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Please see New York City for other available New York City hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
Tone On Lex is a clean, affordable, well-located place to spend the night, but not a great hostel for hanging out or partying.
The Location
The hostel is very well-located, two short blocks from the 96th Street 4/5/6 subway stop and the 96th Street crosstown bus, along with north/south buses on Lexington, Madison, and Fifth Avenue. On the 4/5/6, it's a fifteen-minute subway ride to museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, around twenty minutes to the Museum of Modern Art, and a half hour subway ride to the lower east side. In nice weather, walking to Central Park takes less than ten minutes.
The neighborhood is safe and well-trafficked. There are little groceries nearby and restaurants a short walk south on Lexington and Second Avenue. Tone is not very well-marked, though, and it isn't until you go up the steps to the front door that you see a tiny sign telling you the entrance is on ground level underneath the front stairs.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are small but clean -- maybe too clean, since the smell of cleaning solutions can be overwhelming. Each floor has one room with a toilet and two rooms with sinks/showers, which doesn't seem like enough, but the waiting times for toilet and showers were never very long. Each room has one locker per bed, but no hooks or other places to put anything. The mattresses are not good quality, with giant troughs in the middle, and the pillows are lumpy as well. Though towels are provided, there are often no clean towels available except right after a batch has been cleaned.
Common Spaces
This is a very basic hostel, and not a great place for hanging out. There is a small kitchen area with tables and a television and a tiny common space with no furniture. Some people take chairs from the kitchen to sit on in the common space while working on their laptops. In nice weather, people hang out at the picnic tables in a big outdoor area, a nice courtyard behind the kitchen. People are chatty and friendly, but mostly keep to themselves. The hostel staff are pleasant but disorganized, and it takes them a while to solve any problems.
Summary
Tone is a great place to stay if you'll be busy in New York City and just need somewhere to sleep and keep luggage, but it's not a great place for partying or being social.
The Location
The hostel is very well-located, two short blocks from the 96th Street 4/5/6 subway stop and the 96th Street crosstown bus, along with north/south buses on Lexington, Madison, and Fifth Avenue. On the 4/5/6, it's a fifteen-minute subway ride to museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, around twenty minutes to the Museum of Modern Art, and a half hour subway ride to the lower east side. In nice weather, walking to Central Park takes less than ten minutes.
The neighborhood is safe and well-trafficked. There are little groceries nearby and restaurants a short walk south on Lexington and Second Avenue. Tone is not very well-marked, though, and it isn't until you go up the steps to the front door that you see a tiny sign telling you the entrance is on ground level underneath the front stairs.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are small but clean -- maybe too clean, since the smell of cleaning solutions can be overwhelming. Each floor has one room with a toilet and two rooms with sinks/showers, which doesn't seem like enough, but the waiting times for toilet and showers were never very long. Each room has one locker per bed, but no hooks or other places to put anything. The mattresses are not good quality, with giant troughs in the middle, and the pillows are lumpy as well. Though towels are provided, there are often no clean towels available except right after a batch has been cleaned.
Common Spaces
This is a very basic hostel, and not a great place for hanging out. There is a small kitchen area with tables and a television and a tiny common space with no furniture. Some people take chairs from the kitchen to sit on in the common space while working on their laptops. In nice weather, people hang out at the picnic tables in a big outdoor area, a nice courtyard behind the kitchen. People are chatty and friendly, but mostly keep to themselves. The hostel staff are pleasant but disorganized, and it takes them a while to solve any problems.
Summary
Tone is a great place to stay if you'll be busy in New York City and just need somewhere to sleep and keep luggage, but it's not a great place for partying or being social.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
December 2009
Their Description
Tone On Lex Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | 179 East 94th Street, New York City (Manhattan - Upper East Side), New York, USA |
| Location | |
| Website | None (if you know the URL of their website, tell us and we'll add it) |
| Telephone | +1 (212) 289-0010 |
| Fax | +1 (212) 289-0020 |
How is Tone On Lex rated on other websites?
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Tone On Lex Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Not acceptable for anything longer than a single night's "rest" For the price one pays, one doesn't expect too much comfort. Yet I was shocked at the degree to which Tone on Lex is prepared to push that expectation of its guests. The sharing dorms leave much to be desired, but the fact that the toilet and shower are in twin cupboards IN THE SAME ROOM as the beds is bizarre, and needless to say, unacceptable. For 8 people, the facility is simply not good enough, and there's nothing more to be said. The staff are friendly but not very clued up. The kitchen is spartan and cramped, the most poorly equipped of any of the hostels I've seen (and I've seen some shockers). You can see that Tone is trying to be likable, but no amount of friendliness can make up for the ablutions gurgling away in the cupboard next to your head at 3am. Don't come here unless its for only one night and you have a fantastic sense of humour. — Anonymous , south african (2012-01-16) Could be improved Was nice staff, and good place, price was great, but the people that work in the place control the television every time. — Daphne , Spain (2011-02-19) Very good Very safe and nice location, good facilities. Very nice, young, and helpful people at the front desk; clean rooms. Free breakfast, you can have it in a nice back garden. Nice common area. Just one negative thing -- internet very expensive (but is expensive in all NY). — Raffaella , Italy (2008-09-09) Great place, two thumbs up I had a great experience at the Wanderers Inn East. It was my first hostel experience in many years and I was pleased. I had problems at all. Lots of young travelers and very friendly. I read the other comments and many of them do not reflect the place. It is clean, friendly, and very safe. Breakfast in the common area and internet access (for a small fee) as well as TV news. I parked on the street right in front all weekend without moving my car and without incident. I arrived Friday and left Monday morning. — Jim , Ottawa Ontario, Canada (2008-06-17) Drugs -- people having sex in the bed next to me -- Horrible I would never go there again. It was disgusting, huge rats and drug addicts and homeless people were sleeping in the same room. The staff were rude and I left the night after i checked in. Th bathroom had mold and the beds has bedbugs and hair from the person before. Do not stay here. — Samantha Jones , USA (2008-05-11) I stayed for a week here last summer -- it was my first visit to NYC and my first experience in a hostel. I didn't know what to expect, but decided not to expect anything -- then you can be pleasantly surprised. I was. I had to switch rooms each night because I booked my reservation so close to my arrival date (book early) and that part sucked. But it was otherwise a good experience, one that I am repeating this summer. As others have said, it's a great location -- quiet, safe, and near the subway and the park. If you are accustomed to staying at the Hilton, don't bother, but if you're not uptight and are looking for a great bargain in the city, this is it. — Amy (2006-03-10) I spent four nights in this hostel and can affirm: the place is a hole. The rooms are dirty, there are not bathrooms enough for the guests, and the room with the restroom inside smells bad. If you intend to have fun in New York City Saturday night, be warned: early Sunday morning you can be awakened by a cleaning worker without notice or excuses, and with a BIG NOISE. And don't try to protest: the administrator doesn't know basic rules of hostel business and is extremely rude. Run away! — Mauricio Caleiro (2005-08-07) This hostel was fantastic, it was clean and had a good feel to it. The breakfast was very decent for the price you pay and the backyard is a great place to chill in the nights. I didn't find the staff good or bad, and the location is safe. I wouldn't hesitate staying here again in the future. — Ricky (2005-08-01) To be short: don't go here! It's that bad. Honest. It took me ages to get there, and when I finally arrived, by cab, a guy approached me and wanted my cash. NOTE: This was my first day in the US! I sprinted past him, through the door and was amazed by the lack of...everything. A guy from Portugal with bad English apparently ran the place, and told me that it would be $5 more than it said on the Internet. I tried to explain that I had already booked the place 5 months prior and paid the initial fee, but no luck. He only wanted to get some more money out of me.
On my way up to the dorm, I saw a dead cockroach the size of my thumb on the stairs, the room smelled like cabbage and rotten meat. (I am actually understating it, it was worse.) The air-conditioning didn't work, and a light shone in my face all night.
For the love of everything you love: don't go to this place! It should be closed down immediately, and the manager should be scorned publicly. A lot! — Adventurer (2005-07-19) Make this a VERY short stay. VERY short. The owner(s)of this establishment run other locations, Wanderers Inn West, the Chelsea International Hostel and Manhattan Inn (you will see the same Brazilian staff rotating shifts at each of the hostels). And it's not worth the money for the cramped, cramped, cramped, dirty rooms, the bunk beds that are falling apart, the bedbugs and rude staff. They're here to take your cash and much else. — Anonymous (2005-06-23) If you want luxury, don't book a hostel. But if you want a great bargain in New York City, the Wanderer's Inn East is the place. It's located in a historic brownstone in a quiet Upper East Side neighborhood just a few minutes walk from the subway. The courtyard is a plus for eating or just hanging out. The staff was friendly and helpful, although their English is a little limited. I've stayed here twice, and they always put girls in my room, but I'm not complaining. Breakfast is filling, if bland, but you can't beat the price (it's included with the room). The rooms are small, cramped and cluttered, but hey, what do you expect for $27 a night in NYC? I look forward to staying here again next summer. — Phil (2004-11-27) I did expect everything, even the worst, but this place is marvelous. Everything is very small but clean, and nothing is really missing. It's in a great location! There's the subway, places to eat, and nice bars around the corner! — Stephan (2004-11-23) This is the worst hostel I have ever stayed in (situated in a developed country). I have traveled extensively over the last fifteen years, so I know what I am talking about as far as good accommodation goes. There were only two bathrooms operating for three floors of guests, for about four of the six days I stayed here. As I paid in advance and couldn't get a refund, I had to put up with it. This hostel should be closed down for breaching the fire regulations. It allows permanent residents to smoke in their rooms, offering the excuse that they have lived here for a long time. Whatever you do, DO NOT stay here. That is, unless you like stale muffins and bagels for breakfast. — Victor (2004-10-20) This hostel is definitely not new! We stayed here for five nights and were told by the manager if we didn't like it we could go elsewhere, and forget about a refund! The hostel contains a number of elderly people who use it as a long-term accommodation. The building was basically full of cigarette smoke at any time we were there, and there was always someone in the bathroom! I would hate to see what the management's other hostels look like if this is new?!?! — Anonymous (2004-10-07) This place does not have the best rooms in the world (they're pretty cramped and muggy) but it's quite a good hostel by New York City standards. There's a nice little breakfast in the morning (not just a couple slices of toast) and a nice backyard area and kitchen. For a NYC hostel - 4 stars. — Pelican Club (2004-10-01)