What Is International House Medellín?

International House Medellín (IH) is a co-living space in the Belén Malibú neighbourhood of Medellín, Colombia — and by most independent accounts, the best-equipped shared living space in the country, with a credible argument for all of South America. It operates out of a fully renovated 20-room building with a rooftop industrial kitchen, 900 Mbps seamless WiFi, near-360° views of the city, and a world-class public sports complex sitting directly across the street.

IH was the first co-living space to open in Medellín — a claim it makes openly, and one that tracks. In the years since, the co-living market in Medellín has expanded significantly, with new spaces opening in El Poblado, Laureles, and beyond. IH remains consistently rated as one of the top options — not because it's the slickest or the most expensive, but because its mix of real infrastructure, genuine community, and location logic holds up against everything else on the market.

The space runs 20 private rooms, with a small number of shared dorm options. Its primary audience is digital nomads, independent travellers making extended stays, and anyone who wants a community-rooted base in Medellín without paying El Poblado prices or giving up on having a functioning workspace.

This review covers what staying at International House actually looks and feels like — the rooms, the kitchen, the WiFi, the sports complex, the community, the costs, the honest trade-offs, and who this place is genuinely built for. You can check availability and book directly at ihmedellin.com.

International House Medellín is best for:

• ✓ Digital nomads who need fast, reliable internet and a dedicated workspace

• ✓ Foodies and home cooks who want a serious kitchen and communal dining

• ✓ Travellers making stays of one week to several months who want real community, not a hotel

• ✓ People who want to be active — gym, pool, tennis, basketball, yoga, all free or near-free

• ✓ Anyone who wants genuine Medellín — a working-class residential neighbourhood, not a curated expat bubble

Who Founded It — and Why It Matters

International House Medellín was founded by Joel, an American who has spent years building a co-living ecosystem in Belén that operates on a different philosophy than most of the spaces that followed. Joel is present. Guests reference him by name in their reviews — his willingness to personally help, accommodate unusual situations, and show up in moments that require it. His wife is also involved in the day-to-day operation, and the co-living has a core staff team, including Juan Carlos, who is mentioned repeatedly across guest accounts as one of the standout personalities of the experience.

The building has been significantly renovated — what was once an 80-bed hostel has been stripped back to 20 private rooms, rebuilt with proper co-working infrastructure, a full industrial kitchen, and furniture and finishes that reflect a deliberate aesthetic decision rather than an afterthought. The art throughout the building is consistently praised and genuinely distinctive.

What this means in practice: you are not arriving into a chain-operated property managed from a distance. You are arriving into a founder-run space that has iterated over years based on the specific needs of the people who come to stay.

The Location: Belén Malibú and Why It Beats El Poblado

IH sits at Calle 32B No. 66C-06 in Belén Malibú — the geographical centre of Medellín, equidistant from virtually every major area of the city. This is the key location argument, and it's an honest one.

From IH, every significant part of Medellín is within 10–20 minutes:

• El Poblado

  (nightlife, international dining, Parque Lleras): 5–10 minutes by taxi, ~20 by bus or metro

• Laureles

  (local restaurants, bars, residential neighbourhood feel): 5 minutes by taxi

• Calle 33 and Calle 70

  (authentic Colombian bar and restaurant districts): 5–10 minutes

• Comuna 13

  (electric stairs, cable cars, graffiti tours): accessible by metro

• Antiguo Centro Histórico

  (Botero Plaza, Museo de Antioquia): 15–20 minutes

• Unicentro Mall

  5 blocks on foot

The neighbourhood itself is residential and working-class — this is not El Poblado, and it does not pretend to be. A supermarket is two blocks away. A fruit and vegetable market is close by. Restaurants serving menu del día (a full Colombian lunch for around 12,000 COP) are steps from the front door. A 24-hour bakery is nearby. There are local gyms, banks, and shops within easy walking distance.

What to know honestly: Because IH is in the geographic centre rather than the tourist centre, it requires a taxi or bus to reach most of the places visitors typically want to go. If your plan is to walk from your accommodation to bars and restaurants every evening, El Poblado or Laureles makes more logistical sense. If your plan is to be based somewhere affordable, genuinely Medellín, and central to the whole city rather than one corner of it — Belén Malibú works.

The proximity to Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH) — Medellín's domestic airport — is a genuine practical advantage for anyone flying domestically. It is also a noted source of noise. Single-glazed windows mean some rooms pick up more sound than others. It is a real trade-off worth knowing before you arrive.

Where You'll Live: Rooms, Facilities & the Rooftop

The Rooms

IH operates 20 private rooms across the renovated building. Each room includes:

• Smart TV

• New double mattress and fresh bedding (sheets changed weekly)

• Blackout curtains

• Dedicated work area with rotating office chair

• Fan

• Wardrobe and closet space with lockers for valuables

• 900 Mbps WiFi direct to the room

Room quality is consistent across reviews — comfortable beds, functional workspace, good storage. Some rooms have balconies or direct natural light; others are darker and more interior-facing. If you're staying for more than a week or two, it's worth requesting a room with a window to outside. The building also has a small number of shared dorm rooms for those on tighter budgets.

Bathrooms are shared, with approximately 5 bathrooms per 7 rooms — a ratio guests consistently note as sufficient. Hot showers are guaranteed 24/7 and are repeatedly cited as one of the small but meaningful details that make IH feel more like a home than a hostel.

The building uses a keycode entry system — no physical key to lose, and access is secure.

The Rooftop

The rooftop is the social and functional heart of IH. It has:

• Full industrial kitchen (see dedicated section below)

• Large dining area

• 30-seat big screen TV area

• Co-working desks with rooftop WiFi

• Outdoor seating and terrace

• Near-360° views of Medellín, dramatic day and night

The rooftop is used throughout the day — for cooking, working, eating, socialising, and simply sitting with a coffee looking out over the city. In the evenings it becomes a gathering space. Joel has been known to organise barbecues and communal dinners up here; guests organise their own events daily via a shared WhatsApp group.

Laundry: IH offers a wash, dry, and fold laundry service for under $5 USD per load — a practical detail that adds up over longer stays.

Luggage storage: Free day storage after checkout, which removes the logistical stress of late flights.

The WiFi: Why Digital Nomads Actually Care

IH does not offer vague assurances about good WiFi. It specifies the exact infrastructure: a Unifi EdgeRouter and Ubiquiti access points throughout the building, delivering 900 Mbps throughout — in every room, on the rooftop, in the common areas. The system is seamless — enter the password once, move anywhere in the building without dropping connection.

This matters for digital nomads in ways that a headline speed number doesn't fully capture. Seamless handoff between access points means Zoom calls don't drop mid-sentence when you move from your room to the rooftop. High upload speeds mean video calls and cloud uploads happen without the throttling that affects most budget accommodation. Multiple guests running bandwidth-intensive work simultaneously doesn't cause the system to degrade.

Guest reviews across multiple platforms describe IH's internet as the fastest and most reliable they found anywhere in Colombia. That's a meaningful benchmark in a city that has attracted a significant nomad population and where many spaces make WiFi promises they can't deliver on.

The Kitchen: Possibly the Best in South America

IH makes a bold claim about its kitchen — that it's the best-equipped industrial kitchen of any shared living space in Medellín, possibly all of South America — and the guest record backs it up consistently enough to take seriously.

The rooftop kitchen features full stainless steel surfaces, two industrial refrigerators (each guest gets a dedicated refrigerator space — a detail that sounds small and is actually significant for longer stays), and the full suite of professional cooking equipment. It is described across dozens of independent reviews as exceptional, and foodies consistently single it out as the reason they chose IH and the reason they extended their stay.

The social dimension of the kitchen is equally important. Cooking here is inherently communal — the space is big enough to have multiple people preparing food simultaneously, and the dining area adjacent means meals naturally become shared events. Multiple guests describe spontaneous communal dinners, cultural exchange over food, and the kitchen as the place where real friendships formed.

If you cook seriously and plan to feed yourself rather than eating out every meal — particularly relevant for longer stays — the IH kitchen is a material advantage over virtually any other option in the city.

The Sports Complex: The Best Free Gym You've Never Heard Of

Directly across the street from IH sits what multiple guests describe as the largest public sports and recreation complex in Medellín. What this means in practice:

• Free outdoor gym

  — open air, well-equipped, steps from the front door

• Free basketball, football, tennis, badminton, and archery courts

• Free yoga and aerobics classes

• Two swimming pools

  — including one Olympic-sized — at $2–3 USD per day

• Running track

For any guest with an active lifestyle, this is a significant amenity that most co-living spaces in the city simply cannot match. The value comparison is stark: El Poblado co-livings charge more for accommodation and send guests to expensive private gyms. IH charges less and puts a world-class public complex across the street.

The one honest trade-off: the sports complex generates noise. The basketball court is active from early morning on weekends. Combined with the proximity to Olaya Herrera Airport, IH is not a quiet property. For light sleepers, this is a real consideration — particularly if your room faces the street.

Community: The IH People

Every consistent theme in IH reviews, across every platform, points to the same thing: the other people there.

IH is small enough — 20 rooms — that the population at any given time is intimate. You encounter the same people repeatedly. The rooftop kitchen and dining area create natural gathering moments. The WhatsApp group means the social fabric extends off-site — guests organise outings, day trips, dinners in Laureles, nights in El Poblado, all ad hoc, all guest-driven.

The demographic skews toward digital nomads in their mid-20s to mid-40s, but IH attracts a genuinely international mix — guests from across Europe, North and South America, Australia, and beyond. English is the common working language among guests; Spanish is useful for engaging with the neighbourhood and local staff, but not required to function within the IH community itself.

Multiple guests describe stays of several months and relationships that outlasted their time in Medellín. The phrase that appears most often across reviews is not a description of the rooms or the kitchen or the WiFi — it's "it felt like home."

Joel's personal involvement is part of this. He is present, accessible, and consistently described as going out of his way for guests. Juan Carlos, his staff member, earns his own mentions across reviews — described as genuinely friendly, highly knowledgeable about Medellín, and willing to help with anything from late-night logistics to local recommendations. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to be based, reserve your room at ihmedellin.com.

Costs: What Does It Actually Cost?

IH's pricing is positioned as one of the most affordable private room options in Medellín — a deliberate choice that reflects its location in Belén rather than El Poblado, and its focus on attracting longer-stay guests and nomads rather than weekend tourists.

Rates start from approximately $12–15 USD per night for dorm beds and increase for private rooms, with significant discounts for weekly and monthly stays. Exact current pricing should be confirmed directly with IH or via Hostelworld, Booking.com, or the IH website — rates shift seasonally.

Budget Planning: What to Factor In

The meaningful cost comparison is against El Poblado co-livings, which charge significantly more for similar or lesser facilities in a more tourist-facing neighbourhood. IH's location in Belén is the primary reason it can price the way it does — and for guests who are not El Poblado-dependent, this is a straightforward win.

Getting There

Medellín is well-connected internationally. The main international airport is José María Córdova (MDE), located in Rionegro, approximately 45–60 minutes from the city by taxi or shuttle. A taxi from MDE to IH costs approximately $25–35 USD. Shuttles are available for less.

Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH), the domestic airport, is immediately adjacent to IH — a genuine logistical advantage for domestic travel within Colombia.

From the international airport: Book a registered taxi or shuttle from the official taxi rank at MDE. Do not accept offers from unofficial drivers in the arrivals hall. Uber operates in Medellín and is generally reliable and significantly cheaper than metered taxis.

Within Medellín:

• Metro Plus (express bus):

  The nearest station is approximately 7 minutes on foot, connecting to the main metro line at Industriales station.

• Bus:

  Multiple routes depart from a stop less than a block from IH, reaching El Poblado, the metro, and most city areas.

• Taxi/Uber:

  Consistently available; short trips across the city run $3–6 USD.

Address: Calle 32B No. 66C-06, Belén Malibú, Medellín, Colombia.

Practical Realities: What Daily Life Is Like

A Typical Day at IH

Daily life at IH follows a rhythm shaped by the rooftop, the sports complex, and whoever happens to be staying at the same time:

Morning: Wake up, hot shower, down the street for a Colombian breakfast or up to the rooftop to cook. Check in on the WhatsApp group to see what's being organised. Work session from your room desk or claim a spot at the rooftop co-working area.

Midday: Head across the street to the sports complex for a workout, a swim, or a basketball pickup game. Return for lunch — either the menu del día from the restaurant next door or something from the rooftop kitchen. The kitchen becomes social around midday.

Afternoon: Back to work, or an excursion into the city — 5–10 minutes to almost anywhere. Laureles for coffee. Calle 70 for local bars. A metro ride to the cable cars at San Javier or up to Arví Park.

Evening: Dinner on the rooftop, often communal. The 30-seat TV area becomes active. Guests head out to El Poblado or stay in the neighbourhood — Laureles bars are close and significantly cheaper than Poblado prices.

Weather

Medellín's nickname — the City of Eternal Spring — is earned. Temperatures average around 22–28°C (72–82°F) year-round. The rainy season runs roughly April–May and October–November, bringing afternoon showers that clear quickly. There is no bad season to visit.

Language

Spanish is the working language of Medellín and the surrounding neighbourhood. Within IH itself, English is the common guest language. Staff speak Spanish; some have basic English. For navigating Belén daily life — markets, restaurants, buses — basic Spanish phrases help significantly.

Security

Belén Malibú is a working-class residential neighbourhood described consistently across reviews as safe and clean. IH uses a keycode entry system with no physical key. Lockers are provided in rooms for valuables. One guest review raised a concern about harassment of a female guest in the street parking area outside the building — the only such account in a large review base, but worth noting for solo female travellers.

Pros & Cons

Pros

The kitchen is genuinely exceptional. IH's industrial rooftop kitchen — stainless steel surfaces, two industrial fridges with dedicated guest storage, full professional equipment — is the best of any co-living or hostel in Medellín by consistent guest consensus. If you cook seriously, this is a legitimate competitive advantage.

The WiFi is the real deal. 900 Mbps, Ubiquiti access points, seamless throughout the building. Digital nomads on Zoom, video editors uploading large files, remote workers who've suffered on slow connections elsewhere — IH's infrastructure holds up. Multiple guests describe it as the best they found in all of Colombia.

The sports complex across the street is unmatched. Free outdoor gym, free courts, free yoga and aerobics, Olympic pool for $2. No co-living in Medellín offers this at this price point.

The price-to-value ratio is strong. Private rooms in a fully renovated building, with the kitchen, WiFi, rooftop, sports access, and community — at prices significantly below El Poblado equivalents.

The community is the product. IH's small scale (20 rooms) creates a cohort intimate enough to become genuinely close. The WhatsApp group, the communal kitchen, the shared rooftop — these are not incidental features. They're the mechanisms that make longer stays feel like living rather than lodging.

Joel and Juan Carlos. Founder-run, staff-engaged, personally involved. Not a managed property operating from a distance.

Central location with honest access to everything. Every major part of Medellín within 10–20 minutes. Supermarket two blocks away. Local restaurants steps from the door.

Cons

Noise is real. The sports complex generates noise from early morning on weekends. The proximity to Olaya Herrera Airport means flight traffic is audible. Single-glazed windows in most rooms mean this noise carries. Light sleepers should request a room away from the street and factor this in seriously.

Some rooms are small and dark. Interior-facing rooms without natural light are noted in several reviews as less pleasant for extended stays. If you're staying for weeks or months, ask specifically for a room with a window or a balcony.

It's not El Poblado. If your primary goal in Medellín is easy walking access to bars, international restaurants, and the nightlife concentration around Parque Lleras, IH's location requires transport for most of that.

Shared bathrooms at lower price tiers. The bathroom ratio (5 per 7 rooms) is better than most hostels, but some rooms do not have private en suites. Private bathroom rooms are available — confirm when booking.

Self-directed social environment. IH doesn't run a structured calendar of organised tours and activities. The community is guest-driven via the WhatsApp group. Arrive prepared to initiate, not just participate.

Who IH Is For — and Who Should Skip It

IH is a strong fit if you:

• Are a digital nomad or remote worker who needs fast, reliable internet and a dedicated workspace

• Cook seriously and want a kitchen that actually lets you do that properly

• Are making a stay of one week to several months and want community, not isolation

• Want an active lifestyle — gym, pool, sport — without paying gym membership fees

• Are interested in a genuine residential Medellín neighbourhood rather than the tourist bubble

• Want strong price-to-value across the full package

• Are a solo traveller who wants to meet people without being forced into organised activities

IH is probably not the right fit if you:

• Need a private en suite bathroom (confirm availability before booking)

• Are a light sleeper who cannot tolerate external noise

• Want walking access to El Poblado nightlife as your daily baseline

• Expect a structured programme of organised tours and social events

• Are looking for a polished boutique hotel experience with hotel-style service

The clearest test: if you're a nomad who works hard, wants fast internet, eats well, trains consistently, and values the kind of community that forms organically around a shared rooftop kitchen — IH was built for exactly that person.

How IH Compares to Other Medellín Co-Livings

The honest comparison: Los Patios is bigger, better-located for nightlife, and more polished. IH is more affordable, more community-rooted, and better-equipped for the specific needs of working nomads. They serve different primary purposes. The right choice depends on what your Medellín is actually for.

Real Guest Reviews

"Spent 3 months there — perfect place for a digital nomad. The internet is excellent. The rooftop is spacious, green and very comfortable. Super professional kitchen. The staff is amazing and happy to help." — TripAdvisor verified reviewer

"Stayed here for several months and made many great friends. This is not a hostel. It really does feel like you're living in a small community. The rooftop makes for a great social space, or just to get some work done. For the price this is definitely one of, if not THE best, co-living space in Medellín." — TripAdvisor verified reviewer

"I spent 4 months in the International House and it was the best time ever. The terrace is absolutely fantastic, the kitchen has literally everything you need, and the view is mind-blowing. Joel, the owner, is always there to help and make his guests feel comfortable like at home." — TripAdvisor verified reviewer

"The internet is the most reliable and fastest that I've found in Colombia thus far... Also, if cooking is your thing — don't think twice and just book here. The kitchen is so well equipped with everything you could need." — TripAdvisor verified reviewer

"Perfect place for digital nomads! Amazing terrace, well-equipped, stylish furniture and kitchen. The neighbourhood is safe and you will find everything you need. On top of that, there is an open-air gym and swimming pool for free in FRONT of the building. Staff are lovely." — Booking.com verified reviewer

"Everything was excellent. Great blend of social opportunity and welcoming environment, as well as privacy and amenities for work or independence. I stayed for one month in a private room. I felt very comfortable, the staff are friendly and they clean every day." — Wanderlog verified reviewer

Consistent themes across all reviews:

• The kitchen and rooftop are singled out as genuinely exceptional — among the best of any co-living anywhere

• The WiFi performs as advertised — fast, stable, seamless

• The community forms naturally and quickly — guests repeatedly describe making lasting friendships

• Joel and Juan Carlos are named personally and praised consistently

• The sports complex across the street is cited as a major value-add

• People who came for a week extended to a month; people who came for a month stayed for four

Final Verdict: Is International House Medellín Worth It?

International House Medellín is one of the most legitimate co-living options in Colombia — and for a specific kind of traveller, it is difficult to beat at any price point in the city.

The kitchen is genuinely the best of any shared living space in Medellín. The WiFi infrastructure is the real deal. The sports complex across the street represents a standard of free public fitness access that almost no co-living anywhere in the world can match. The community forms around the rooftop, the kitchen, and a WhatsApp group that keeps things moving — not a manufactured social programme, but real people building real connections around shared space.

What IH is not: a boutique hotel, a polished El Poblado social hub, or a quiet retreat. It is a working co-living in a residential neighbourhood that generates real noise, has some rooms that are small and dark, and requires transport to reach the tourist concentration of the city.

For the right person — a nomad who works hard and needs the internet to hold up, a cook who wants a kitchen that matches their ambition, someone who wants to train every day without paying gym fees, a longer-stay traveller who wants community not isolation — IH is not just a good option. It is the obvious one.

Medellín has changed more in the last 20 years than almost any city in the hemisphere. International House has been here for much of that run — the first co-living in the city, still among the very best — and that continuity is itself a recommendation. If you're ready to see it for yourself, International House Medellín is where to start.

FAQ

What is International House Medellín? International House (IH) is a co-living space at Calle 32B No. 66C-06 in the Belén Malibú neighbourhood of Medellín, Colombia. It operates 20 private rooms plus a small number of dorm beds, with an industrial rooftop kitchen, 900 Mbps WiFi, co-working space, and direct access to a world-class public sports complex across the street. It is widely considered the best-equipped co-living in Colombia.

How much does it cost to stay at IH Medellín? Dorm beds start from approximately $12 USD per night. Private rooms start from approximately $20–35 USD per night depending on room type and season. Weekly and monthly rates offer meaningful discounts. Confirm current pricing directly with IH or via Hostelworld, Booking.com, or ihmedellin.com.

Is the WiFi really as good as claimed? Yes. IH runs a Unifi EdgeRouter and Ubiquiti access point system delivering 900 Mbps throughout the building — in every room, on the rooftop, in common areas — with seamless handoff between floors. Across dozens of independent reviews, guests describe it as the best internet they found in Colombia.

What is the kitchen like? The rooftop kitchen uses full industrial/restaurant equipment: stainless steel surfaces, two industrial refrigerators with dedicated guest storage space, and a complete range of professional cooking tools. It is consistently rated as the best co-living kitchen in Medellín. IH claims it may be the best of any shared living space in South America — a claim the guest review record broadly supports.

What is the sports complex across the street? A large public sports and recreation complex operated by the city, directly opposite IH. It includes a free outdoor gym, free basketball, football, tennis, badminton and archery courts, free yoga and aerobics classes, a running track, and two swimming pools (including one Olympic-sized) at $2–3 USD per day.

Is Belén Malibú safe? Yes — it is a residential working-class neighbourhood consistently described in guest reviews as clean and safe. It is not a tourist district, which is part of why accommodation here costs less than in El Poblado or Laureles. Standard urban precautions apply.

How noisy is it? Moderate to high. The sports complex across the street is active from early morning (basketball courts from around 6am on weekends). Olaya Herrera domestic airport is adjacent, and flight noise is audible. Single-glazed windows mean external noise carries into rooms. Light sleepers should factor this in and request a room away from the street side.

What is the minimum stay? IH accepts stays of any length. The community experience is more meaningful on stays of one week or more; the price-to-value improves significantly on weekly and monthly rates.

How do I get there from the international airport? From José María Córdova Airport (MDE) in Rionegro, take a registered taxi or shuttle to Medellín — approximately 45–60 minutes. The address is Calle 32B No. 66C-06, Belén Malibú. Uber is also available and generally cheaper. From Olaya Herrera domestic airport (EOH), IH is immediately adjacent.

How do I book? Via ihmedellin.com, Hostelworld, or Booking.com. For longer stays or specific room requests, contacting IH directly is recommended.

Last updated: 2026 | Based on International House Medellín's own programme documentation, independent guest reviews across TripAdvisor, Hostelworld, Booking.com, Wanderlog, and Kayak, firsthand research, and verified public data.