The Hostelz.com Review
Although it is located in D.C.'s less desirable (for safety) Northeast quadrant, the Capitol City Hostel offers an much cheaper alternative than others in the U.S. Capitol. For safety reasons, there is no big hostel sign letting everyone know that this particular rowhouse (townhouse) is for tourists and backpackers. You can only identify it by the house number and a small sign notice beside the front door. Also, if you are arriving at night, you should call ahead because the owner has advised the hostelers not to open the door for anyone unexpected.
There is no private room available, just four to five large bunk beds to a room. Since the hostel is beside a six-lane roadway, ear plugs and eye covers are highly recommended for light sleepers -- request the bunk space in the quieter backyard side if possible. Two clean bathrooms are available for use with good warm water capacity. The kitchen is small but offers stove, microwave, refrigerator, cabinet space, and pots and pans. There is little eating space but most people eat in the common room while watching the small but multi-channel TV on the relaxing coaches. The computer room has two or three terminals with free high-speed Internet connection. The helpful staff is knowledgeable and has maps and brochures ready to guide you around D.C. The well-behaved resident cat will keep you company if you miss your pet cat at home.
If you are feeling hungry, a very affordable Chinese take-out place is just a few steps away. The closest supermarket and discount store are about fifteen minutes' walk to Seventeenth Street and Benning Road NE, but you may want to take the bus since it is much safer than walking on the deserted streets with bags of groceries and looking like a tourist. Also, the bus fare allows up to two hours' unlimited stopovers when you request a free transfer.
The hostel is about fifteen to twenty minutes' ride away from the Amtrak or Metro Union Station on the X2 Eastbound bus -- the route that gives shivers to transit workers when you ask them about it. Or if you like to take the Metro, get off at Minnesota Avenue station and take the X2 Westbound bus for ten to fifteen minutes until you reach a public library with blue metal security cage on your right. With street smart skills, common sense, and sound judgment, this off-road alternative is an affordable place to stay when visiting D.C. on a budget.
There is no private room available, just four to five large bunk beds to a room. Since the hostel is beside a six-lane roadway, ear plugs and eye covers are highly recommended for light sleepers -- request the bunk space in the quieter backyard side if possible. Two clean bathrooms are available for use with good warm water capacity. The kitchen is small but offers stove, microwave, refrigerator, cabinet space, and pots and pans. There is little eating space but most people eat in the common room while watching the small but multi-channel TV on the relaxing coaches. The computer room has two or three terminals with free high-speed Internet connection. The helpful staff is knowledgeable and has maps and brochures ready to guide you around D.C. The well-behaved resident cat will keep you company if you miss your pet cat at home.
If you are feeling hungry, a very affordable Chinese take-out place is just a few steps away. The closest supermarket and discount store are about fifteen minutes' walk to Seventeenth Street and Benning Road NE, but you may want to take the bus since it is much safer than walking on the deserted streets with bags of groceries and looking like a tourist. Also, the bus fare allows up to two hours' unlimited stopovers when you request a free transfer.
The hostel is about fifteen to twenty minutes' ride away from the Amtrak or Metro Union Station on the X2 Eastbound bus -- the route that gives shivers to transit workers when you ask them about it. Or if you like to take the Metro, get off at Minnesota Avenue station and take the X2 Westbound bus for ten to fifteen minutes until you reach a public library with blue metal security cage on your right. With street smart skills, common sense, and sound judgment, this off-road alternative is an affordable place to stay when visiting D.C. on a budget.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
January 2007
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Capitol City Hostel / Simkins B&B Details
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Capitol City Hostel / Simkins B&B Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Great host in Bill! Clean and relaxed atmosphere. Feel comfortable I felt totally relaxed and comfortable here. Bill, the manager, was totally friendly. I just arrived from Vermont and did not know my way around. Bill took time to give me "the lay of the land" so to speak. I realized I was in a poor neighborhood but never felt uncomfortable. The bus to the downtown is right across the street. A public school is nearby and catching the bus in the morning was a great opportunity to see the community! Children were running to school before the late bell. People going to work or just traveling. The guests were all friendly and from all over the globe! Living conditions are almost what you would find in a family setting! Very relaxed and again Bill was always available if you needed something! A fantastic host and kept low key at night letting everyone a chance to mingle or be private if you want! I highly recommend this hostel to those who like to socialize and meet great, interesting people! Clean and friendly!!! I will be back!! — Rod Munroe , United States (2011-09-16) Home away from home When it is this cheap did you expect some grand hotel? And bill is awesome and welcoming and friendly. You get to choose your comfortable clean bed, there is nothing wrong with the bathrooms. It is really just like a house, sofas and a tv and wifi with computers always available. highly recommend staying here, one bus straight to the heart of DC. — Jonny Cornish , England (2011-09-13) Don't even think about going here!! Alright, here comes the review of a honest German. The place was really hard to find, not even the locals around knew about the "hostel", it is more like a private, unprofessional, old, stinky and dirty house. Nothing to feel comfortable at all. Yes, there is Wi-Fi (very slow) and "breakfast" (which means just milk), but rooms are so much not taking care of, it was terrible. When I saw the dirty, unclean and tiny bathroom (for about 10 people one bathroom!) I just wanted to leave. When I tried to talk to the manager Bill about not feeling comfortable in the house especially because of the not-being-taken-care of or not-cleaned bathroom, he just said this is not a Hilton-hotel and he asked us to leave!!! At least he gave us our money back, but he was really not helpful at all and very stubborn. NEVER EVER AGAIN. I wouldnt even want to stay there if somebody would pay me for that. Good for us that we found an awesome place to stay through a couch surfing website (for free!!!). — Sonja , German (2011-07-13) Long term multiple stays-awesome. The proprietor of this establishment is extremely compassionate and helpful. Don't just take my word for it when you arrive you will see the testimonials of the multitude of guests praising Capitol City. Next the freebies, bread milk, tea and peanut butter and jelly are always available and always free -- fantastic bonus for a weary and hungry traveler. The beds are perhaps the best I have ever slept on in a hostel. Wide enough for two people to sleep comfortably and they are clean. The atmosphere is very laid back and hostelers truly treated with respect here. The management will go out of there way to find you things you may be missing. If you need a shirt, power cord, or other random things just ask. Some other traveler may have left something behind and they save everything in case they can help a guest. The neighborhood does look dicey however I have stayed here for a total of about 7 months and never had a single crime committed against me. The guest are top notch because they don't accept anyone unless they have a passport or a student ID. This makes for better guest than usual since criminals dont usually have either. Also I have left valuables laying about from time to time and never had anything come up missing. The place is cleaned regularly and if it is dirty its mostly because of other hostelers. Its for backpackers its not the ritz, but if you are looking to feel at home in washington and meet some great people then book a room. — Dan H , US (2011-06-18) Homey, Friendly, Fun I stayed at this hotel for almost 2 weeks due to unforeseen circumstances. The hostel was better than what I had planned. Due to it being homelike, it had every facility you'd expect to have in your own home, laundry, fast internet, full kitchen. I would definitely stay here again and the owner always goes out of his way to ensure you are getting what you want from your stay. Definitely stay here if you want an affordable, comfortable, and peaceful stay. — Gary , UK (2011-04-07) Terrible The rudest and the most terrible receptionist in the world! Didn't want to help and acted like freak. — Helen (2008-05-14) Not worth staying with the rude staff I have never dealt with a more rude and unprofessional staff. A clean bed isn't as nice when you are pissed or insulted by the staff. No matter how cheap this place is, it is not worth tolerating the lack of hospitality. — Gabrielle , Argentina (2008-02-27) Be careful The hostel is located in Capitol Heights, an area to be considered to be the most dangerous area in whole D.C. Some taxi drivers even refuse to go there. I arrived late and my reservation was not honoured. my taxi driver took me to another hotel and afterwards I was very happy that I didn't stay there. You should be really careful with this hotel and the area. Only for the really hard ones! — Charles , Germany (2007-08-24) The best man of washintgton dc i stayed three nights in this hostel and it was totally good! you just have to speak few minutes with the receptionist to understand that he's a really nice guy. He gave me free maps and every recommendations that i needed. In this hostel, internet is free and some food as well! I had the feeling to be at home. In conclusion, i recommend this hostel for every traveler around washington DC. — estelle , france (2007-08-21) Didn't stay -- receptionist was rude when i called The man that answered the call was at beginning rude and unwelcoming. He made sure to say "no, we are not a Hostel, we are much nicer than one." Then asked over and over my nationality and demanded that i bring my passport. enough i had heard -- wasn't interested in staying here. — Sheryl , USA (2007-07-12) Cool, Fantastic, Homey I got to Simkins Hostel with some reservation, especially when I learned that conveniences would be shared in a dormitory fashion. My series of pleasant surprises begun with the man who encountered me from the doorway. Though businesslike and firm, he was friendly and quite intelligible without any air particularly in his English delivery. The second surprise was his announcement when taking me round, that I could help myself to some food items in the kitchen at the Hostel's expense and I could take fruits from the fridge. Above all, I was impressed and happy when Greg's man told me that I have a twenty-four-hour access to the computer with Internet facility free. Whenever I travel, one of the major determinants of where I would stay is availability of or nearness to Internet access because of the nature of my job -- as a journalist and writer, I constantly need to be in communication. Equally importantly, the people there are so friendly. It is international in nature with a lot of courteousness. To sum up, Simkins was such a home from home that I extended my stay. I'll always like to come back -- and to recommend it. — A. Ajayi , Nigeria (2007-06-21) Although the staff is nice and friendly, the hostel it self is a disaster. The rooms (same as beds) are (too) dusty, everything about the place doesn't give you a good feeling. The neighbourhood is anything else but safe! Yes, it's cheap, but money isn't everything. I strongly don't recommend it! — M.J. (2007-03-19) I called them up to inquire about reservations but the receptionist who picked up the phone was the rudest I have encountered in my life. He made no attempts in explaining whether there was any availability (had directed me to call Capital City Hostel instead), and told me that I was being very difficult. It seems that DC has so many backpackers that the hostel management can afford to be downright rude and not helpful. — New Mexican Traveller (2006-07-19) Capitol City Hostel -- good value for the price you pay. You get clean sheets, wide bunk bed, free hot showers and best of all, free unlimited internet. You can also bring in food (or prepare) and eat it at the kitchen.
Service -- very good. I had to change my reservations twice because my travel plans changed, but the hostel staff were very good about it (a.k.a. they didn't charge my credit card for the cancelled days). I was blissfully unplanned, didn't even have a printout of the city when I arrived and Craig (the manager?) was wonderful, he gave me a lot of (free) maps and suggestions to spend my time in D.C. As for cleanliness, I am not picky, and I can say that the whole place was nicely kept and clean, as the basic definition of the word goes. If I had wanted first class hygiene, I'd have stayed at Hotel Washington. In terms of location -- well, frankly, I was creeped out. I'm an Asian woman in my mid-20s, and I think it's not very wise for single woman to stay in this neighborhood (could be compared to Bronx). There's a budget Chinese fast food place right next to the hostel and I saw a lot of rough looking characters hanging out, though they gave me no trouble, it could be nerve-wracking for a traveler with limited world knowledge (and I am that!) The X2 bus stops right across the hostel, so I guess if you return to the hostel by 10 p.m., it's good. Otherwise, please get a cab! Also no attractions in the neighborhood. This hostel's a steal. It's not big and it's not like a hostel either, it's more like a residence converted into a hostel. If you're a student or a starving artist or just looking for a bed to crash, this is a very good place to stay. If you're a seasoned traveler or a part of a group, if you're just looking for a clean bed to crash, then this hostel would be the cheapest option in D.C. But if you're not, if you want to return back at the wee hours, or if you want a vibrant location with lot of attractions, then you better look elsewhere. — Radhika Meganathan (2006-03-30) Location — Ok. It's an easy 15-minute bus ride from the center. I had some difficulty finding the place the first time. Safe area.
Staff — Great. Very helpful and friendly.
Extras — Great. Free Internet, 24-hour television, and a kitchen for your convenience! Oh yes, there are fans and air-conditioning as well.
Cleanliness — Ok. The top bathroom is dirty but the one downstairs worked well for me. — visitors from Flanders (2005-07-16)