HI - Jerusalem - Beit Shmuel Hostel

We stayed at this hostel while in Jerusalem and were not satisfied. On Saturday night Beit Shmuel hosted some kind of party that was loud and lasted well past midnight. What was worse, however, was that the hostel staff then spent three hours cleaning and were louder than the party-goers. They pushed rackety carts past our door for hours, talked, laughed, and sang. We complained at 3 a.m. and they assured us they were finished, but the noise continued for another hour. The management offered to move us to a quieter room at a cost to us of more than $50 a night, when they had failed to provide adequate service in the room we booked. The following day, when we had elaborate sight-seeing plans, we were tired and cranky, and we ended up spending some of our valuable vacation time looking for another place to stay. I can't recommend this site to anyone.

Stayed a total of seven days on two different weeks in November of 2004 as a volunteer of Sar-El. Excellent accommodations. Highly recommend Beit Shmuel.

I lived at Beit Schmuel for six months and have never found a more memorable site. The staff are protective, responsive, and capable. The incredible rooftop alone is worth the trip — I remember it as part spectacular views and gardens, part coolly traditional architecture. All with proximity to downtown/Emek Refaim. Head to the nearby Super-sol for a nearly free meal if funds are tight — discreet grazing in the produce department is apparently permitted or at least politely overlooked. It's been a while since I've been there but remember it vividly. I would love to return for another extended stay.

This hotel is clean, safe, roomy, quiet, and ideally situated. It's a five-minute walk from the hostel to Jaffa gate and the old city and a ten-minute walk to the new city center (Ben Yehuda). Breakfast is "ad libitum" — first quality.

I stayed at Beit Shmuel a year ago when I went to Israel with my confirmation trip. I LOVED Beit Shmuel, it was clean, roomy, accommodating, and I wouldn't stay anywhere else in Jerusalem! I can't wait to return soon!

I stayed in Beit Shmuel for five days when I traveled to Israel with my class from school. This was the only hostel we stayed in, as we stayed in four-star hotels for the remainder of our trip. I can easily say that Beit Shmuel was my favorite place to stay, and the view from it is spectacular at night. I would recommend this as a place to stay for anyone travelling to this beautiful city.