Substitute T.
Yelp
This review is based on an entire week spent here in November 2019. Ok, first of all, yuck. I wasn't even greeted. The guy passed me on to another guy even though I was the only one checking in. He didn't apologize for the wait as he logged in to work, and when he spoke, the first thing he said was "Cash or card?" Wow. Nice manners! My doorknob was useless. You could only open the door by turning and holding the lock. Not very comfy. The floor creaks like crazy which is why the entire place is carpeted, but because it's carpeted, it retains all the filth. In seven days I killed 13 bugs (of unknown kind). I will say the bed, sheets, and towels were obviously clean, so that's why it's not a 1-star rating. The mattresses are pretty worn, and since the frame is metal, it's very firm and sinks in the middle. I come from a loud city, and the noise at night during the week didn't bother me (with the window closed), but it's definitely above average, hence the jar of packets of ear plugs at the front desk. However, the weekend was a completely different story. There is a club about two doors down and you can hear EVERYTHING, as well as get their smoke if you open the window. It opened very loudly, like a plastic prepared food container you can't pry open.
Clearly they don't vacuum thoroughly because I found a pill on the floor! They don't seem to check the lockers, either. I found an old orange inside one! They "encourage" you to lock your possessions, but they also SELL you locks. Bring your own.
The bathroom situation is whole nightmare unto itself. I saw blood on the wall that didn't get cleaned for DAYS, and there was some on the door which never got cleaned. The toilet is ok, but with a place that size it needs to be cleaned every day. It didn't seem to be. The shower is the real nightmare. The floor is purposefully uneven so the water drains down, so when you're wet, you feel naturally unstable. There is a rubber mat so you don't slip. Wear something on your feet (so glad I came prepared). There is no ventilation so it gets very steamy very quickly, although if someone hadn't used it right before you, it takes a good 3-5 minutes to warm up, and then it's scalding. The hot water knob in the bathroom near me was broken, and went around in an endless circle. You just had to find the spot where it stops dripping. Smdh. There is one tiny rack with three small and pathetic hooks that move, so everything falls off. It's pointless trying to hang anything on it. I learned that the hard way. Your stuff gets wet almost immediately because of the water vapor everywhere, including the door.
The sink in the room was clean-ish, but had so much hair in the drain because there is nothing to prevent it from going down. The bugs liked the sink. Same in the bathroom. They do provide soap and shampoo, but the bottle was impossible to open. Perhaps that's why there were so many unopened ones already in the room!
Radiator is old and pretty, and works fine. It's nice and quiet.
Walls are thin, so don't fight with anyone on the phone. Lol
I was lucky and only had to share the room 3 out of 7 nights, so in that sense, I got my money's worth, but if you think about the fact that if you stayed for a month, your rent would be $900 + the ridiculous taxes (better ask about that first!) and you had to kill bugs all the time, would you really think it a good deal?
I had called in advance with some questions. I was told it was a mile from Union Station. Um, 1 mile is definitely not the same as 1.7. It's a short walk to 16th where you catch the Free Mall Ride bus that runs up and down the 16th Street Mall. You get off at the last stop, Civic Center Station (bus goes in a loop), and you walk straight to 11th. Avenues are long. Super easy, but I was told to get on a bus from Union Station that cost money to get there, so I'm not sure what that was about. No decent food by the hostel (in my opinion), so buy your dinner on the mall and bring it back with you. I highly recommend the Corner Bakery Cafe. There are two on the strip. Best quality for best price and quantity. Also wonderfully nice and helpful staff! The Anaheim Sampler is addictive.
Not as important as the other stuff, but they advertise free Wi-Fi. It went out quite a bit.
No, I wouldn't go back to this hostel.