The Hostelz.com Review
A cool little hostel located on Hawthorne, a young progressive area of Portland known for its bead stores, crafts shops, and coffee shops. It's located in Southeast Portland, which is on the other side of the river from downtown. It takes about 20 minutes by bus or 30 minutes by bike to get to downtown from the hostel.
The hostel was converted from an old house and it still feels like a house. Out front there is a nice big porch. The living room area has places to chat with people or sit and read. There's also a big kitchen. It's all brightly decorated with art and info about Portland all over the walls. The rooms and bathrooms are as nice and colorful as the rest of the hostel.
The guests are usually young and friendly, and it's a fairly quiet, but social hostel. There is a computer for internet access, but it's not cheap so you're better off using the free computers at the library. They do offer free wireless internet if you have a laptop with a wireless card. There's also a phone for free local calls. They don't allow locals and they require that you have a passport or proof that you traveled from somewhere else.
The hostel was converted from an old house and it still feels like a house. Out front there is a nice big porch. The living room area has places to chat with people or sit and read. There's also a big kitchen. It's all brightly decorated with art and info about Portland all over the walls. The rooms and bathrooms are as nice and colorful as the rest of the hostel.
The guests are usually young and friendly, and it's a fairly quiet, but social hostel. There is a computer for internet access, but it's not cheap so you're better off using the free computers at the library. They do offer free wireless internet if you have a laptop with a wireless card. There's also a phone for free local calls. They don't allow locals and they require that you have a passport or proof that you traveled from somewhere else.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
Their Description
HI - Portland, Hawthorne Neighborhood Hostel Details
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HI - Portland, Hawthorne Neighborhood Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
A Great Choice Location - It's obviously not in the center of town, but the Hawthorne area is fun and for that neighborhood, it's well-located. Also, the bus stop is about 40 feet away and the bus runs straight downtown. Staff - Very nice and generally very helpful. Accommodations - the beds are fairly comfortable, the showers are oddly located and the bathrooms could generally be cleaner, there are a few places to lounge, there are free bagels (very good), but it's a bit chintzy to make guests pay for the internet (time limits make sense, but to pay for it?) and the computer was pretty much crap. Atmosphere - laid-back and pleasant. All in all, it's a bit ramshackle, but the staff are great and it's not a bad place to stay. — Lily , USA (2008-06-09) A home-away-from-home This is one of my favourites and is set in a clean and safe neighbourhood.The staff have always been both polite and helpful and there is an excellent sports bar across the road with comfortable bar stools and a good range of micro brews. The hostel itself has a home-away-from-home feel and with the addition of a cat, i felt as though i was in a house more so than a hostel. In all the times i have stayed there i haven't noticed a piss head-type clientele which suits me fine, drunk yobs staggering in at 2 a.m. gives me the shits. The Hawthorne district offers a wide variety of shops, pubs, and restaurants and is only ten-odd minutes from the city. The only drawback is if you get put down in the basement, which, whilst it is clean and cozy, is far too hot in the winter due to its proximity to the heater. — MR T , Australia (2007-04-22) This hostel feels like staying in someone's house, as it is very friendly and communal. It also has a roof covered in grass, which is quite cool. It seems to book out quickly, as we ended up in a tent. This is ok though because they provided mattresses and bedding and it's cheaper. Wasn't too impressed with the bathroom, then on the last day found out there is another upstairs that is kept much cleaner, although there are often queues. It's a good place to meet people, if not the most shiny, spacious hostel ever. — Mary and Dan (2005-11-17) I only stayed one night. The staff were friendly, it was clean, there were lots of good recommendations posted, and there was free wireless. BUT, the beds were open-cell foam slabs on plywood, and the place was seriously overheated — there were no fans or windows in the basement, and no thermostatic control. I can sleep pretty well in most hostels, but the combination was too much. Most hostels at least have cheap mattresses. Also, there were signs prohibiting the storage of alcohol in the kitchen, so I had to sneak drinking a little wine, like I was in high school. — Kevin (2005-11-17) I stayed here with my partner and two little girls and we had a blast! It was great for families, although I don't think many take advantage of it. Expect lots of day-old baked goods. Yum! — Anonymous (2005-03-22) This was by far the best hostel for meeting people. It was quite clean, had great information on what to check out, and they offered "field trips" (I did a Monday night art walk). I was worried about not being downtown, but Portland has a great bus system, so I never wished for relocation. (Besides, Hawthorne Street has such a great vibe and you could never go hungry with all those eclectic restaurants nearby).
About a mile or two down Hawthorne Street is the water reservoir and Mount Tabor (an extinct volcano). It's an excellent place to watch the sunset and walk around the lampposts in the woods. I have nothing but very fond feelings for this park and the hostel. — Michelle Thye (2005-01-09) This is my favorite hostel ever. It has great people, great free bread, and a great "sleep-in-a-tent" option. (I think I saved $5 a night!) I came for the Women's World Cup Semis and made friends with all the other fans and marathon runners there that weekend. I can't wait to return. — JT Taransky (2004-10-06) By the way, the living room here has a free wireless Internet connection, in addition to the computer terminal. The computer terminal can be used for a fee. — Limin Kan (2004-10-04) This is one of my favorite hostels. I love the eco-roof, and the friendly personal service. While making reservations for my classmates and myself, I was asked by the staff whether any of us had cat allergies (they have a house cat). This place has a nice common area, which is a key part of the fun of hosteling. I loved meeting the other guests and getting the lowdown on what's happening in town. They offer Internet access for a nominal fee, and plenty of tips on where to find organic beer, good coffee, etc. — you name it. The people who run this hostel are genuinely nice folks. — Darkling Thrush (2004-09-19) Nice hostel with a community feel. I had a good night's sleep as well. It had a hippie environment. — John (2004-06-21) A pretty nice place. I was there at the end of last summer. The counter-lady forgot to give me my HI card, though! (Grrr!) Well, it has a living area that invites fireside-type conversations. I stayed in a tent the first night (they ran out of room) and bunked with guys the second night. There were giant sunflowers in the front yard, which gave the house a hippie feel. This hostel was recommended to me. I think I stayed at the downtown hostel for one night. This place had a "home" feel. There was an evening where there was chatting on the porch--people got some beer and talked. There were a few things that bugged me: one was that I had to shower in a common shower downstairs, which was like a little square. I think there were two showers in the whole place. All in all, it had a hippie-ish house feel. — Karen (2004-05-02) This is THEE place to stay in Portland, 10 times better than the other hostel downtown. Although, not as clean as the the other one, it more than makes up for it with a friendly/helpful staff at the front desk and it's right in the center of the action! It's also open all day, no lock-outs and they change the combination every couple of days. It definitely is in the coolest part of town and also the least congested, as compared to the other neighborhoods I saw. It also attracts an eclectic crowd that is for the most part easy going and friendly. Personally, I thought this was the best part of town because the hostel was surrounded by a variety of small, hip restaurants/stores that were fairly inexpensive. You couldn't find a better location than this as far as accommodations go. I should mention they also offer free bread/bagels in the morning that they get from two places, Noah's bagels and a bread store down the block. If you're interested you can eat pancakes their for a dollar. Not a bad deal and pretty good pancakes to boot!! One last thing, bring ear plugs because sometimes the people in your room snore loudly. They offer a washer and dryer but you can only use it after 6PM which can be kind of inconvenient. — mesolo (2004-04-29) I had a brief stay and didn't get to experience much of the social life of the hostel. It was clean and I had good dorm mates, and it was in a good neighbourhood, although it is a distance from downtown. — Scott (2004-04-17) Great place to stay! I enjoyed getting out into the area. It has a great feel to it, and--yum--"Calendula," a vegan restaurant right down the street! I especially appreciated the hostel's eco-roof. I visited in the spring, and it was blooming. — Anonymous (2004-04-08) Definitely the friendliest hostel I've stayed at. Maybe because it's a house, while I was there I felt like I lived there, rather than it just being somewhere to sleep. The Hawthorne area is great, and there's a branch of Powells (the huge used bookstore) a few blocks from the hostel. — Lauren (2004-02-02)