HI - San Francisco, Downtown Hostel

Needs improvement
the building is old. my room only had one outlet and we all had to share. the lockers are too small to fit your luggage in. the bathrooms are not nice at all. the free breakfast is terrible. you have to pay for some items (muffins, fruit). the staff are nice. overall they could do a better job though. more information and assistance. they really just monitor and handle reservations. it is ok but not great.

Not the best -- but great location
Rooms were small, bunk beds not very sturdy, the common room is way too small and there didn't seem to be a TV room. The whole building has a worn out feeling to it. That said, the location is a dream.

Comfortable hostel in a perfect location
The location is great, only a few minutes from Union Square, Market street/Powell Street for bus, BART, cablecar and streetcar connections, and only a short walk from many local San Francisco attractions. There are some good eating places around. It is on the edge of the Tenderloin, but I never felt unsafe. I was traveling alone. People will ask you for money a lot but it is not aggressive. The hostel itself is quiet and comfortable. The second floor lounge area was a quiet, restful place. My dorm was small but comfortable enough. It was not the cleanest place ever but not too dirty either. If you want to spend your days exploring San Francisco but have a quiet place to come back to for relaxing, this hostel is ideal. It is not a party place. They also have a range of optional walking tours, pub nights and visits to places of interest. I did a free walking tour which was fun but very fast paced. I would stay there again happily.

The best hostel I've been in so far
I've been in quite a few U.S. hostels over the past five years and without a doubt this one is the best one I've been in. It was incredibly comfortable. I felt like I was at home when I got to the room. I would sit in the guest room and play on their free wi-fi for a few hours. TV room was comfy in the morning. They have two sizes of restroom -- giant and tiny. I never had a problem getting myself into a giant restroom, though. Kitchen was nice, people were nice. The only problem was my roommates but that is not the hostel's fault. Actually I changed rooms on the last night and they had no issues with that. The internet computer broke on me once, losing me a few dollars, but otherwise it was nice that they even had them. It was clean, too, definitely not rundown. Wasn't hotel quality but it was more than acceptable. I will stay here again, there is no doubt. This is the best. I was there on off season so that might be why I was so comfy. I have no idea if it gets hot in summer. Area is safe. It's a few blocks from the Tenderloin so be careful -- don't walk in that direction, but Union Square is just fine. Lots to eat nearby, very cool areas to see near. Very good location for catching trolley or bus or rail. Definitely good for going to something at the Moscone Convention Center, which I haven't done yet but now that I know this hostel, I will definitely hit a convention using this hostel very soon!!

Good hostel. great location. A bit dirty but not too bad. Staff was helpful and value was great, considering the great location. I'd stay here again. The only issue I had was the signage, a couple of small HI flags in the windows and a large sign with the name of the hotel it used to be called. I passed it a couple times not realizing it was the hostel but other than that it was all good.

This was my first hostel experience. I was surprised and satisfied. I was traveling alone, and I was put in a room with three other women, and we shared a bathroom. All women respected the quiet when someone was asleep. The early risers were respectful of the sleepers. My room was clean, and my bed was very comfy. My room was a corner room with two windows and the street noise below was pretty loud. I highly recommend you travel with earplugs. The kitchen was clean, spacious. Other travelers have a habit of going through other traveler's food, so, fair warning! All in all, it was perfectly located to the F Line on Market street. Easy access to the whole city from Market Street. There's a twenty-four hour Indian diner across the street that was awesome, and dishes were $6 or less. When the light burned out in the bathroom, someone was there to take care of it immediately. The people that ran the hostel aren't the most cheerful, but they are certainly helpful. The common room was full of people with laptops. Wireless internet was free. Other computers were by the minute. All in all, my four-night stay was a good one, the city was fabulous, (free internet at the library), and I would stay here without hesitation, again. I'm now a converted hoteler to a hosteler!

This hostel is ok. Not that much character or too hi-tech, but at the same time not too scary or dirty either. The kitchen does not have full facilities, but the noodle soups at the local Thai places are a bargain and very tasty! The neighbourhood is good for accessing all the places you would want to visit. Yes there are are a few scary characters and homeless knocking around, but no more so than you would expect staying in any large city centre hostel.

We arrived at the San Francisco Downtown Hostel at the end of our three month around-the-world trip, and having stayed in more than twenty different hostels all over the world during that period I can say with confidence that this is the WORST hostel I have ever come across. I don't know what standards other reviewers live by but cleanliness being one of my number one priorities — this hostel fails miserably. Our room was smelly, there were tears on the carpet, stains on the sheets and a miscellaneous candy wraps on the bed. The staff were extremely condescending as well. We checked ourselves out the same day, and seeing as this was the very last stop on our trip we decided to treat ourselves by staying in a medium-budget hotel around the corner! Whatever you do, DO NOT stay in this hostel. Don't be fooled by their Web page either. I am planning to post real pictures of the place on TripAdvisor and VirtualTourist soon!

This was my first time ever staying in a hostel and I had a wonderful experience! The hostel is in a perfect location near Union Square and close to all major means of public transportation (including cable cars!). The hostel was very clean and comfortable. The staff are very friendly and helpful. As a woman travelling alone for the first time to a city where I didn't know a soul, I felt very safe staying at this hostel. I would stay there again!

The rooms were clean, MOST of the staff were friendly (the guy with dreads is a D*CK), and the location was perfect. They have lockers to put your stuff in if you arrive before check-in time, which worked out really well. Although I didn't participate in any of them, there were lots of activities (pub crawls, walks to the Wharf, etc.) to sign up for and enjoy with other visitors. There are some sketchy folks that hang out in the area around the hostel, but if you ignore them, you'll be fine. This hostel is a quick few-minutes walk from the MUNI (subway) station, which will quickly whisk you away to a few of the cool neighborhoods; the busses will take you to the rest. Overall, my buddies and I liked the hostel and would recommend it to anyone who wants to be where the action is.

The hostel is in a great location right in the center of San Francisco, and from what we've been hearing it's much safer than the City Center HI, which really is in the Tenderloin. Yes, there are homeless around the area but this is America. In fact the ones we came across were very polite and we didn't feel threatened at all. My wife and I have stayed here twice and on both occasions we've been "upgraded" to an en suite room for no extra cost. One thing that is lacking is a decent atmosphere amongst other guests, but I suppose USA isn't really a backpacking-type country.

I spent an evening at this hostel about one year ago. I had never stayed in a hostel and didn't know what to expect, but I had a good experience here. Staff was helpful, the lounge was comfortable, bedding was clean, and there were no problems leaving my bag unattended in my room. I am very clean and found the bathroom and shower acceptable. I wasn't impressed by the kitchen, so I suggest visiting a deli or restaurant. I moved to "The City" soon after and can elaborate on location: This hostel is convenient to downtown and within walking distance of Union Square and the Muni lines on Market Street. However, it is on the edge of the Tenderloin (one of the more dangerous neighborhoods) and does not have abundant nightlife. Luckily, it is central to all neighborhoods and can be reached 24 hours a day by Muni.

This hostel is in an ideal, central location. It's clean, and has a friendly staff. If you do not like stairs don't stay in this hostel, especially if your room is on the top floor, even though there is a lift. I found the place a bit scattered, as the kitchen, common room and TV rooms are all on different floors. Otherwise, it's grand if not a little bit dull.

It's true that the neighborhood is a little scary, but there's nothing that can be done about that-- some very fancy hotels are in the same neighborhood, and if you are afraid of homeless people DO NOT COME TO SAN FRANCISCO. It's that simple, but it's not a problem the hostel can solve. I really liked the place and thought it was a great bargain at $25 (less than the hostel in New York City charges, by the way.) It had been a hotel, and some of the rooms have original hotel bathrooms. The room I shared had a newly installed shower stall style bath. My son's room had no bath. My 3-bunk room was very nicely decorated (prints, lamps). His 3-bunk was not really decorated at all and we paid the same price and were on the same hall. Staff were very helpful. They gave us great advice about finding dinner when we needed it on our first night and were tired, stupid and hungry. I thought the kitchen was just fine for light-duty cooking. It was VERY clean and the food storage system was well-thought out. For a hostel serving hundreds of people from all over the world in an intense urban environment, they were great!

The location is extremely well-chosen, near to all the main things and to Union Square. The rooms are big, and the facilities are very clean. The only bad thing about this hostel is the kitchen. It's very poorly-equipped. You can't cook there.