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Please see Jerusalem for other available Jerusalem hostels and accommodations.
Please see Jerusalem for other available Jerusalem hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
Situated in the Old Jerusalem, Hebron Hostel has a historic feel about it. Its stone walls are so thick that mobile phone connection won’t work inside the dorm -- good if you want to have a break from the ever-present radiation surrounding us these days.
You are likely to meet the friendly Palestinian Arab owner of the hostel and/or his relatives during your stay. He is quite determined about not accepting credit card payments and not using bank transactions in general -- and will be able to give you the whole explanation of moral reasons behind this. Meanwhile, carry some cash to pay for your bed.
The Location
The location is very handy for exploring the Old City’s attractions and souqs. About five to fifteen minutes’ walk away (depending on the time of the day and the busyness of the narrow commercial streets) from the Damascus gate which is the main entry to the Arabic quarter of the Old City. Next to the Damascus Gate, there also is the Arab bus terminal, so it is a handy location if you are considering traveling into the West Bank.
If you want to spend most of the time at the modern Jewish Central Jerusalem, West Jerusalem, or catch an Israeli intercity bus to destinations like Tel Aviv, Galilee, or the Dead Sea, you would probably do better staying somewhere else. To get to the latter destinations from Hebron Hostel, you would have first to get outside the Old City walls and then either walk (not recommended in hot summer days), get a taxi, or catch a city bus. Bus #1 connects the Egged central Israeli bus station with the Old City but beware -- at the Old City, it drops you off at the Damascus Gate and picks you up outside the Wailing Wall, which is at the opposite side of the Old City.
The neighbourhood is generally safe if a little of a nuisance during the day because of the noise and persistent shopkeepers. As in many other tourist destinations, beware of pickpockets. During the night, the streets get empty, but fellow backpackers walking to and out of the hostel report no problems.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The big shared dorm, although situated on the first floor, feels like inside a historical cellar. The stony walls are solid, the ceilings arched. Although there are more than ten backpackers in the dorm, it does not feel crowded. One can easily have his/her privacy, and because of the aforementioned walls, there is virtually no noise from the outside. The bunk beds are made of wood and sometimes not very stable. The bedding is provided free.
The bathrooms are clean and not very hi-tech, but with decent water pressure in showers. Hot water sometimes gets disconnected, but there are signs informing in advance about this.
Common Spaces
The common spaces have comfy couches and free wireless internet. There is also a fridge in which you can keep your food, but no kitchen. We bought fruit and had to wash it in one of the bathroom sinks. Smoking is not allowed.
Downstairs there is a cafeteria that offers snacks and drinks, including freshly squeezed orange juice, and it has computers with paid internet access. The cafeteria, though, is closed about 10 p.m. and still not re-opened at 9 a.m. the following day, so do not rely on it. Breakfast is not included, but there are lots of places to eat in the neighbourhood, often cheaper and with a bigger selection of food than the hostel’s cafeteria.
The atmosphere in the hostel is somewhat quiet but friendly, calm, and relaxed. It is one of the few places in today’s Jerusalem where we witnessed an Arab and a Jew engaged in a friendly talk. Other guests are willing to lend their laptops to use the wireless internet when the access to the computers in the hostel’s cafeteria is closed.
Summary
Even though the hostel does not have an established online presence and is not flexible about accepting credit cards, in general, it is a very nice find. Not only clean, central, and cosy, it is also a good value for money (although breakfast is not included). It would probably suit calmer rather than noisy drink-and-party-all-night type backpackers. However, according to the hostel’s owner, "we are all humans."
You are likely to meet the friendly Palestinian Arab owner of the hostel and/or his relatives during your stay. He is quite determined about not accepting credit card payments and not using bank transactions in general -- and will be able to give you the whole explanation of moral reasons behind this. Meanwhile, carry some cash to pay for your bed.
The Location
The location is very handy for exploring the Old City’s attractions and souqs. About five to fifteen minutes’ walk away (depending on the time of the day and the busyness of the narrow commercial streets) from the Damascus gate which is the main entry to the Arabic quarter of the Old City. Next to the Damascus Gate, there also is the Arab bus terminal, so it is a handy location if you are considering traveling into the West Bank.
If you want to spend most of the time at the modern Jewish Central Jerusalem, West Jerusalem, or catch an Israeli intercity bus to destinations like Tel Aviv, Galilee, or the Dead Sea, you would probably do better staying somewhere else. To get to the latter destinations from Hebron Hostel, you would have first to get outside the Old City walls and then either walk (not recommended in hot summer days), get a taxi, or catch a city bus. Bus #1 connects the Egged central Israeli bus station with the Old City but beware -- at the Old City, it drops you off at the Damascus Gate and picks you up outside the Wailing Wall, which is at the opposite side of the Old City.
The neighbourhood is generally safe if a little of a nuisance during the day because of the noise and persistent shopkeepers. As in many other tourist destinations, beware of pickpockets. During the night, the streets get empty, but fellow backpackers walking to and out of the hostel report no problems.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The big shared dorm, although situated on the first floor, feels like inside a historical cellar. The stony walls are solid, the ceilings arched. Although there are more than ten backpackers in the dorm, it does not feel crowded. One can easily have his/her privacy, and because of the aforementioned walls, there is virtually no noise from the outside. The bunk beds are made of wood and sometimes not very stable. The bedding is provided free.
The bathrooms are clean and not very hi-tech, but with decent water pressure in showers. Hot water sometimes gets disconnected, but there are signs informing in advance about this.
Common Spaces
The common spaces have comfy couches and free wireless internet. There is also a fridge in which you can keep your food, but no kitchen. We bought fruit and had to wash it in one of the bathroom sinks. Smoking is not allowed.
Downstairs there is a cafeteria that offers snacks and drinks, including freshly squeezed orange juice, and it has computers with paid internet access. The cafeteria, though, is closed about 10 p.m. and still not re-opened at 9 a.m. the following day, so do not rely on it. Breakfast is not included, but there are lots of places to eat in the neighbourhood, often cheaper and with a bigger selection of food than the hostel’s cafeteria.
The atmosphere in the hostel is somewhat quiet but friendly, calm, and relaxed. It is one of the few places in today’s Jerusalem where we witnessed an Arab and a Jew engaged in a friendly talk. Other guests are willing to lend their laptops to use the wireless internet when the access to the computers in the hostel’s cafeteria is closed.
Summary
Even though the hostel does not have an established online presence and is not flexible about accepting credit cards, in general, it is a very nice find. Not only clean, central, and cosy, it is also a good value for money (although breakfast is not included). It would probably suit calmer rather than noisy drink-and-party-all-night type backpackers. However, according to the hostel’s owner, "we are all humans."
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2011
Their Description
Hebron Hostel Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | 8 Aqabat Etkia, Jerusalem (Old City), Jerusalem District, Israel |
| Location | |
| Website | None (if you know the URL of their website, tell us and we'll add it) |
| Telephone | +972 2 628 1101 |
| Fax | +9726283461 |
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Nice Hostel, but not for me This hostel is clean & has been remodeled. However, it is pretty "pro-Palestinian" & they have forums/classes that they hold in the hostel pushing their Palestinian views. this isn't a problem if you like to listen to BS & half-truths. — I'm Not Pro-Palestinian , USA (2011-07-11) Best in the whole of the old city found this little gem in 1997 when i was visiting israel for the first time. returned to tabasco many times after and stayed there on every visit to the old city. is that german guy that was managing the place in 2004 still there. — ferdi pieterse , south africa (2010-12-28) Tobasco Hostel I stayed in this hostel when it was still the Tobasco Hostel in 1996/97 and it was awesome. A few friends of mine and i Au-paired in Tel-Aviv and used to spend all our free time in the old city at the hostel. Such great memories. — Zinamac , South Africa (2010-12-04) Great, simple, and excellent location I stayed in this hostel in May 2009. Its location is excellent very near to mosque so near that I could go to mosque for all the prayers. Very close to bazaar and other historical places of Jerusalem. Highly recommended for all budgets, would definitely come back. — M Rana , UK (2009-12-05) The very best This hostel is by far the best in Jerusalem. Staff are awesome, environment is a perfect balance of comfortable and interesting. Clean, cheap, good service, great environment, quiet rooms, great location. Would recommend no other. Stayed all of summer 2009 and miss it terribly. — Taryn , American (2009-10-06) Fantastic Very clean, with space, a nice living room and free Wi-Fi internet! The staff are really cool, and the dorms are comfortable. The roof is great too, because you can stay there and bathe in the sun, when you're too tired of the noise and constant movement of the Old City. Really cheap, and you can meet people from everywhere, always happy to discuss or have a walk to the Wailing Wall with you. Go there! You won't regret it! — Rebecca , France (2009-06-06) Hilarious and welcoming Loved this Hostel -- very reasonable room rates, especially for a team of poor archaeologists! Stayed here on various weekends through the summer of 2008. Owner seemed a bit shonky, but was more amused than scared! Great roof terrace for a few drinks and a shisha in the evening and amazing location -- just a few minutes walk from the Damascus Gate and only ten minutes to just about anywhere else in the Old City. Would recommend this place without reservation, have only the fondest of memories of this hostel. — Georgia , UK (2009-03-27) Good place to stay Nice place to stay on Old City. Two minutes' walk from Holy Sepulchure and about ten minutes from Western Wall. Good service for reasonable price. — Greg , Poland (2008-11-20) Still pretty good after all these years. First stayed here in 1981 when it was Tabasco and I was a volunteer at Sdot Yam and the place was run by the bad boys of the bazaar. It's still a great building and the staff are very decent. The midnight curfew can be hard to keep when you spend the night partying at Mike's Place but there's usually someone on the desk to let you in. It's clean and the showers are ok. The cafe is pretty disorganised (I never could get that chicken curry) but it's handy for a coffee and a computer. — Gordon , Scotland (2008-09-20) The cleanest and cheapest hostel in Jerusalem! For a hostel standard in Jerusalem it is excellent. I stayed there four weeks in spring 2007. The rooms and toilets were clean, it is cheap, and the staff are friendly. And if you need internet there is a little cafe at first floor that can provide that. The hostel can be hard to find, but when you finally do -- Check out the yellow chairs, my friend and I painted them. — MP , Denmark (2008-06-01) Safe, friendly, clean, and reasonably priced. Stayed a total of five nights. Safe and sound after the trials and tribulations of the day. Clean room with plenty of hot water for showers. Staff wonderful -- new friends! Expect us back in the future. — Cazda , Scotland (2007-08-14) stayed there a long, long time. far too long, but the time there belongs to the best in my life. — tiffi (2007-08-09) dorms were cheap (30 shekel) and clean. showers and toilets, too. the guys workin' there were a bit strange. also the cafè downstairs. the option to live in the middle of an arabic market in the old city of jerusalem wasn't that great for me, so i went somewhere else. but all in all, the time at hebron hostel was ok! — sh / germany (2007-03-05) i was so happy in jerusalem -- i haven't known peace like it since i left. — steviewhitehorse (2007-01-28) I spend two months last summer there, and the guys running the place are kind of arab-mafia. just dont take them too serious, so its gonna be ok. within your stay, you'll meet a bunch of crazy people from all over the world and soon you get in contact with the other guests, either some want you to convert to christianism or you just get across with some strange views of the worlds situation. in short, you just cant avoid deep-meaning discussions about G-d, politics, G-d and ehhh politics but i met some people there with i am still in contact. Visit the place, barukhim haBayim, salaam alaykum! — swissgirl (2006-09-26)