Selina Oaxaca Coworking (Review + Tour)

The Selina Oaxaca coworking space embraces the deep colors of Oaxaca city with access to great food in a calm environment. Attaining that balance of productivity and traditional Mexican culture is what this Selina coworking space is all about.

Hi, Acacia for Adventure on the Side here. I worked two weeks from the Selina Oaxaca and am ready to give you the full insider look so you know what to expect.

Note: I keep it real. No staged or stock photos here! These are all actual photos taken during my stay at Selina Oaxaca.

What to Expect in this Article:

Oaxaca City

Known for its great food, deep cultural roots, and growing number of digital nomads, Oaxaca is a great stopover for Digital Nomads in Mexico. 

Digital nomads can grab coffee in the Zocalo in the morning, walk under the waving banners along the narrow streets at lunch, and after work sip mezcal to the live sounds of a local band. 

All day, digital nomads can enjoy the profound flavors fo Oaxaca spices that are so mature, they could only have been achieved with hundred of years of mastery. 

The Selina Cowork space in Oaxaca carries this similar decor and style. The walls are a deep green with a mural of midtoned  colors and there are two medium sized windowed facing the street. 

Selina Oaxaca Location

The Selina Oaxaca location is nestled between Oaxaca’s Zocalo and San Domingo church and is surrounded by some of the best art galleries and restaurants in the city. The windows of the cowork space look into the city’s premier dance studio and performance arts school for a peek into the local culture. 

The overall size of the Selina hotel is smaller than other Selina locations- holds around 80 guests- and the size of the coworking is proportionately smaller. 

The designated coworking space is on the bottom floor of the three story building located next to the restaurant. 

Selina Oaxaca Coworking Space

The overall set up of the Oaxaca Selina coworking space consists of a medium sized room with elevated ceilings and wood walls, a phone booth, a meeting room for 2, and a restroom. 

Upon entering, coworkers face an offering of office supplies, coffee, and tea. To the right are the private phone booth and meeting room with a set of 4 lockers. On the left, the walkway opens to the hot desk table seating. 

Coworking Seating and Space

Coworkers can choose from seating at a large table in the center of the room, a table ledge along the window wall with three seats, and two booth tables in the back for a total of 11- 14 spaces. 

Additionally, there is a phone booth for calls and a reservable meeting room. 

All seating at the Oaxaca cowork space is hot desk seating meaning all seats are on a first come basis. There are no dedicated desk spaces at this location other than the single reservable meeting room. 

Hot Desk Tables

The two large tables in the center were often the first taken by coworkers in the space each day spots due to the open space and visuals form these seats compared to the booths or window seating. 

The overhead lights are centered above the middle table giving this area the best lighting. 

Hot Desk Window Seating

There are two medium sized windows in the Selina Oaxaca coworking space that both face the street. This pair of windows add a touch of natural light to an otherwise shaded space and a majority of that natural light falls onto the three seats along the wall. 

The natural light was attractive to some coworkers, while others avoided the wall seating due to the inconsistent light color and brightness form the mix of windows and wall  on the front and dark space behind the seats. 

Hot Desk Booth Seating

There are two booths behind the large hot desk tables. The booths along the back wall have low rider seats making them awkward to work on a laptop from. The table heights are betters suited for those wanting a screen at eye level like for watching videos. 

Cowork Phone Booth

There is a single phone booth at this location and it is located across form the open desk space next to the meeting room. The booth has basic sound insulations on the walls and a window door. 

Workers in the booth face forward to the back wall with their backs and laptop screens facing the window door. 

Cowork Meeting Room

The single meeting room at the Selina Oaxaca Cowork is designed for two people. The space is minimal and its rectangular configuration makes it feel both narrow and having good depth. 

The meeting room has a sliding window door with a lock that opens to a large cafe type round table with two seats. On the wall is a medium sized whiteboard. 

Cowork Sound Acoustics

The Oaxaca coworking space at this Selina is a small, intimate room that does not leave much space for privacy. Coworkers chose not to take calls from the hot desk area tables, booths, or seats during my two week stay. 

If the phone booth was available I’d take my calls there or retreat to my room. I noticed the same from other coworkers. 

This no-calls tendency of the coworking space also made this the quietest Coworking space I’ve worked from. The space has a limited capacity so there are fewer voices to resonate, and less space for them to echo. 

The ambiance was great for working on low sound projects like reading or listening to videos. 

Cowork Coffee, Tea, & Customer Service 

This is a smaller coworking space with little to manage, fewer coworkers to use up supplies, and a single reservable meeting room. No real support is needed other than water, coffee, and tea. 

Water and the general space is managed by the hotel reception desk located on the same floor as the Coworking space about 20 feet away. The spare water bottles are housed on the same floor, so refills are quick and easy by the staff. 

Coffee and tea is managed by the restaurant next door which presented mixed reviews on busy mornings.

The solo restaurant worker each morning does not start making the coworking space coffee until after the restaurants opens at 8a leaving early risers and those on other timezones without coffee for a bit. If the restaurant is busy for breakfast or espresso drinks, the morning coffee is further delayed. 

As someone who appreciates coffee in the morning, I found it easier and quicker to work from the restaurant over breakfast each morning as restaurant goers get prioritized over the coworking coffee- probably because they are paying customers. 

After breakfast, I’d relocate to the coworking space for additional cups, of now free, coffee. 

Come lunch time, this dynamic gets flipped. Coworkers can quickly order food from and have their meals served anywhere they are- including the coworking space. 

If hunger strikes while you’re in your work flow, you can scan one of the many QR menu codes along the tables, walk 5 feet next door to order your food and return to your desk all under a minute. 

Food come out quickly at this Selina location, so you’ll be eating within 10 minutes. It was wonderful to not have to break my rhythm or leave the building for midday food.

The coworking space has its own designated restroom with a single toilet and sink that was always clean. 

Cowork Lockers and Security

This Coworking space is the least restrictive or private of any of the Selina’s I have been to. While the entrance to the coworking space does have a keycard access spot, there is a deadbolt lock on the door used to prop the door open all day. 

Anyone inside the Selina hostel who knew the door could enter the coworking space without a key when the door was propped open- which was almost always. 

The result was that the space was used as a quiet common space more than a private coworking space. This would prove frustrating at most Selinas, but since Oaxaca is a calmer destination, the capacity and vibe of the coworking space were not impacted. 

The Coworking space has a set of 4 lockers to the left of the entrance available for use with your own lock. Guest rooms at the Selina are only one or two floors away, so the lockers were rarely used.

WiFi at Selina Oaxaca

Similar to other Selina locations with cowork space, there are two wifi options for those in cowork: Selina Guest and Selina Cowork

Selina Guest Wifi is free internet for anyone at the Selina Oaxaca location and is accessible from anywhere on the Selina Oaxaca property. Wifi speeds on the Selina Guest wifi are: 

Cowork Designated Space: 9.4 mbps download and 19.4 mbps upload. Rooftop Space: 8.49 mbps download and 16.5 mbps upload. 

The designated cowork wifi has a separate password than the Selina Guest wifi and the password was the same for all coworkers (no designated password per user). 

Cowork Designated Space: 16.3 mbps download and 19.4 mbps upload. 

Rooftop: 19.1 mbps download and 16.5 mbps upload. 

I tried to have two audio only teams calls on the rooftop on separate occasions and had signal problems both times. I had to relocate to my room on the second floor. 

Calls I had in the designated coworking space were ok on Teams audio. I did not have any audio issues; however my calls seemed to struggle if others on my call were on video. 

I took most calls form my room on the second floor in the opposite corner from the coworking space. I managed a partial video call from my room, and switched to audio only after 5 minutes or so when it started to struggle. 

Working Late at Selina Oaxaca

Oaxaca is about flavors, history, and centre into the local experience as opposed to being a party or socially vibrant destination. This calm culture is perfect for those coworkers who like to be in bed by 10p on weeknights or enjoy a good meal out instead of racking up a bar tab. 

With most people not going out after work, more people in the coworking space in the evenings streaming a video or just relaxing solo on the rooftop. The coworking space functions as the alternative common room when Selina guests didn’t want the noise or social interaction of the rooftop bar because it tends to not be locked most hours.

Additional Work Spaces at Selina Oaxaca

Cafe Restaurant

Next door to the Selina Oaxaca cowering space is the cafe and restaurant. The cafe has two large doors that open to streets allowing fresh air to mingle through the traditional Mexican banners string across the ceiling. The perfect wake up call each workday. 

In addition to being convenient, breakfast is fresh, decently priced and food is delivered to your table quite quickly. You can also order here and have it delivered anywhere in the Selina building including your room, cowork, or the rooftop. 

The entire food menu- breakfast and lunch- is available form 8a to 3p every day. After 3p, food can be ordered at the rooftop bar.  

The booths along the shaded wall are cozy and have outlets. There is also a table along the middle wall, high top seating, and a cozy couch area to choose from. 

A table does require ordering from the menu, but a simple latte can buy you this fresh vibe for a few hours. 

Rooftop

The rooftop is open all day for open seating, but bar and food services doesn’t start till 3p. Alternatively, you can order in the resents downstairs and have them deliver it to the roof if you want to work morning or midday looking at the Oaxaca hills and rooftops. 

The rooftop has a variety of seating include bar seating- which has outlets under the bar- or from three areas of tables and lounge chairs. 

The space is generally quiet during the day and good for morning calls. Around 3/4p each day, they start playing house music form the rooftop that can be heard throughout the Selina building. On weekends, there is a DJ.

Selina Oaxaca Coworkers

The city is Oaxaca is used a stopover location for travelers between other destinations such as Puerto Escondido.  While Oaxaca does have a decent sized expat community, the city did not come across as a true digital nomad location. 

Most travelers stayed 3 days to a week before catching a bus or plane to other parts of Mexico. My two weeks was by far the longest of the cookers other than those on residency at the Selina. 

Digital Nomads staying at some of the higher end hotels would come use the open air rooftop space for workspace. This added some variety to the coworkers at the Selina, yet those workers did not stay in Oaxaca more than a few days either. 

The frequent turnover and low capacity added difficulty to building a friends and cowering network form this location.

Review of Selina Oaxaca Cowork

Oaxaca is such a unique experience in culture and flavors that I recommend it as a stopover for a week or two for digital nomads. The city overall does not have a large selection of cafes, or strong wifi, (nighttime crime is packing up a bit too) but it is possible to work from here and get a great taste of this culturally rich city without taking time off work. 

The Selina Oaxaca Coworking space matches the city of Oaxaca in terms of amenities and quality.  

The wifi speeds at the Selina Oaxaca coworking space and variety of work locations are enough to keep digital nomads going for a week or two, but if you have a major work project that requires strong broadband, need a private place to take calls other than your room, or are looking more longer term where you’ll need higher quality amenities, this location just isn’t built for it.