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European Hostel

San Francisco (South of Market), California, USA

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Address
761 Minna Street, San Francisco (South of Market)   Map
Price
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Location/Contact
Details
Their Description

Features

  • Kitchen
  • Lockers
  • Lounge / Common space
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Travel information provided
  • 24 Hour Free Hot Showers
  • Phones (public or in room)
 
The Hostelz.com Review
The easiest way to go to the European Hostel is by public transportation -- the tram or the bus. When you are arriving by car, you should be aware that the hostel does not have its own parking spaces. Parking in the street nearby is prohibited, but right across the little street there is a small parking lot, where you can leave the car for a fee. There are a lot of homeless people on the streets nearby, so it's not in the best part of town but it's still reasonably safe.

The reception in the hostel is not always occupied. It is better to call before arriving or you might have to wait on the street until somebody arrives.

The hostel has mixed two-, four-, and six-bed dorms. They are very small and only very sparsely furnished. There is a shared kitchen, fully equipped with a microwave, fridge, stove and dishes. There are also four tables and chairs to sit on, if you'd like to eat in the kitchen. Eating in the dorms is prohibited. Free tea and coffee is available in the kitchen and if you'd like to watch TV, there is a huge TV for general use in the kitchen. The kitchen is not too clean -- be aware of little animals in the toaster.

The bathrooms and toilets are very small too and they don't always smell good. One good thing is that they should have a storage room so if your train, bus, or plane goes late. And they do have a little terrace on the roof of the house.

All in all the hostel is cheap, but not too clean. It's not very far away from all the major tourist attractions, especially from lots of museums in SOMA.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review


Your Comments
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites, we don't censor out the negative comments.
We do not validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Dennis, usa
June 2008
What a hellhole
The place is filthy and the owners are always trying to squeeze an extra five to ten dollars out of you for one thing or another. Bedbugs are a real issue and they won't spend the money to correct it.
Comment by Anonymous, U.S.
January 2008
You get what you pay for
I stayed in a six-bed dorm and it was probably the tiniest dorm room I've ever been in with maybe two square feet of walking room. The bathrooms were disgusting and the kitchen was as well. The staff didn't seem to know what was going on and I too had the experience of them losing my reservation, although it wasn't a problem for them to fix it with me, but the staff as a whole just seemed very discombobulated. It's not in a really great part of the city. Lots of homeless around, a few methadone clinics and halfway houses line the nearby streets. I'd stay elsewhere.
Comment by Marcin, Polisch
August 2007
The worst hostel
The staff at the hostel were friendly. But I had bedbugs in my bed. After two days I had hundred blisters in my arms and legs. The kitchen had mice and the rooms were not cleaned at all.
Comment by Juliana, from Brazil
October 2006
The worst place that I stayed. My fiance and I made a reservation for a private room, and when we arrived there, the owner doesn't have private rooms for us. On the next day, he transferred us to a couple room, but the mattress was terrible. Other terrible thing it was about parking. When we booked the on hostels.com, it was saying that there was a parking lot. The biggest lie that we heard since we arrive there.
Comment by disappointed
August 2006
This is by far the worst place I've ever stayed. We came during the rains and there were no clean towels or linens because the genius at the front desk used them all to soak up the leak at the foot of the stairs. Showers didn't work anyway. Toilets plugged up. Heard people porking all night long (who does it four times in one night, really?). Disgustingly filthy. We left two days early and paid again at a hotel around the corner.
Comment by Pissed Off
December 2005
DO NOT STAY HERE! You will get robbed. My credit card number was stolen from the desk and there were unauthorized purchases made. A friend of mine got his stuff stolen from a LOCKED locker. There are a lot of shady regular characters that hang out there. It's dirty and in a horrible place of town, unless you're a prostitute and a druggie.
Comment by Igor
November 2005
The worst hostel we ever stayed in. Don't park your car at the hostel. Almost every night there are broken windows in cars and something stolen from a car. It's in a nasty quarter, a lot of homeless people near, very dangerous. The "manager," I think his name is Jay, is very impolite, lazy and not very smart. When we checked in, we expected at least linen. But the manager said "one hour later". Then we took a three-hour tour to the downtown area and when we returned and asked for linens, he said that he had no time and we waited again. Every question we asked him was about something wrong; he didn't do anything except give us the key for the room (one key for three people). So please don't visit this hostel ever. Choose another one.
Comment by Unsatisfied customers
October 2005
I stayed here for a week and it has obviously gone downhill!! The bathrooms were disgusting and didn't seem to be cleaned regularly. The kitchen was unfit to cook in, with flies making homes there. Not the friendliest of staff.... in the absence of the "real" manager they did nothing. If you require a clean, fresh-smelling establishment and basic amenities then this is not for you. If you would prefer picking up a disease this is the one! Overbooking is still clearly a problem, so waiting all day for a room will be highly likely. The one highlight of our stay was meeting great, entertaining people with similar thoughts about this God-forsaken hole!
Comment by Anonymous
September 2005
This hostel makes two times more reservations that it has places for and afterwards there are lots of people on the streets because of "a mistake." So even if they confirm your reservation don't rely on it.
Comment by Mauro Grassano
September 2005
Hey guys, it rocks. There are cool people in the hostel, it has a cheap price, it's clean and really close to everywhere a tourist could go. It's a 1000 ways better than the Italian hostels!!!
Comment by Kerstin
June 2005
I had a very good overall experience in this hostel. Not only that it is so cheap but also the staff and the people there are friendly and will help you with everything. I can highly recommend it.
Comment by Juergen
December 2004
This place has maybe the cheapest single private room in downtown San Francisco. The bathrooms were always very clean, and it has a very nice roof terrace for sun bathing.
Comment by Erick Vasquez
December 2004
Everything here went beyond expectations! Usually hostels are crowded and not clean with lots of unfriendly people. This one stands out as the exception. People were very accessible, very easy to talk to and very friendly. They open their lives and tell you their stories. The staff do a very good job keeping everything clean and organized. If I go back to visit San Francisco, I would stay here for sure!
Comment by Manolito Valenzuela
November 2004
I am glad I visited here, and I loved San Francisco.
Comment by Jessica
August 2004
The staff are very friendly and the room I stayed in had a nice view of the neighborhood. Although small, the room was fairly clean as long as I didn't look at the stains on the carpet. The bathrooms were always clean, as was the kitchen/common-room area. The neighborhood is a little sketchy at night, and the location is a little out of the way, but it's a good value overall.
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