European Hostel

Best staff ever

For a hostel, it was about as expected. I think it was my first time at a hostel in the US; I've been to several in Europe. You have to adjust your expectations and not think of this place as a hotel, and you'll generally be fine. I was in a private room with two beds (bunk beds) with a friend. That helped a lot, if you get a dorm room with strangers then your experience will entirely depend on those strangers and it won't be the hostel's fault. The restrooms were surprisingly clean, I was impressed that they maintained them as well as they did. One-off issues could occur but that's to be expected. I thought the bed was OK, it was simple and not very comfortable but, again, to be expected for the price point. There is no chair in the room, so it's difficult to just sit in the room, as the upper bunk is not far up from the lower bunk. So plan accordingly. TIPS FOR TRAVELERS: If you want to choose coming here for the price point and location, here are some tips for success. #1: Prepare as if you're camping. If you do that then you'll solve 90% of the issues people have at hostels. Bring earplugs. Bring eye mask. Bring bug repellent (windows don't have screens and there's no AC - now I didn't have this problem but others could). Bring sandals/flip flops for going to the shared bathrooms. Maybe even bring a sleeping bag in case it gets cold (they give you a blanket but it's thin; they gave me an extra and it was fine, but it was the summer). #2: Be sharp when walking in the neighborhood. It's not too bad but it is in the outer edges of the influence of the Tenderloin. Not Tenderloin itself but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for everyone. But if you're street-smart you should be fine. I always got an Uber/Lyft to return late at night, but in the daytime it was fine walking to where I needed to go.

I didn't have anything specifically negative to say about this place, after adjusting for the fact that it's a hostel and not a hotel. I wish there were hooks in the bedrooms and bathrooms for things like towels and toiletry bags and clothing, but that might be a construction challenge.

Interesting guests from 5 countries.

Surprising debate about age of guests

The price is attractive. Location is not far from the more touristic areas.

The upper floors did not seem to be heated and the blanket was extremely thin. The staff was kind enough to provide two extra blankets but I still had to put every layer I had to survive the night. Bathrooms were also really cold. Outside temperature during our stay was 10deg celcius.