Juneau Hostel

We’re a senior couple that pay attention to our budget when traveling. The Juneau Hostel was less than 1/3 the price of hotels there. We had a private room with bathroom which was certainly not fancy, but a fine place to sleep. Common areas were large. Met some nice people there from Germany, Italy and the UK. Staff was friendly and helpful. ||Cons: closed from 9-5 during the day, and it’s a solid uphill climb to get there from the waterfront area.

Let's start with the only negative point: cleanliness. The bathrooms are not cleaned regularly enough, I advise you not to get too close to the carpet as you might be surprised by what you find, the curtains have stains, etc. But that's it. Because it remains the only accessible place in Juneau, run by a non-profit organization. You will have a bed, sheets, and a towel. They will gladly lend you bear spray for your walks, you can borrow a lock, buy a toothbrush and earplugs on site, and you will have hot coffee in the morning. You can read a good book in the common lounge in the evening, look at the mountains from the garden, and meet all kinds of travelers. Furthermore, the hosts are very friendly. Especially Brian, who was very welcoming, generous, and open-minded. You can see that he really enjoys interacting with people. Thank you for making Alaska accessible to all budgets and best of luck in the future.

Indeed this may be the only hostile hostel in the world.||Not only did they screw up two reservations made in advance, they were incapable of an apology or assistance with finding another option 10:30p on a rainy night when I had arrived before closure. ||||Don't even try communicating with condescending and as others have noted mysogynist staff (e.g. Brian). Don't get yourself triggered. Walk away from the creepy vibe, straight to flavorful Alaskan Hotel where staff are super nice, welcoming and accomodating.

First this isn't a party hostel as you need to be in before the door is locked. The hosts are really nice and loved meeting their very cute dog. Rooms were warm, you get a blanket and sheet. Plenty of plugs and the view from the lounge with the snow was so beautiful. You need to plan ahead particularly out of season because the owners have to go work elsewhere so you can't be inside between 9am and 5pm. Had a great time.

Traveling to Alaska on a budget is tough, so I convinced my sister in law to stay here. We stayed one night, it was fine. Elected not to stay another. Has potential but needs a remodel & reboot. Gentlemen running it were kind & accommodating.

The hostel is really basic. The beds were quiet hard and really dirty (blankets and towels of previous travellers weren’t collected by the staff after days). The kitchen and the resting area is quiet comfortable. On the other hand, it is mandatory to leave between 9AM - 5PM, because there is apparently no one working during that time. Therefore, one is basically forced to leave which makes it not very easy to work and enjoy the full stay. Besides, the stay was overall ok.

Nice hostel on the hilltop with three levels - female dorm on upper level, ground floor kitchen and living room, basement is male dorms and washer and dryer. Quite clean and very warm; some beds could be squeaky. Volunteer receptionists were very friendly and helpful (when they are around). Loved the location as its in the more residential areas and one block from basin road (goes to trailheads). There’s a rainbow market / cafe that sells grocery and hot foods (lunch only) 3 blocks away. The only thing is the curfew after 10:30pm (also between 9-5) that is slightly inconvenient because on my second night stay, ferry (one a day from Skagway) would arrive 9:30pm and it was so hard to get a taxi on a busy night. Stressful but glad I made it. On my first stay, I arrived before 5pm but waited until 5:35pm before the door opened. The volunteer was either late or really did not hear my knocks on the window and door (they have double doors with a shoe area in between, and they only come to the reception when you ring the bell AT THE RECEPTION), plus phone calls were not answered… even though the open sign was flipped but door was locked. I waited outside in the heavy rain and wind for an hour for someone to finally come and open the door which got me a little sick on the night. The nice thing is that the volunteer receptionist allowed me to take a shower and hang around for a few hours on my way out in the evening, and I appreciate that. It was overall very good if the curfew hours works for you! And hope the lock out doesn’t happen to anyone else :) I would suggest they have a bell AT THE DOOR also!

I had a nice, cozy 3 night stay with no issues. The volunteer staff is very nice. Parking was easy. They had nice touches like you can borrow bear spray, use lockers, etc… I was supposed to be camping but it rained the entire time, so this was a really needed and welcomed back up plan. I felt very safe. Being out from the hours of 9-5 wasn’t actually an issue for me (although I had a rental car). I believe they did away with chores; at least myself nor anyone else heard anything about it. $30 a night for me.. and I lucked out.. ended up having the room to myself all 3 nights. 4 stars because it’s a hostel… everything feels a touch dirty, the beds are very thin, etc…. It’s serves the purpose of what you need. One of my better hostel experiences

Whatever doubts you have, don't worry about them. I had the exact same ones. I definitely recommend this place especially if you're traveling on a budget. The staff is very friendly and very understanding, also very helpful. Jeremy was able to answer any and all questions and doubts I had. Very cool person and was definitely the reason why I was more open to this place. I originally booked only one night because I wasn't sure.. immediately upon arriving and meeting the staff... I asked to extend my stay. If and when I return to Juneau, I'm definitely staying here again. The chores they're referring to aren't big things. They're just your daily things you already do. Definitely worth the price and definitely worth your stay. I won't lie... it was a bit difficult getting there due to the "steep hills" while dragging your 50lbs. luggage and a carry-on. Not a big deal. Very cozy, good area, no alcohol (which wasn't too much of a deal breaker) However, they're lenient with the hours of return, if you decide to go out and experience the night life. If there was 4.5 stars out of 5 I would give that. But they're not worth giving the 4 stars. It's honestly just the hours, which again, ISN'T a big deal... you're in Alaska! EXPLORE!!

This is by far the best deal you're going to get saying for two weeks or less in Juneau. The prices per night are a better deal than anywhere else in town by far. The staff were all very kind to me. The place is clean and well taken care of. I had a wonderful stay at the Juneau International Hostel, and will happily stay there again! Thank you all you staff at the Juneau Hostel for providing fantastic service!

You know that cool, eclectic, welcoming, community vibe that hostels always seem to have? This one does not have that. At all. My traveling partner and I called them a couple of times, leaving messages, noting that we were very interested in staying here. We didn't receive any response. We then went to see about getting some bunks about 30 minutes after they opened up for the morning (this hostel has bizarre hours and is closed for vast swaths of the day, also something I've never seen before) and they didn't have any. All the person at the counter said was "we only have one bunk available in co-ed at this time" That's it. No suggestions for other places to stay, no apologies, no nothing. It was one of the rudest, most-awkward exchanges I've ever had in a place of lodging. I would have rather talked to a robot. We ended up sleeping in the baggage claim.

This place is so friendly and so reasonable! $12/night + one chore. It's a great environment and Jo was really welcoming. They've got a lot of dishes and some leftover communal food in the kitchen (not enough to feed yourself), but no spices or oils to cook with. The mattresses were thin and a little hard to sleep on but, guys, this is $12/night hostel. They've got a room for families and the bathroom and floors are clean! The showers have cool little private stalls to change. Not many outlets in each room, so you might have to prepare to not charge your phone at night, or leave it in the hall. Will stay again!

Stayed here for a couple days when I visited Juneau. I had a car rented so parking is a pain in this area because of all the tiny one way streets. There are parking lots near the hostel but we weren't allowed to park in them. However, finding street parking wasn't impossible and didn't take more than 5 minutes! This is a cute and cozy hostel, felt like I was part of a family. Jo at the front is super friendly and it was great meeting her friends who came over for her daughters birthday. The common room area is really inviting and cozy like a house with the fireplace going. The kitchen has a bunch of utensils and a giant dining table to eat at. Not the most comfortable beds, but clean sheets and towels were provided. The bathrooms and sleeping areas are gender separated and they were pretty clean. I would still wear indoor slippers to walk around but they do not allow outside boots past the check in table. Location of this hostel is great! It's a few minutes walk from downtown (down a steep hill) but also near some really great hikes like Mount Roberts and the Flume Trail. This hostel is very cheap but there things to take into consideration before booking: 1) lockout hours between 9am-5pm! This means you have to take everything you need for the day with you. And if you need somewhere to rest, use the restroom, or refill on water...go to the nearby coffee shop (Heritage). That place was my savior. 2) curfew by 10:30pm!! This totally sucks if you wanted to go to the glaciers or something to (try to) see the northern lights. Also if you wanted to hang out or go bar hopping in downtown Juneau. By the time I left the bar, people actually started showing up. However for the most part, things do close in Juneau so it's not like it is a complete loss...mostly the inability to travel far outside to see the northern lights thing bothers me. 3) you get assigned a chore for the day, and every day until your stay. The chores aren't too bad...they take at most 10 minutes to complete. It's stuff like sweep the front porch, clear the kitchen counter, empty the ashtray, etc. The nastiest one was probably emptying the ashtray...I don't smoke, so it was pretty stinky. So before booking here, take those 3 things into consideration. Personally, 2 out of the 3 things bothered me but I realized this after I had the experience of staying here. Otherwise I would totally recommend this hostel because the people and location are great!

Plus: ~Great location. ~Fairly clean place. ~Super cheap in an expensive town. ~Clean sheets and towels. Minus: ~Limited, inflexible hours. The closed hours added stress to my trip. I was praying that my late flight would arrive on time, and I had to pay for a taxi instead of trying the bus route as I was afraid I would be "locked out. No exceptions." Not exactly accommodating. We had to vacate by 9am which was a rush to get ready plus make time for my one chore. I had two hours to kill before catching another taxi to the ferry, so thank goodness for Heritage Coffee. ~No lockers in our rooms. ~A bit of a musty smell on the main level. ~Mattress was very thin, so if I had been less tired, I would have added my ThermaRest for some comfort.

If you're: 1) Staying in Juneau for a day or 2, and 2) Need a bed to sleep in, but 3) Are on a tight budget.... Stay here! $10 a night will get you a spot in the hostel, plus doing an assigned chore in the morning. They provide coffee and tea, but no breakfast. You have to be out early in the morning, but can leave your things if you're staying another night. If you're traveling with your brood you'll be able to request the family room - otherwise, women and men are separated. There is a home-style living room downstairs for encouraging mingling, complete with brochures and magazines to help you plan your stay in Southeast (if you haven't already). The place is clean, homelike and provides exactly what you need.

I stayed at this Hostel for a total of 8 days through out my total of 26 days in Juneau. Great people and great Host. Jo and JJ are simply amazing and very sweet. I loved sharing my pizza with them lol An amazing price for such a great time. Very comfortable kitchen, dining room, living room and bedrooms are quite nice. If I were to ever come back to Juneau I would def stay again. It saddens me that Jo and JJ are leaving but happy journey to them and there soon to be marriage. Love and Light

I stayed here for 2 nights in June. Although there are some rules (curfew, chores, no food in the rooms etc), it was a very pleasant experience. The workers there are volunteers, which was cool because they really want to be there. They're travelers just like you! Also, it's $12 a night which is really great in Juneau. The curfew actually encouraged me to get out more and see the town. I had some great conversations with the people staying there and I felt very safe because they lock the doors past a certain hour. All in all I would stay here again when I visit in the future! Thanks Juneau!

Great location, amazing views from the kitchen and living room, and friendly staff. Very home-y feel. The hours and the rule about no alcohol were a little inconvenient, but other than that it was great

Great hostel. Clean and inviting. I came into town for a short trip to see my daughter. I was able to get the family room, which has it's own bathroom and toys for kids. Great value!