if you were the person who brought them in.
BEDLINEN
You receive a bed made with freshly washed bedlinen. The bedlinen is included during your stay and, we have to say it, must be used at all times. Sorry, no sheet camps!
The use of your own bedlinen or sleeping bag is strictly forbidden.
We change your bedlinen once a week or upon your request (as long as you keep in mind that we’re living in a semi-arid area where water is scarce, we trust your judgement).
towels
We provide one towel per person, to use during your stay in the hostel.
We do however charge a towel deposit upon arrival, to cover for loss or damage of the towel during your stay. The deposit will be refunded when you hand in your towel at check out.
We change your towel once a week or upon your request. As long as you keep in mind that we’re living in a semi-arid area where water is scarce, we trust your judgement.
Extra towels are available at an extra charge.
Towels are meant for drying your body and should not be used as a bathmat, cleaning rag or make-up remover. Nor should they be taken outside the hostel premises.
HOUSEKEEPING
Dorms will be cleaned between 10h00 and 15h00.
Private rooms will be cleaned upon request during your stay.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
NO DRUGS / NO WEAPONS / NO SMOKING
The use and possession of drugs (including weed) or weapons are strictly prohibited, any violation of this house rule will result in immediate ejection.
Any guest found using, or in the possession of drugs or with weapons inside the hostel will be asked to leave the premises immediately. In any event, the relevant authorities will be notified. A refund will not be issued for the stay. There are NO exceptions.
Smoking (including vapors and E-cigarettes) is not permitted in the hostel building. A designated smoking area in the hostel garden will permit the use of cigarettes, vapors and E-cigarettes, only if smoked within this area.
Smoking in the room will result in a penalty to each offending person and an immediate ejection from Whale Tales Hostel.
NO DISCRIMINATION / NO AGGRESSION
Any discriminatory behaviour and/or harassment of groups or individuals, in particular based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, appearance or social origin, is not permitted and will result in immediate ejection from Whale Tales Hostel, with no refund given.
NO PETS
How much we would like to pet little Xolo the chihuahua or play with Michi the kitten, we have to make our heart out of stone and say “No, you can’t.” For various reasons we don’t accept any pets in Whale Tales Hostel. The only exception to this rule are people traveling with a Service Animal, providing legal documentation. Under Mexican Law, emotional support animals are not recognized as a Service Animal and therefore treated as pets, which means they are not accepted in the hostel.
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