City House New Orleans

I had a single room in this hostel. It was a good surprise: people tended to be quiet in corridors, and the bathrooms were very clean. Last but not least, I made some friends there.

The hostel overall is good. The kitchen is good for cooking and you'll see a lot of people there. They do nightly events and game hours, there's a quiet area in the back and a tv in the lounge area. Showers and toilets are plentiful. The staff are great! Unfortunately they have a 0 tolerance baggage policy and myself and other guests had our belongings removed and moved into the elevator room downstairs where there's no one watching, even though we were still staying as guests. It would also be nice if there was a WhatsApp group that you could join and communicate with other guests, get announcements, etc. Shout-out to Mason and Strat, you guys are wonderful! Overall, it's a cheap place to stay and close to things. Breakfast is no longer provided, but it was frozen pancakes and waffles with some fruit anyway.

It was fine. Guests and staff were a bit annoying but it was manageable. I broke my arm slipping in their shower, so please be careful.

I booked a room with breakfast included for two people, but upon arrival, I was told that breakfast was no longer offered. After discussing with them, they promised a $20 refund, but it has been over three weeks, and I am still waiting for my money. On the other hand, they charged me $100 without any prior notice for a cleaning fee. They never informed me that this could happen. When I asked for explanations or demanded my rightful refund, they kept delaying and making excuses. A dishonest and incompetent customer service team that has no problem charging for non-existent services but refuses to fulfill their commitments. If you’re looking for a trustworthy place, stay far away from this hostel.

Beware when booking this hostel! I paid extra for the “flexible booking” option, meaning I’d have up to 3 days before checkin to cancel and receive a refund. Plans changed and I tried to cancel the reservation and they wouldn’t let me cancel as it was a “Special Event” weekend. Every weekend in New Orleans is a special event weekend and they wouldn’t return my money even though I spent more for the flexible booking option. Management was impossible to get in touch with and became non responsive. I eventually had to dispute it with my credit card. Overall a very bad experience and I highly suggest never booking with their flexible booking option as it doesn’t actually exist.

In a sketchy location smells terrible and the bathrooms are absolutely repulsive. Not enough ventilation. They say that they provide breakfast, but do not count on it. One of the male staff members was very unprofessional and rude. Nearly refused to refund me my money after they canceled on me because they misunderstood their own policies. I do believe I was profiled.

I booked through Hotels.com with a free cancellation policy. When I had to cancel, I did so within the required timeframe, but the hostel refused to issue a refund. They ignored my emails, and only after a long back-and-forth with Hotels.com and Expedia was the refund finally processed—by Hotels.com, not the hostel. Avoid City House Hostel; their practices are dishonest.

On Saturday afternoon, I was assigned a room and bunk. Sunday night, I checked it to a room with a broken A/C. My bunk mate informed me the following morning that she had complained to management and they did nothing. When I brought this to the attention of management in the morning, they wanted me to demonstrate that it was, in fact, broken. 30 min later, they replaced it with a new on that they presumably had in house the night before. When I asked management to explain why I was placed in a room that had a know issue with the A/C, they responded by telling me that the complaint by my bunk mate was “hearsay.” The general manager proceeded to slam the door in my face before opening it to give me someone else’s receipt. She was incredibly rude and not helpful in the slightest. Was told to throw my plastic bottles in the trash. No recycling measures in place. Management told me that would have to pay to recycle plastic. Absurd. Burdensome rules for the occupants and no accountability for the staff. Also, had to pay a $.60 fee for a soda for using a credit card because it has too much cash in the machine. Management, just shrugged their shoulders.