Shady Spruce Hostel

I’ve stayed at the Shady Spruce many times over the years and it always feels like my second home when I arrive. Quiet, comfy, clean awesome staff. It’s a gem spot in the heart of Missoula with access to all the good times downtown offers. Best hostel ever!

Shady Spruce is one of my all time favorites!! Super clean, quiet and affordable. Located just outside the hustle and bustle of town, within walkable distance to great food and evening fun! Thanks to Chris and the crew for easy check in and providing everything needed for our overnight stay. We will be back.

Incredible clean, warm and nice place with very comfortable and well equipped common spaces. I was one the single pod which was of a decent size with a nice window and good privacy. Right above downtown Missoula. And the best part, all of this for just 55$ bucks, cheaper than the cheapest motels.

We LOVE the Shady Spruce Hostel!!! I book stays for my employees year-round and am always met with the utmost kindness, care, and FABULOUS customer service. In addition, my employees rave about how "at home" and safe they feel. We will continue to book with Chris at the Shady Spruce and think this is a fabulous place for anyone to stay at while in town!

My second time staying at the Shady Spruce Hostel, and it’s just as lovely as I remember. Hands down the nicest hostel I’ve stayed at. Perfect location—in the heart of downtown, near tons of great restaurants and coffee shops. Super clean and well designed on the inside, with lots of amenities and thoughtful touches. Very easy self check-in process. Can’t beat the price. Highly recommend, and can’t wait to stay here again!

TL;DR : Perfect little hostel. Had an excellent stay. I strongly recommend you go! Stayed there for one night, arrived too late for check-in; they had made my room ready, gave me the door code, and a welcome note was waiting for me in the living room/lounge area. They were easy to reach over the phone and email, and provided excellent customer service. The room was silent and the hostel in general was calm and quiet at all times. I felt very rested after one night here. The room was clean and functional, cosy, the bathroom was also perfectly clean and there was plenty of space to change in, drop your clothes etc. The rest of the hostel followed suit: clean, functional and beautiful common areas, kitchens (with free coffee and all I needed to cook my own meal at my disposal), and the outdoors patio looked very welcoming--if it hadn't been winter subfreezing temperatures, which I do believe the Shady Spruce cannot yet control. Of course, inside, it was warm and very cozy! There are numerous maps, books, hiking and touring guides, and other useful resources available inside. A whiteboard presents you with good places to go for grocery shopping, breakfast, dining, drinking, etc. There are bicycles that you can borrow to get around town. That being said, the Shady Spruce is right downtown and Missoula isn't a huge city; it's very convenient to get around on foot, too. Many restaurants, bars, and shops are all within a 10mn walk radius. The bus station and airport are further away, but know that (1) in Missoula, bus transit is efficient and free of charge (!) and (2) even though it was so late, it only cost me $8 to get an Uber from the Greyhound station to the hostel. Don't hesitate. This is by far the best place to stay in town for $50 a night; possibly half that if you share a room or "pod" with someone else...

Our experience was great. Received an email with instructions and a door code the day before our arrival. We booked the private Quad room and I was pleasantly surprised that there was a key. We felt very comfortable dropping our bags and leaving. We didn’t use the kitchen, but it did seem like it was well stocked. The shared bathroom was clean. Very conveniently located for walking downtown. My only complaint would be that there wasn’t a full roll of toilet paper left for guests. It would have been nice for staff to replenish or leave a spare roll out during their daily cleaning. There were maybe 10-15 squares left in the morning, and I hadn’t thought to pack spare toilet paper so maybe add a roll to your bag when staying. Overall, though, it was a great experience and I would definitely stay again.

This is by far the best hostel I've stayed at in years. We stayed in the suite which was private, roomy, and had lots of amenities like a private bath, kitchenette, and entry area. Parking was easy (and free) on the street. Sheets and comforter were super soft and comfortable. I only wish there were more chairs in the main living room to sit and read in for awhile. Other than that, this is the place to stay in Missoula, MT.

So cute and very clean! Beautifully well decorated. Common spaces are well kept and very cozy!

I've traveled around the world and this is a fine place: a hostel for grownups! After about a dozen stays, it just gets better. Clean, no-nonsense, thoughtful in its amenities, cool other travelers (if you happen to see them around), and zero complaints. Thank you for making it so easy and fun to visit Missoula.

Pros: We loved our stay at the hostel. We got a private room and our stay was quiet and relaxing. The bathroom upstairs was nice. The neighborhood is cute and feels safe. They had wi-fi. They had maps and suggestions for things to do. One of the best things was that we could use the bicycles for free - in a town like Missoula this was a great perk. Although watch out because drivers aren't the most bike-friendly in this town. We had only purchased one night but when we decided we wanted to stay another, the reception got back to us via text quickly to arrange another night. It's not the cushiest - it is a hostel, after all. But it's clean and comfortable and a good-enough deal. Cons: We had to pay for parking on the street, which seems weird because there isn't very much going on nearby and the town is so small. The cream they had set out for coffee was curdled but I left a note and they quickly removed (but didn't replace) it.

I love this hostel it's the best place to stay for value and location near to downtown Missoula.

Inexpensive and its located right near downtown. The shady spruce is clean and the beds are comfy. However don't expect any social guests, during my stay not once did an opportunity to connect with other travelers present itself. I made friends in town instead. Overall this place is pretty cool and I'd recommend it to any budget minded traveler.

Female dorm - Assigned 4 beds - 2 upper & 2 lower (bunk beds) Pros: - Immaculate, beautiful, well thought out hostel - Quiet - Fully stocked kitchens - Spacious, single person restrooms on both floors (1 full upper, 1 full lower & 1/2 bath lower) - Curtains on bottom bunks - Reversable mattresses - 1 side soft & 1 side firm - Personal light at each bed - Closet & hangers in dorm room - Trash cans & recycling bins in rooms - Small lockers for valuables downstairs - All instructions/information clearly posted throughout facility - 2 laptops provided for use - Free wifi - Free large towels - 10pm quiet time - Bikes available for use - Free earplugs in RR Cons: - 3p - 6p check in (if no reservation). With reservation, they will email you the front door code (which I hope they change periodically) - No lock on female dorm door - Female dorm connected to kitchen - No parking on site. Must use either downtown street parking or pay at a garage; however, downtown street parking is free after 6pm and on weekends/holidays (No idea of what time in the am paid parking resumes though I left at 5am and was ticket free.) - Small lockers for valuables downstairs - No lockers for luggage though they state they are "not responsible for missing/stolen items". In short, leave your belongings at your own risk, yet nowhere secure to leave your belongings (except for small valuables). - Bathroom curtain does not go to bottom of window (frosted glass) - Dorm room's almost full length glass entry door covered with see-though curtain so that anyone in the kitchen can see inside. - No outside pillows, blankets or towels allowed - Postings in restroom a bit serial killer-y - cut out letters and all. - Can hear train sounding at various hours of the night

The Shady Spruce was definitely not shady, in fact it was legit. Decent location save for parking during weekday days. Clean facilities, well appointed kitchens. I have docked one star, though, for their only providing one skimpy pillow per bed. If there's only gonna be one pillow, it should be fluffy and wonderful. The one I had was flat-ish and lumpy :( Otherwise a great little hostel in Missoula! Nice to have a clean, comfortable affordable option for an overnight stay in the Zoo.

Meticulously designed in efficiency, edited to perfection, aesthetically pleasing, and immaculately clean, the Shady Spruce Hostel welcomes you with kindness and ease in the absolute perfect location. It's comfortable, spacious, well-maintained, and provides exactly what you need. Nothing more, nothing less. I can't imagine any other hostel in the same price range holding a candle in comparison. I highly recommend.

Definitely the place to stay in Missoula! Cute and super clean. Walk right to downtown, or use one of the bikes they have available. Chris & Dylan are awesome...Thanks again guys!

I can't say enough good things about Shady Spruce Hostel. The biggest takeaway is how well-organized it is, from the pre-check-in email and name tag that greets you at the door to the bike rental system and loads of resources about traveling around Montana and Missoula. The light green Victorian home is beautiful, with a charming feel and patio furniture and hammocks in front. The kitchens have great appliances and cookware, the bathrooms are high quality (with shampoo and soap for those who forgot), and the single room I stayed in is the perfect size, with a little desk and stool in addition to the twin bed. One of the highlights, and something you can't find at your local Holiday Inn, are the bikes you can rent for free, with helmets. Missoula is a great biking city and small enough that you can see it all easily on two wheels. Arturo was really friendly and gave me a good recommendation about getting to the "M." The only two issues I had with Shady Spruce were that it was pretty quiet and didn't have as much of a social feel as other hostels I've stayed at, and the shower to people ratio was a bit small. But it was such a beautiful hostel and so well-run that I have to give it five stars.

In every way the best hostel I've ever stayed in. Cleanliness, hospitality, friendliness of staff, 5 stars in all ways. Fast WiFi, easy to check in, the owner Chris is incredibly nice and very helpful offering local advice on what to check out.

I was very disappointed with my interaction with the Shady Spruce Hostel. Needing a room that same evening (a Monday), I found a private room on Booking.com for the seemingly too-low price of $20. Thinking that this might be an off-season or mid-week random price, I immediately and excitedly booked the stay. There was no one at the physical location, which wasn't abnormal as we guessed there wasn't anyone staying there. After calling the number provided in the reservation email to ask for the door code and talking to one of the staff, he told us that the $20 price listing was in error. He said he would talk to the owner about the mistake and call us back. We were understanding about the error, and told him we would be willing to pay more than the price we were promised on Booking. Unfortunately, in business, when you promise a certain price, it is best practice to deliver for the sake of customer satisfaction instead of backtracking, but I digress. We waited for a call back; no response. After taking a walk around the block, we realized that no one was going to call us back. Fortunately we were able to book one of the other hotels in the area and check in promptly. After staying at many hostels both overseas and in the US, I was looking forward to seeing the Missoula version. Hopefully they have fixed whatever glitch was in their communication system with Booking.com so future guests actually get to stay at the hostel when they make a legitimate reservation.