What Is International House Medellín?

There is a category of Medellín hostel built around bunk beds and a shared bathroom down the hall. And then there is International House — the coliving that predates the word "coliving" as a marketing term in this city, because it was Medellín's first.

International House Medellín occupies a fully renovated, multi-story building in Belén, directly across from La Unidad Deportiva de Belén, one of the largest public sports and recreation complexes in the city. Twenty private rooms, an industrial rooftop kitchen "considered one of the best of any hostel/coliving, not only in Colombia, but in the world" by its own account, and a 360-degree rooftop view of the city define the physical experience. The human side is defined by one person: Joel, who has lived in Italy, Israel, Japan, and Cuba, and has now called Colombia home for 15 years.

This review covers what a stay here actually includes — the rooms, the rooftop, the neighborhood, and who it's built for — plus every current room configuration listed on CoDNX.

International House Medellín is best for: ✓ Digital nomads who want serious, stable internet (900 Mbps fiber, Ubiquiti/UniFi access points throughout) ✓ Budget-conscious travelers who still want a private room and private bathroom option ✓ Groups — the property can accommodate up to 50 people, making it a genuine option for team offsites or cohort-style bookings ✓ Fitness-minded guests who want free access to basketball, soccer, tennis, swimming, and yoga right across the street ✓ Anyone who wants a social-but-not-party atmosphere, organized informally through the property's own guest WhatsApp group

Book International House Medellín on CoDNX → See all current room listings below 📍 Cl. 32B #66c-6, Belén, Medellín, Colombia

Comparing options first? Browse other coliving spaces in Medellín, or start with the Coliving Guide if this is your first long-stay booking.

Why International House Is Different

Most colivings in Medellín are recent entrants competing for the same wave of digital nomads chasing the city's coffee-shop-and-coworking reputation. International House got there first, and its age shows up as an asset rather than a liability: this is a property that has had years to work out what actually matters to long-stay travelers, rather than a template applied fresh to a new building.

The founding story is unusually personal for a property of this scale. Joel didn't arrive in Medellín as an investor scouting a market — he arrived as a traveler who had already lived across four countries (Italy, Israel, Japan, Cuba) before settling in Colombia 15 years ago. The property's own framing captures the intent directly: "We are a friendly, down-to-earth co-living owned and operated by a traveler like you." That's not a tagline retrofitted onto a hostel — it's the actual origin of the place.

The rooftop is the clearest physical expression of that philosophy. Rather than a token common area, International House built an industrial/restaurant-grade kitchen on the roof, under a dome-covered terrace, with a 30-seat big-screen TV area, a large gas grill, a steam room, and a full bathroom with shower — explicitly designed as the property's real social center, the way a shared kitchen or campfire functions for other colivings in this space.

The Location: Belén, Medellín

Belén sits south of Medellín's city center, a working, residential comuna rather than a tourist strip — which is precisely what puts International House directly across from La Unidad Deportiva de Belén, one of the city's largest and most-visited public sports and recreation complexes.

Beyond the sports complex, the property sits within one block of bus connections to the Medellín metro and to the city's main entertainment districts — El Poblado, Zona Rosa, and Parque Lleras — with the MetroPlus dedicated bus line three blocks away for faster cross-city trips. This is a genuinely central, well-connected location that trades postcard tourist-strip appeal for real neighborhood access and much better value.

The Space

International House Medellín's building was completely renovated, and the result is a property built specifically around remote work and long stays rather than tourist turnover.

The rooms: 20 private rooms (listing descriptions reference both 19- and 20-room configurations across different room types), each furnished with a double bed on a new mattress, a Smart TV, a fan, a desk with a rotating office chair, sheets, towels, a blanket, a closet, and a digital keyless lock. 900 Mbps fiber-optic Wi-Fi (Ubiquiti/UniFi access points) reaches every room and common space, with wired connections also available. Rooms share 12–14 bathrooms across the building, all with strong water pressure and guaranteed 24/7 hot water.

The rooftop: the property's signature space — an industrial/restaurant-grade community kitchen, a dome-covered terrace, a 30-seat big-screen TV lounge, a large U-shaped sofa built around tables made from antique doors, windows, and skylights, a gas grill, a steam room, and a full bathroom with shower, all wrapped in a 360-degree view of Medellín.

Practical amenities: free day-storage of luggage after checkout, secure closet and locker space, same-day laundry (wash, dry, and fold) for under $5 USD per load, and tight building security.

Community: rather than organized events run by staff, guests coordinate outings and activities amongst themselves through the property's own WhatsApp group — an informal, resident-driven approach to social life.

Language learning: for guests interested in Spanish study, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) runs a nearby language center with 14 class levels, offering group classes (~$9), semi-private (~$14), and private lessons (~$24).

The Rooms & Pricing

Per International House's own site, private rooms are priced as follows:

On CoDNX, this property is currently listed across eleven separate room listings, each a Private Single or Double Suite with either an out-suite private or shared bathroom, priced from roughly $28–29/month equivalent before discounts, all capped at 1 guest per listing:

• Private Double Suite, Out-Suite Private Bath

  — discounts from 10–50% (Base, Women's, Influencer, Volunteer, Student, Special, Local)

• Private Single Suite, Out-Suite Private Bath

  — discounts from 5–55%, Flexible cancellation (full refund up to 48 hrs before check-in)

• Listing

• Listing

• Private Single Suite, Out-Suite Shared Bath

  — discounts from 5–55%, Long-term (28+ day) cancellation policy

• Listing

• Listing

• Listing

• Listing

• Listing

• Listing

Cancellation terms vary by listing between Flexible (full refund up to 48 hours before check-in) and Long-term, 28+ days (full refund 30+ days out, 50% refund 14–30 days out, no refund inside 14 days) — worth checking the specific listing before booking.

Notably, the property states it can accommodate groups of up to 50 people, making it one of the few coliving-style properties in Medellín genuinely equipped for large group, team, or cohort bookings.

The Community

International House runs its community informally by design: rather than a curated events calendar, guests organize their own outings and activities through the property's guest WhatsApp group, a lightweight approach that lets the social atmosphere shape itself around whoever happens to be staying at a given time.

Joel's long tenure in Colombia — 15 years, on top of previous years in Italy, Israel, Japan, and Cuba — gives him an unusually well-traveled perspective for advising guests on the city, which shows up directly in guest feedback (see below).

What People Say

Guest reviews on International House's own site are dated (2015) but specific and warm. One guest, Katherine, described having the best time in Medellín, crediting Joel for going out of his way to make sure guests were comfortable, and calling out the neighborhood and easy access to the rest of the city. Another guest, John, described staying as part of a 14-person group and feeling completely comfortable with the arrangement, singling out Joel's organization and the convenience of the ground-floor shop. A third review, from Robyn, highlighted the location's easy walk into the city, the rooftop view, and specifically called out the industrial kitchen and the number of bathrooms available.

[TO CONFIRM — recent reviews] These three testimonials date to 2015. For the strongest version of this section, pull recent reviews directly from TripAdvisor or Google (the property has an active TripAdvisor listing linked from its own site) to reflect the current guest experience.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Genuinely fast, stable internet — 900 Mbps fiber with Ubiquiti/UniFi access points throughout the building, reaching every room and common space.

• One of the most distinctive shared spaces in any coliving in this guide: an industrial rooftop kitchen, dome terrace, big-screen lounge, steam room, and grill, all with a 360-degree city view.

• Directly across from a major public sports complex, with free or near-free access to basketball, soccer, tennis, yoga, and aerobics.

• Can genuinely host groups of up to 50 — a real differentiator for team offsites or larger cohort bookings.

• An experienced, long-tenured host (15 years in Colombia, prior experience across four countries) running the property personally.

• Multiple discount tiers available per listing, including women's, student, volunteer, and local discounts, some reaching 50–55% off.

Cons

• Shared bathrooms are the norm (12–14 bathrooms across 19–20 rooms); a private bathroom is available only at the property's higher monthly rate (~$2,700,000 COP) or on specific CoDNX listings.

• Rooms max out at 1 guest per CoDNX listing, so couples or friends sharing a room will need to check availability and configuration carefully before booking.

• Guest testimonials on the property's own site are a decade old; recent, dated reviews would strengthen confidence for new guests.

• With 11 near-identical listings on CoDNX, prospective guests will want to compare discount tiers and cancellation policies carefully to find the best-value option for their dates.

• Pool, court, and some recreational access at the neighboring sports complex carries small per-use fees rather than being fully free.

How International House Compares

International House competes less on trendiness and more on track record — it has been doing this longer than almost anything else in Medellín's coliving scene, and the rooftop alone puts it in a different league on shared-space quality.

Book International House Medellín on CoDNX → See all listings above

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is International House Medellín located? In Belén, at Cl. 32B #66c-6, directly across from La Unidad Deportiva de Belén, one of Medellín's largest public sports complexes.

How many rooms does the property have? 20 private rooms following its full renovation (some listings reference 19), sharing 12–14 bathrooms across the building.

Is there a private bathroom option? Yes — both directly through the property (at a higher monthly rate, ~$2,700,000 COP) and on select CoDNX listings marked "Out-Suite Private Bathroom."

Can groups book together? Yes — the property states it can accommodate groups of up to 50 people, making it well suited to team offsites, study groups, or larger cohort bookings.

What's the internet like? 900 Mbps fiber-optic Wi-Fi via Ubiquiti/UniFi access points, reaching every room and common area, plus wired connections where needed.

Is there a curfew or party policy? The property markets itself as social but not party-oriented, with community activity organized informally by guests through a shared WhatsApp group rather than staff-run events.

What's the cancellation policy? It varies by CoDNX listing — some offer Flexible cancellation (full refund up to 48 hours before check-in), others follow a Long-term policy for 28+ day stays (full refund 30+ days out, 50% refund 14–30 days out, no refund inside 14 days). Check the specific listing before booking.

How do I book? Directly through any of the CoDNX listings linked throughout this review, each reflecting a different room configuration, discount tier, and cancellation policy.

Final Verdict: Is International House Medellín Worth It?

For travelers who value substance over polish, and a truly exceptional shared space over a private ensuite — yes, emphatically.

International House earns its reputation the old way: by being good at the fundamentals for long enough that a founder's personal 15 years in the city translates directly into a smoother stay for guests. The rooftop is the standout feature in a genre where "common area" often means a couch and a coffee machine — an actual industrial kitchen, a dome terrace, a steam room, and a 360-degree view is a different tier of shared space entirely. Add genuinely fast internet, a sports complex at the doorstep, and real group-booking capacity up to 50 people, and this is a property built for people staying to actually live and work in Medellín, not just pass through it.

The trade-offs are honest ones: shared bathrooms are the norm rather than the exception, and the guest testimonials on record could use a refresh. Neither undoes what makes this property a genuine original in Medellín's coliving scene.

Book International House Medellín on CoDNX → See all eleven current room listings above 📍 Cl. 32B #66c-6, Belén, Medellín, Colombia

Last updated: [set on publish] | Based on firsthand review of ihmedellin.com and CoDNX listing content for International House Medellín Coliving. Recent guest reviews and full per-listing room specifics to be confirmed and added before publishing — see [TO CONFIRM] tags throughout.