Columbus Studios

Horrible!
Do not stay here. I went to New York for a long weekend with my friend, and decided to stay at Columbus Studios. Bad idea. We weren't expecting anything fancy/nice at all, just a place to stay. We had no idea what we were getting into. We checked in and the girl at the counter gave us our keys, but told us to go to the building next door. We went in to the building, where there was no security as promised (not to mention the front door didn't even lock, so the key was pointless). We proceeded to walk upstairs past a "beware of dog" sign and strange noises coming from the door. We quickly walked up to our floor and (literally) had to body slam the swinging door to the hallway open. We then got to our room where the walls were painted lime green and there was a bed in the middle. The other amenities were not a TV or a sink as promised, but instead a wad of hair (yes, hair) and wires coming out of the wall (painted a brighter shade of lime green), the fire alarm ripped out of the ceiling, and what looked like blood spattered above us. There was also a nice handprint running down the side of the wall (which was cracking everywhere). Our light was above us with a hanging string down to the bed. The floors had more stains than I've ever seen in one place. The bathroom had the biggest cockroach I have ever come across in the tub and was very dirty. There were mice in the floors and walls and I would periodically bang my foot on the floor to get them to go away. My friend and I slept there for only one out of the three nights we booked. We went back to talk to the manager later who wasn't there (and even after calling I have yet to talk to). The girl at the front desk asked what was and on hearing informed us that "they don't put girls in the other building because it's so unsafe." Excuse me? We are two young girls who were just put in a drug den, and she openly told us how unsafe it was and that she had "only heard bad things about it." I asked what the manager's name was only to get "Bobby" as a response -- no one knows his last name. I have stayed at hostels before. This was not a hostel. If for some untold reason you have to stay here, get vaccinated first.

This housing is great an inconvenient mess than a YMCA and with worse facilities. His facilities are own of an African poor country. And only one bath and in conditions very poor. Do not commit the mistake of going to this site.

The ad looked so nice -- room had a bed, sink and that was it. Well, it did have the garbage from the last people still in the room. It was summer and no a/c, out of four windows only three had screens. We paid for three nights -- he told us no refunds, that should have told me something was not right. We stayed one night. When we were checking out the new person at the counter ask why we did not check out before we were charged the early departure fee of one night stay. We told her that we were told no refunds, she said no we could have checked out before nine a.m. and got back one nights stay.

Well this Hostel truly ruled, err, sucked. The tiny room I shared with my older brother, had no air-conditioner what so ever; not even a fan. And being as it was New York in late summer, the air in the room was REALLY humid. The walls were yellow and cracked, the corridors smelled of urine and there were cockroaches all over the place. The last night we stayed there it rained, and in tune with the hostel over-all quality, the roof had a leek, causing yellow water to stream from our ceeling down on my mattres. I stayed here this summer, during my trip through the states with my brother, in wich we stayed in Chicago, San Francisco, (Yosemite), Hollywood, New Orleans, Washington and New York. This hostel was our last stay in the states, and also our most expensive one. And, as it was, it was NOT worth the money. This hostel truly is the home of the brave; one have to be bold or highly resitante to grossnes to be willing to stay in this hostel.

Columbus Studios is, by far, the worst hostel I have ever visited. When I called to confirm my reservation a couple days in advance, they did not even have my name or information on file. Upon arrival, the staff person tried to convince me how nice my room was (?!?) and how fair he was since he let me view the room in advance. Had there been availability in any other hostel in the city, I would have bailed immediately. I was forced to stay, along with bugs, no air-conditioning in the heat of summer, one measly little fan, windows that were painted shut, showers that didn't drain, shower doors that didn't close, toilets that didn't flush (or people that perpetually "forgot"), hair all over the carpets, and ROACHES. It was absolutely horrible — in the two months that I spent travelling in Europe, I did not come across a hostel that was half as disgusting as Columbus Studios. To make matters worse, after leaving New York City, I stayed in a three-star hotel in Boston that was the same price per night!! I could not wait to get out of that hellhole and I will be telling everyone I know to steer clear of the Hades Studios. Don't do it!!

The staff was generally very helpful and the location is great. However, the rooms were very unclean. The sheets and towels were especially filthy. There were wads of human hair on the carpets as well as the beds, which was very strange. We were initially offered rooms in the adjacent building. The conditions there were unspeakable, and the smells were very strong. The tub on the fourth floor was totally clogged and full of dirty water. That adjacent building should not be used unless it is cleaned up, and the permanent residents, who seemed to have animals and were not mentally stable, need to be relocated before that space is offered for paying customers. But the staff were very nice.