HI San Francisco Downtown Hostel

Great place run by incredibly kind people. My room had the windows boarded up because of construction so it got a little hot in the room. There is no free breakfast (the Google listing says there is). Apart from these issues I had an amazing stay. The kitchen was very convenient to have my own meals, there's a laundry if you want to use it, and the luggage storage option for the last day was very convenient. The place is centrally located so all tourist places are a quick transit ride away.

The women only rooms was fairly small but the beds were comfy. Unfortunately no curtains and the bed so I didn't feel like I had as much privacy as other hostels. Having an under bed locker in a small room has hassle but as least it was a decent size box. It had Aircon in the room but it made the room quite cold. ||The hostel offered various walks on different days of the week but I didn't join and just did my own thing. It was well placed for transport options.

The private room I booked looked bright and inviting online, but when I arrived, all the windows were covered in construction paper. There was no natural light and no way to see outside. I was woken up each day by loud construction that started at 7 am and lasted throughout the day. The smell of whatever they were using seeped into the room. The room had no vents so the pungent acrid chemical/industrial smell lingered. It made me feel physically ill. When I booked, I got a friendly message letting me know the elevator was under maintenance until May. My check in was June, so I didn’t think much of it. Not only was the elevator still out of service when I checked out a few days later, but there was no sign of any work being done on the elevator the entire time I was there. Instead, the sides and back of the entire building facade were wrapped in scaffolding and there were many construction trucks and workers all around the building. The maintenance project seems to be a much much grander scale than what the message implied. Definitely not what I expected based on the photos and messages from the hostel. The contrast between the listing and the experience was… striking.

This place is decent, but if you are looking, I would absolutely recommend the FISHERMAN'S WHARF HI instead of this one!! This one has parking for like 35$ a day - the other is free. Also much better, just in general, to be honest. This hostel is very old, which is fine, but has such features as carpet in the room. The toothbrushing sink is in the room as well, instead of the bathroom. The windows/walls are thin, and you can hear everything. I'm from a big city...but dude... there was straight up constant screaming in the middle of the night. The beds are fine, but this brand of hostel makes you put on your own sheets and everything. The bathroom is clean, large, and there are plenty of hooks. No issues with hot water. "Free breakfast" is slices of bread, butter, and jam. Bananas and cooked oatmeal are available along with coffee and milk. Nothing more than sustenance. The elevator is also broken at the moment (June 2025), so this may be an issue from an accessibility standpoint. I had no problems walking around the area as a solo female, as always with caution.

Very convenient, a good spot to wake up in downtown. Everything's working and commons spaces are great. The room is what I expected for the price. And there is still a guy in the reception during the night (my flight was delayed and I check-in at 12am)

I recently stayed at HI Hostel San Francisco Downtown, and I can't recommend it enough! The hostel itself is clean, comfortable, and perfectly located in the heart of the city, making it easy to explore all the amazing attractions San Francisco has to offer. What truly made my stay unforgettable, though, was the incredible host, Dave. From the moment I arrived, Dave went above and beyond to ensure I felt welcome and at home. His warm and friendly demeanor, combined with his deep knowledge of the city, made every interaction a pleasure. Whether it was recommending hidden gems to visit, sharing tips for navigating the city, or simply engaging in great conversation, Dave's hospitality was second to none. Thank you, Dave, and the entire HI Hostel team for creating such a wonderful experience. I’ll definitely be back and will be recommending this hostel to all my friends and fellow travelers!

Overall clean, but loses stars because rooms were so hot and stuffy , about 78F. It was near impossible to sleep, and I would've canceled after my first night if possible. I've stayed in hostels across the world, in the middle of summer in Southeast asia where temps are past 40C and this was somehow the hottest hostel I've ever stayed in despite outside nighttime temps sub 60F. Also it's pretty annoying you have to put on your own sheets and remove them, never experienced that in my life. I get that they claim its so you know no one has sat in your bed, but that's just an excuse for them to do less work. Found this to be frustrating as I checked in really late and had to do this in the hot room in the dark as to not awake my roommates. Bed was creaky as hell as well. Inadequate showers/toilets. Had to wait for them in the morning each day. I didn't expect this to be a youth hostel, but I also did not expect that the vast majority of folks were over 40 or families. Glad that I booked a female only dorm, because the common areas were full of old dudes and children. Dorm was smaller than what picture had shown, and there were no curtains on the beds (I didn't expect any but just fyi)

“Spending the night” at this hostel was one of the worst experiences of my life. I arrived very late and paid around $150 for a private room, the guy at the front desk seemed friendly. I dropped off my valuables and headed back to my rental car which was parked several blocks away. I had parked on the street, near a mass of homeless people. Well my car was nowhere to be found, even knowing where I parked I searched for hours to ensure that I hadn’t misjudged where I had parked. When I arrived back at the hostel, all the doors were locked (it was around 4 am) and i could see that there was no one at the front desk. I had an early flight and was forced to return home with nothing but the clothes on my back. Thoughts of circling this massive, construction riddled building, looking for a way inside, still give me nightmares. After returning home and contacting the hostel I paid $250 to have my belongings shipped back to me. Every valuable I had was stolen by the staff. Paying $250 to have a book sack full of trash sent to me was the cherry on top. Hate San Francisco, but if you’re there don’t give a dime to these thieves.