HI - Seattle, Vashon Island Hostel

Fantastic natural environment, with an "interesting" staff
This hostel is absolutely fantastic. But you really need to know what it's about or you will find yourself somewhat off balance. This is more like a farm environment with an 1850s country-western theme. There are three main buildings, two of which have dorm beds. The dorms are clean, rustic, warm, and comfortable. There are six to ten full-sized, original tee pees, several chuck-wagons (you rent and sleep in them), and three enormous grassy fields for running around, camping, or star gazing. This place is also the only camping ground on the island. The bad part is transportation, laundry, and web access. Even though the staff makes trips to the town center and ferries two or three times a day, this just isn't enough. Also, there is no laundry, and internet access is only outside of the main house. If these three issues were resolved this would be perfect for anybody, not just people looking to kick back. The staff (at least those I saw) is made up of the owner, the manager, and one or two people who tend the grounds. I think the owner is retiring, and my impression is that the grounds are just too big for her to manage. She is very nice, but it is clear that the size of the business is physically overwhelming for her. The manager is "quite" interesting. Young, very good looking, into reggae, and has a pretty tough spirit. She is very nice to everybody, but don't try to pull anything over on her. There are a couple of other guys that work on the grounds, very pleasant, but they keep pretty much to themselves. Don't be afraid to go over to the hostel, just know that it is for kicking back and relaxing, take in the nature, riding bikes -- stuff like that. If you want to party in the city, then stay somewhere in the city, or you will be disappointed.

Great place, horrible staff
I rented the entire ranch for my wedding, it was great. We got married in a filed of yellow flowers surrounded by trees and teepees and had a great party in the barn afterwards. however the staff has a serious communication problem. they asked my guests to pay the balance on the rental which had been taken care of more than a week prior to the event. they yelled at wedding guests when our chairs were out in some light rain ("they look like our chairs," the woman said). different staff members gave different answers to almost every question and on and on. the morning after the wedding we tried to clean up, but forgot a few things, which was easy because nobody from the hostel ever told us all of the things we were supposed to do and no one was around the hostel grounds in the morning. The owner/head of cleaning showed up near noon and flipped out, was yelling and carrying on and throwing cardboard around. she wouldn't calm down and talk to us so we could help her finish the cleaning. she just wanted to yell at me. tired and emotional I asked her to stop yelling because I was going to cry (it was the morning after my wedding remember) and she told me maybe i should cry and continued yelling. I cried, we left, and we're never going back. the hostel's peace offering was to waive the cleaning fee, we're not impressed. no matter what the circumstances are it's never ok to yell at customers like that and make them cry.

Just got back from this "hostel." It is a wonderful place, but I was only here because the only other hostel in Seattle was booked out. This place is an absolute nightmare to get to and I had to hitchhike every time I went back to it. It's a bit far from downtown Seattle, but i couldn't be picky. if you have a car or a bike, this place is great. The owner/manager was really moody and wouldn't pick us up from the ferry terminal. Other than that, it's a nice refuge.

My son and I just returned from a Seattle visit. We stayed two days at this hostel on Vashon Island -- and really enjoyed it. While we were there, we played pool and foosball with people we met from Georgia, Texas, California, Egypt, Japan, and more. We had alot of fun building a fire in our teepee and watching until the flames turned into glowing embers. The highlight for us had to be the bald eagle sitting on the top of a pine tree we found on a hike to the pond on the property. Atmosphere is very laid back. Will plan on return visit in future.

This is a must stay at hostel in the Seattle area, I visited en route to Alaska in April '93. The lady who ran the place, I believe her name was Judy, was very helpful in informing myself and others on the sites to see on the island. All in all--a great place for an extended stay to recharge the batteries after a lengthy walkabout.

I stayed here last summer. This hippie chick named Daisy checked me in. What a serious attitude she has, she definitely wears the pants in her relationship with the son of the owner. To get another DVD from her I was subjected to some serious looks. This girl is horrible, but you'll find out. It's in a nice spot, though the camping area can get loud at night so camp far away from the fire pit area.

I like to take my kids on adventures for their birthdays, and so I brought my son, his two brothers, and three of his friends to stay in a teepee and eat hot-dogs cooked on a stick in a fire! It was my son's 11th birthday and reportedly "the best" birthday party ever, according to his friends. The people who own this hostel are the sweetest! It was a wonderful stay. The boys were never bored. There was much to entertain them here at this hostel. We can't wait to return!

I just returned from my stay, and I love this place! I thought the manager (Jake) is great! He is quite friendly. I had nothing but very positive experiences here and I would love to return in the future. It's one of the most pleasant hostels I've ever stayed in. We sat around the campfire under the stars on a cool summer night, exchanging travel stories with other travelers, and talking to the kids who were staying in teepees or covered wagons. Can life get any simpler and better? It is a great, relaxing place to get away from the bustle of city life.

I stayed at this hostel in June 2004. Not only was it my first hostel experience, I couldn't imagine a nicer place. It's very unique with a variety of places to stay/sleep: Tee-Pees, covered wagons, and log cabins. The people working the place at this time (Jake, Daisey, Brent) were great, very down to earth, and extremely friendly. I can't stop talking about the place. I hope to return very soon. Peace!!

I stayed at this hostel in '89. It is very nice, great for a cycling get-away by ferry from Seattle or Tacoma. Interestingly, totalitarian staff comment seems to continue the tradition I experienced. The woman who took my money complained this was her daughters idea and she was stuck with the job. I didn't see her again and enjoyed the rest of the stay on this quaint island.

The hostel and the location is perhaps the best I've experienced in my hostelling adventures. It's just that the manager and the owner are terrible. Actually, they are totalitarian dictators. When they (Tom and Judy) are at the hostel at the same time, you might as well lay low, I mean very low. They are quite known to talk down to, and even openly confront the very people that are paying good green cash to stay at a location fabled for rest and relaxation. Instead, it's not uncommon for their holidays to be cut abruptly short because of this fact. Thanx, just had to put my 2 bits in.