The Hostelz.com Review
Located practically in the middle of Madison, HI-Madison Hostel is actually quite nice place to stay. Capitol Square is about two blocks away and just around it most attractions of city center. Badger/Greyhound Bus Depot is walking distance away as well. Hostel has very good instructions on their web page (madisonhostel.org) how to reach hostel with various means of transportation.
The hostel itself may not look like much from the outside -- just a small, bit older building. However, inside is one of the cleanest hostels anywhere. It is quite small but still surprisingly big considering how it looks from outside. It has kind of cozy and relaxed feeling without actually being a party hostel. That is being taken care of by the restaurant located just outside of hostel in the same building.
Downstairs there is a common room with free internet access, small library, info about local attractions, and other basic necessities associated with hostelling. Upstairs has couple of sleeping rooms, kitchen, and eating area. One of the curious features of the hostel is that some of the rooms are located in the back of the building at the first floor. However to get into these rooms you have to first go to second floor and use another set of stairs to get back to ground level. One of these back sleeping rooms has the biggest toilet/shower room ever seen in a hostel. It is bigger than some sleeping rooms in more commercial hostels.
There are a few drawbacks to this hostel. The biggest one is they have an odd policy of requiring you to remove your shoes in the hostel. They say it's to "protect the floors", but the floors are cheap linoleum tiles that will look exactly the same in 50 years regardless. Don't walk around barefoot or in socks unless you want to catch/spread athlete's foot, always at least where your shower sandals (flip-flops). They also have an early checkout of 10 AM (a later checkout of 11 or noon would be more reasonable), and then they have a lengthy lock-out from 11 AM to 5 PM. They also don't provide wifi for their guests, despite having a computer and with internet access.
If you have a car, there are only a couple of spots belonging to the hostel that you can pay a small fee to use, but if those are full (as they often are) your choices close to the hostel are limited to parking metered spots or a parking garage. Here's a tip: If you don't mind walking a little, there is free parking in the residential/industrial areas starting about 4 blocks north of the hostel.
Overall HI-Madison is certainly one of the better hostels around -- clean and safe environment, friendly staff, and relaxed atmosphere leave a very good feeling about the place.
The hostel itself may not look like much from the outside -- just a small, bit older building. However, inside is one of the cleanest hostels anywhere. It is quite small but still surprisingly big considering how it looks from outside. It has kind of cozy and relaxed feeling without actually being a party hostel. That is being taken care of by the restaurant located just outside of hostel in the same building.
Downstairs there is a common room with free internet access, small library, info about local attractions, and other basic necessities associated with hostelling. Upstairs has couple of sleeping rooms, kitchen, and eating area. One of the curious features of the hostel is that some of the rooms are located in the back of the building at the first floor. However to get into these rooms you have to first go to second floor and use another set of stairs to get back to ground level. One of these back sleeping rooms has the biggest toilet/shower room ever seen in a hostel. It is bigger than some sleeping rooms in more commercial hostels.
There are a few drawbacks to this hostel. The biggest one is they have an odd policy of requiring you to remove your shoes in the hostel. They say it's to "protect the floors", but the floors are cheap linoleum tiles that will look exactly the same in 50 years regardless. Don't walk around barefoot or in socks unless you want to catch/spread athlete's foot, always at least where your shower sandals (flip-flops). They also have an early checkout of 10 AM (a later checkout of 11 or noon would be more reasonable), and then they have a lengthy lock-out from 11 AM to 5 PM. They also don't provide wifi for their guests, despite having a computer and with internet access.
If you have a car, there are only a couple of spots belonging to the hostel that you can pay a small fee to use, but if those are full (as they often are) your choices close to the hostel are limited to parking metered spots or a parking garage. Here's a tip: If you don't mind walking a little, there is free parking in the residential/industrial areas starting about 4 blocks north of the hostel.
Overall HI-Madison is certainly one of the better hostels around -- clean and safe environment, friendly staff, and relaxed atmosphere leave a very good feeling about the place.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
February 2006
Their Description
HI - Madison Hostel Details
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Loved it My first hostel but my boyfriend has been at many. This is a great location, close to everything, cannot get in a better spot. The location alone makes this a fantastic deal. We had a private room so cannot speak on the dorm rooms but couldn't find towels after showering so used our bed sheet. House was very clean and nice. — Anonymous , USA (2011-10-25) Outstanding service The staff was so polite and helpful and were all easy to talk with on any matter. A hostel is a hostel you can try compare it to other places but each hostel is unique and has pros and cons tho its the staff that make or break a hostel. They serviced the hostel daily cleaning was more then aqueduct during my stay. The hostel was very clean considering the heavy traffic of all the patrons who visit it during the summer. The staff is easy to talk to regarding any concerns regarding any of the chores that are done in the hostel. The staff gave me info on local farmers markets (open on weekends and some Wednesdays) and co op (open daily) which is i found extremely useful during my stay. Everything was in walking/biking distance a great advantage of stay at this hostel. Biking is very fun in Madison so i highly recommend bringing or renting bikes if walking is to slow pace. We enjoyed the movies the hostel had on hand which good and free. When we were looking to go outside of Madison one of staff members Winddum was so helpful he printed maps, got me phone numbers even helped me print out other things so I could plan my trip better. One of the best places to stay in Madison if you really enjoy hosteling. Keep in mind your in a city so you will need ear plugs if your a light sleeper (like me) this isnt the hostels fault its just in a city so just keep that mind when you stay if your not used to it. — henry b , usa (2011-07-18) Quirky but functional It is true that the hostel provided little in the way of comfort, but for the frugal traveler looking for a bed and a hot shower in the morning, it meets the basic requirements. The staff was friendly and courteous; I had no trouble checking out a day early when my travel plans changed unexpectedly. There are private rooms available at the hostel for those who are uncomfortable with barracks-style bunks. My only complaint was with inconsiderate roommates, but why blame the hostel for that? (One of the guys went partying and brought one of his drinking buddies back after quiet hours. They were loud and reeked of booze. The "buddy" decided to "borrow" a bunk. He got a good chewing out and we saw him off without further incident. Seriously, be considerate to your fellow hostelers. A little friendliness and courtesy goes a long ways.) Bring quarters if you want to do laundry. There's a washer and dryer in the basement available in the evenings (5 pm to 7 am). — Peter , USA (2011-04-18) A seriously disturbing stay I'm a former Madison resident who needed a place to stay for one night. I had always been curious as to how this hostel was, having probably stayed in a couple hundred hostels through the years. Verdict?? This is possibly (ok, definitely!!) the worst hostel experience that I have ever had. Yes, this one beat out a couple hundred competitors. The beds are very bad. I read this beforehand and can well-handle "bad bed". And the music from the attached restaurant was as-expected, although while living in Madison I had always wondered why they felt the need (and the right!) to play loud music outside late into the night, even in the middle of winter. Fine, be rude asses, but I don't think they are officially part of the hostel. The main reason for this scathing indictment is that this hostel obviously doesn't give a damn who stays there as long as they can make a profit. Most of those that I met were definitely of the homeless/near-homeless grouping. Fine, they can be interesting people. But this hostel's clearly-stated rules prohibit guests from staying for more than 10 days each month (I think it was something like that). The guy in the bunk below me (who appeared to be in his late-50's) said that he had been "living" there for two straight months and planned on staying a couple more weeks, a statement which I didn't doubt given that his well-settled wardrobe took up the entire closet. He also found it acceptable to masturbate loudly not once, but twice, during the night (I am being completely serious here). Before that I thought it was bad enough that both he and another guy in the attached dorm would occasionally talk to imaginary friends. The other guy also at one point raced across the room to turn off a radio that someone had turned on, stating that "they" (the government?) could monitor things through the radio. Ok, I have given this hostel more time, and money, than they would ever deserve in any type of just world. Zero sleep, worried about thieves, just waiting for 6 am to get the hell out. And, there didn't seem to be any staff on site past 10 PM, so you are on your own. Do yourself a favor, if there are two of you a room at a motel on the east side (no treat, true) is actually cheaper; at least you can lock the door and feel relatively safe there. If not, stay at the homeless shelter, at least it is free and has security on-site all night. — Anonymous , USA (2011-03-26) Weird staff, crappy beds, and unsafe environment Where do I start? A reluctant hello from a guy who was unkempt and smelled awful. Beds were wobbly and very uncomfortable, the pillow if you could call it that was less than adequate. The room was not clean and between the insanely loud music from the restaurant right below you, someone coming into the room to use the attached bathroom several times at 4 a.m., and the awful beds, I got NO SLEEP what so ever. But perhaps the most ridiculous thing to happen was the next day later in the afternoon. While surfing the web at the couch in the living room, I was approached by the horrible smelling guy and some chick telling me I was not being friendly and were concerned that I was affecting other people's stay. Hmm well let me think? I'm pretty sure I don't CARE. I'm not bothering anyone and they have no place to tell me what to do, I was not doing anything wrong. The staff at this place have knowledge of the area but make horrible hospitality staff. The pictures displayed on this website are not accurate, it looks like the staff has been tripping on acid and went crazy with the paint. My recommendation is to definitely stay some where else!!!! — Michael , USA (2010-01-09) Clean, comfortable, and relaxed with a great location, affordable I was at this hostel from 7/17/09 to 7/23/09. booked four nights, extended my stay two more nights. i wish i could have stayed longer. I enjoyed my stay. Madison is a great town with a huge amount of things to do, considering its small size. It's also only four hours bus ride from Chicago. The hostel was a small hostel. But there was more open space in my room than i have had in bigger hostels. It also was very clean. I personally saw the top manager mopping the floor. It's not a hostel to "hang out" in. It's just a good place to sleep in at night and to use as a base to explore Madison. My advice, rent a bike. It's only $10 to $20 a day. Madison is extremely bike friendly! Bike around Lake Monona. And if you are there on a Saturday go to the farmers market by the Capitol. It's supposed to be the biggest in America! Also check out the Wisconsin History Museum and the Vetrerans Museum. And eat a bratwurst on the Union Terrace as you watch the sun go down over Lake Mendota. They also have a bulletin board listing places to see and directions on how to get there. Everything was within less than an hour's walking distance. And most places were within five minutes' walk. Overall it was a great town and a great hostel. The staff were very friendly. I think with most HI hostels you get friendly service if you are friendly to the staff. My one warning would be to dress appropiately. I was there in July and one day it was 65 degrees farenhiet during the day and 50 degrees at night. It was great weather for summer and i enjoyed it. But you might want to bring a light jacket, even in the summer. I will return to this hostel. — Pete from Baltimore , Baltimore MD, USA (2009-08-02) Excellent We have stayed here twice, Once in January, 2003 and again in February, 2009. We were in the same family room in the back on the second floor both times. It is a very nice room with big windows and lots of blankets and not so much radiator heat. The first time we had a one-year-old, the second time a now six-year-old and five-year-old. I think that the hostel had improved in the six-year interval. The guy who checked us in in 2009 had a paint roller in his hand and said they had gotten a small grant to do some tile work next. Sure, the men's bathroom in downstairs in a chopped up floor plan and some dim bulbs. But it is very clean. They do have problems with TV reception and Internet but they can fix them. The Costa Rican restaurant in the basement is noisy but you do not hear it on the second and third floor, where you sleep. The kitchen is very nice and clean and cheery. Madison is great and we are lucky to have this fine hostel a six-minute walk to State Street, ground zero in America's best university town. — Tom , USA (2009-03-22) Dumpy Staff is 100% awesome. Hostel is 100% dumpy. Men's room, you have to go up a flight of stairs then go to end of hall way then down a flight of stairs. Locks to doors do not work on all doors. Bunks feel like the are ready to fall apart and the mattresses need to be changed. Bathrooms are unsanitary. Facilities are not handicap friendly. You spend $40 for a private room and $5 for parking, might as well stay at a a cheap motel. The lockers is put in the common area which sticks out like a sore thumb. If you really need help at night, you will be lucky if someone is on site between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Staff should be on site in case of any problems. — Dissatified hosteler , USA (2009-01-25) Old and small No online reservation system which is fine but I tried calling several times during non lunch hours and never could get through. I left messages in regards to reservations and not one phone call was returned. Although when I finally got through the staff was courteous. Everything is old! The shower in the mixed dorm didn't work and I was afraid the bunk beds were going to collapse. Both the television and computer were old and screens barely visible. There is an expensive restaurant connected to the hostel, which blares loud music constantly so no quiet areas -- anywhere. The only plus side is the location. If I had a choice I would have chosen elsewhere. — anonymous , USA (2008-08-05) Ok I have stayed at the Madison at least once a year. I do not think that I will stay here anymore. The laundry area is very dirty. It is like you are in a third world country. Also, it is connected with a hallway to the kitchen of the restaurant next door; which makes this area very very smelly. The mattress that I had in my room, should have been replaced years ago. Then I decided to look into the linen closet. Many of the sheets really need to be replaced. Internet and TV connection is really to be desired. Internet is really slow and could only get one clear channel. The staff were great. — None , USA (2008-04-22) I'll definitely be back! I was traveling cross-country on a two-month road trip and had heard great things about Madison and decided to stay a couple nights at the hostel. I didn't make a reservation but the staff was able to squeeze me for the nights that I wanted. I love the city and the hostel. I've stayed at a lot of hostels worldwide and the one in Madison is definitely one of the best for three specific reasons -- Great location (two blocks from the downtown of city), friendly and helpful staff, and very clean. I met some great people at the hostel, some I'm sure I'll be friends with for the rest of my life (including a couple of the staff) and I loved being able to walk around the city exploring. — Sean , USA (2007-07-20) Terrible! Rude! We drove after getting off the plane five hours. We got to the hostel at 9:30 and it was closed at 9 p.m. Well that was not the problem. There was a worker there with the door open still. I asked if we could please have a room or we could pay the next day. She (Claire) told us there was no way and to leave. We went and slept in the car. I think that the idea of hosteling is to provide travelers with a place to sleep. And not be rude to people who come asking for a bed after a twelve-hour flight and a five-hour car ride, especially when you are still there and you can do it, but would be inconvenient. Very very poor, rude service from Claire. Although the boy working today, 7/4/07 and noon was nice, I would not recommend this place at all. — Raspect , Peru (2007-07-04) Friendly and helpful staff. I took the coed room which was nearly empty. Hostel is clean and there is a computer with internet access (old computer). Parking is a problem and I ended up paying $5 for the permit. The hostel has only two parking permits. Overall, nice place. — Jonathan , USA (2007-05-23) Very comfortable and clean hostel. What a HI hostel should be! Staff were friendly from the get go and provided helpful directions for local restaurants and bars. The dorm room was big and roomy, lots of storage space for backpacks. Bathroom was also massive and there was ample space to move around. The free movies and DVDs in the lounge area were a bonus too. Madison is an awesome City and it's a perfect fit for a great hostel. Only downside would be the lack of any WiFi connections nearby or at the hostel. Parking is also limited but I parked on the street all day and didn't get a ticket! — Matt (2007-01-22) Located in the heart of the city, few minutes walk from the capitol this hostel is one of the best places you will stay at. The locality is safe, residential with few pubs nearby. I walked around at midnight and felt pretty safe. Madison itself is a small city so things are not more than few minutes of walking distance. When you enter you will realize that they have a "No shoes" policy. Initially I thought it cumbersome but the second you step inside, you realize its rationale. The place is spotlessly clean and you will definitely not want to dirty it up, will you? I stayed in a dorm, it was actually a room with four beds and an attached bath. Again very clean, comfortable, with enough space. I saw the private rooms as well, they looked nice. Now the more important part. The staff is very competent, courteous, helpful. I met two out of eight and had a great time chatting with them. They are mostly graduate students in the University of Wisconsin, hence any talk can be fun, lively, casual, or intellectual -- not necessarily mutually exclusive. The guests are a wide mix as well, I got to meet a gentleman who was pursuing PhD in Spanish and with whom I had one of the most interesting four-hour discussion ever. The decor is great. In each room you will find several books lined up. I think they must be donations from the previous guests and hence are on varied topics. You will find something suiting your taste, if you care for books. The private rooms are so tastefully decorated with whatever resources are available at hand that it makes worthwhile just to see these rooms. For the house I was told it was more than one hundred years old. You need not be convinced about that, the doors and floor might creak, few panel might seem missing but still it all looks and feels great. Look at it this way, it's a house of grandma you are visiting. Age and resources might not be on her side but good taste and will are so it gives you a sense of nostalgia, a feel of being at home. — Kinshuk Sahaya (2007-01-13)