HI - Buffalo Niagara Hostel

Great!
This hostel in Buffalo is a really good one. It's very very clean, the rooms are big, there is a big kitchen which you can use, there are even elevators! This hostel contains everything you expect from a good hostel. Although Buffalo is a bit boring, the hostel is a perfect place to stay and it isn't expensive.

Clean, safe, with unbelievably helpful staff. I truly cannot stress how great the staff are. I was booked into a dorm that I had completely to myself, which was nice! During my stay there was an event at the music venue down the road. Loud bass was pumping until the early hours. This meant little to me however, since I had returned that night to find a pair of earplugs thoughtfully placed upon my pillow. Amazing. Should I return to these parts I would stay nowhere else. buffalo also has awesome coffee.

Buffalo itself is pretty awful! nothing going on and pretty much always deserted in the area of the hostel. It is however easy enough to find and easy to get to niagara. The hostel owner was very helpful -- if not too friendly! The rooms and kitchen were really clean but the building seemed much like a hospital. We were also charged a fee on the last day for leaving our bags in the place $5 per bag! The bags weren't even kept in a lock room! The hostel had one computer for internet use -- it was on its last legs and wasn't worthwhile using. There is a library down the road which you can sign up to and use the computers for free.

one of the best hostels i've stayed in! haven't been able to match it for cleanliness in all the other hostels we stayed in while traveling america! fresh towls for kitchen and bathrooms every day! cleaned everywhere ever day! lockers in your rooms (no padlocks though). the staff were great and very informative! they had a lift which was handy for taking your laugage up in. there was a tv with dvd/vcr and free pool table downstairs. laundry machines. the only minor problems were that the internet wasn't very accessible, however the free library internet wasn't far away, and the supermarket was about twenty minutes walk away. bars were very close tho! overall a great hostel and i'd definitely recommend it!

First of all, this hostel gets five stars mainly for the lady who runs it. Her name is Donnie and nothing was too much trouble for this woman in terms of helpful advice. Other Hostel Internationals could truly seek advice from her on customer service, naming no names (Chicago, Austin). In terms of accommodation, it cannot be faulted. The rooms and bathrooms were impeccably clean and lockers were provided for security. There is not a great deal going on in the hostel but I imagine like me, most people are using this place as an access to Niagara Falls, which is easily reached by bus. The hostel is also located right outside the tramline, which can take you across the city. It is also next to a cinema and within walking distance of the bars and clubs of Chippewa St., which are excellent.

This is an excellent hostel with a very laid-back personality. Visitors to Buffalo will probably spend most of their time here after they have learned that Buffalo is too dangerous to walk around in, especially the west side.

I stayed here in August 2004 while travelling through the States. I really enjoyed this place. The hostel is a good 15 to 20 minutes walk up the main street, from the main train and bus station, but once your bags are dumped you will appreciate the location of the hostel. It is right next door to a big bar and concert space, where on my second night I was lucky enough to see Sonic Youth live!! Also, this hostel is near the infamous Chippewa Street, which, whether you've heard of it or not, I recommend you go see. The road is one long strip of bars and clubs, which thankfully play a variety of music including RAWK!! Also, with the university in town, this place gets crammed with people during term time - fit girls everywhere!!! The hostel itself is lovely. The rooms all have fairly high ceilings, giving a lovely, spacious feel to the place. Also, the kitchen is supplied with a very generous free food shelf, and the coffee pot is constantly on - excellent for caffeine junkies like me!!! Stay here — the showers are always warm, and as another person said, the lady who runs it is lovely, if a little crazy!!!

Buffalo actually has a nice little cultural niche. It is (at this time) an economically depressed city to be sure, but you wouldn't know it from the art galleries, theaters, restaurants and surprisingly vibrant weekend nightlife. (There is plenty of nightlife; you just have to look a little.) The front door of the hostel is on the light rail and in the center of one of the better theater districts in the Northeast (save New York City and Boston). There are no fewer than 100 restaurants within a 2-mile walking distance. The restaurants cover the ethnic menu spectrum, and kick in a little local style with Buffalo Wings and Beef on Weck. The Marina is a stone's-throw away, and you can catch a bus to the world famous Albright Knox Art Gallery, Olmsteads, city-gem Delaware Park, or window-shop in the boutiques on Elmwood Avenue. If that isn't enough, simply enjoy the beautiful architecture, or catch a pro baseball, football or hockey game. As for the hostel itself, it's average, clean, normally quiet, but a great place to start enjoying the city.

This hostel is bang in the center of Buffalo and easy to get to. Late arrival isn't a problem. It's very clean and the staff are friendly and helpful. It's only about 30 minutes to Niagara Falls by bus, but don't forget to also visit the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. There's a lively bar scene on the weekends.

Why anyone would voluntarily visit Buffalo is beyond me, but for those of you unfortunate enough to have to go, the HI is ok. It feels like an office block (very impersonal), but the lady who runs it is absolutely lovely. There is a wide selection of jigsaws to do once you have exhausted whatever it is that Buffalo has to offer the world.

You should really stay here if you want to visit Niagara Falls. It is one hour by bus to the Falls, and this hostel is much nicer than those in Niagara Falls.

A nice hostel with clean facilities and nice people. However, I took a hike up Main Street and took a right on High St.. and I found myself in the midst of a "lovely" neighborhood known as "fruit belt." Before you know it, I am harassed by a group of rowdy teenagers who were probably selling drugs. I end up being assaulted by them until one savior of a local broke it up. All my money had been taken, so one friendly bodega owner let me call the police from his shop. "Courtesy, professionalism, respect?" After the police arrived, after an interval of half an hour, the rude cop talks to me like it serves me right and AS A TOURIST I shown have "known better than to go east of Main Street after dark." I will give visitors to Buffalo the warning that I was not entitled to: do not go east of Main St., north of Highway 33, after dark. If you take a venture in the daytime, make sure to stay away from groups of teenagers. The farther east you go, the worse it gets. Beware.

Lovely clean hostel with good kitchen facilities.

This is by far the nicest and cleanest hostel that I have visited. The staff was extremely helpful in helping me to find transportation around town and in Niagara Falls and local places for shopping, entertainment and religious worship. The air conditioning and proximity to the light rail platform were pleasant amenities. I would recommend this hostel to any low-budget traveller.

This hostel is in a great location, in the heart of downtown and the Buffalo nightlife. The hostel itself is average. The staff seemed friendly, but nothing out of the ordinary. During the winter you can't check in until 4pm (3pm in the summer). Office hours are 8-11 & 4-10. It's hard to arrange a late arrival, I spoke with two different people, and got two different answers concerning their late arrival policy. Tip - If you'll be arriving in town after 10, head for Niagara Falls, where they have 24 hour check-in. In March the hostel didn't have many guests, and the social scene wasn't so hot. It was cleanish, but could have been cleaner. All in all, average.