The Hostelz.com Review
The Location
HI - San Diego, Point Loma Hostel is in a safe neighborhood of San Diego, CA, just on the outskirts of the coastal area of Ocean Beach. Hostelling International accurately describes the Ocean Beach area as "a colorful slice of urban bohemia with locally-owned eateries, bars, and shops." There is free parking on the street and the bus stop is close by. The price is very affordable and breakfast is included. The hostel is large, clean, and very well organized with locks on the front door and all of the rooms.
Rooms and Bathrooms
This hostel has separate gender-segregated dorms. The dorm we were in had six beds. Dorms are painted in bright colors and are clean and appealing. The linens are freshly washed and the comforters are fluffy and warm. Lockers are available both in the rooms and in the hall. The bathrooms are large and clean, with plenty of space (especially for females who have lots of toiletries). There are numerous showers with hooks and shelves/soap dishes, and the water is always hot.
Common Spaces
The kitchen is large and clean, with free breakfast every day and room to store your own food. There is also a TV room, computer with internet, outside patio with a hammock, and even a piano in the dining room for those musicians out there. The atmosphere is friendly but this is not a party hostel -- alcohol is not permitted. Yet many restaurants and bars are located close by at Ocean Beach for those that are looking for more action.
Summary
This is by far the nicest, cleanest, friendliest hostel of the many we've stayed in -- it's our favorite! The kitchen, common areas, patio, and balconies are large, appealing, and comfortable. We have only good things to say about this hostel. Every time we come to San Diego, we stay in this hostel and will continue to do so. We highly recommend it to other hostel-goers who are visiting this area.
Review by Wendy and Persy Deluca
HI - San Diego, Point Loma Hostel is in a safe neighborhood of San Diego, CA, just on the outskirts of the coastal area of Ocean Beach. Hostelling International accurately describes the Ocean Beach area as "a colorful slice of urban bohemia with locally-owned eateries, bars, and shops." There is free parking on the street and the bus stop is close by. The price is very affordable and breakfast is included. The hostel is large, clean, and very well organized with locks on the front door and all of the rooms.
Rooms and Bathrooms
This hostel has separate gender-segregated dorms. The dorm we were in had six beds. Dorms are painted in bright colors and are clean and appealing. The linens are freshly washed and the comforters are fluffy and warm. Lockers are available both in the rooms and in the hall. The bathrooms are large and clean, with plenty of space (especially for females who have lots of toiletries). There are numerous showers with hooks and shelves/soap dishes, and the water is always hot.
Common Spaces
The kitchen is large and clean, with free breakfast every day and room to store your own food. There is also a TV room, computer with internet, outside patio with a hammock, and even a piano in the dining room for those musicians out there. The atmosphere is friendly but this is not a party hostel -- alcohol is not permitted. Yet many restaurants and bars are located close by at Ocean Beach for those that are looking for more action.
Summary
This is by far the nicest, cleanest, friendliest hostel of the many we've stayed in -- it's our favorite! The kitchen, common areas, patio, and balconies are large, appealing, and comfortable. We have only good things to say about this hostel. Every time we come to San Diego, we stay in this hostel and will continue to do so. We highly recommend it to other hostel-goers who are visiting this area.
Review by Wendy and Persy Deluca
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2008
Their Description
HI - San Diego, Point Loma Hostel Details
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HI - San Diego, Point Loma Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Great place We had a great time, every one was so friendly and we got to make lots of new friends. — Troop 908 , USA (2011-06-02) wonderful staff -- friendly, accommodating, helpful, knowledgeable. volunteers (when available) provide delicious home-cooked dinners at very reasonable cost. rooms contain small/large lockers and larger ones in hallways with own lock. quiet room with video/DVD/TV access. easy access by public transport. public library nearby walk distance and free internet. quiet/peaceful sleep. Clean, neat, linens included, helpful literature. look forward again stay on return from mexico. — volunteer katy at hostel santa cruz, ca visiting hostel pt. loma , usa (2008-08-17) Noisy! friendly, helpful staff; quiet neighborhood; really cute decor; wonderful breakfast; clean rooms with space heaters; awesome courtyard with firepit; wonderful kitchen with guest storage; not a party hostel; Tommy's Mexican around the corner. But a little out of the way, shower on first floor never had hot water, noisy.
To their credit, there are signs posted everywhere about keeping noise levels down between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. However, we had a private room on the first floor and every morning, starting as early as 6 a.m., guests in the above dorm rooms would very loudly start packing and slamming suitcases on the floor and rolling them downstairs. All of which caused our room to sound as if it were crashing down around us! We were miserable. Even if you're a heavy sleeper, you can't sleep through that sort of racket. — lauren , USA (2008-02-06) Personal, friendly hostel this hostel was a very very nice one! a bit out of the centre, but the hostel itself is so beautiful and has a personal atmosphere! staff were great, and there even was a cat running around! rather small hostel, with big kitchen, a wonderful courtyard, with a piano and a beautiful dining area! very cute! me and my girlfriend had a private room, which was really small, and we needed out earplugs because our room was near the entrance. but still, i recommend it highly because I had such a nice time there! beautiful! — maria , austria (2007-11-07) We cut short our stay Staff were nice enough. Location was ok. Facility was reasonably clean. We had the room with the lock that sometimes doesn't work. Our biggest complaint, though, was the small room. We are short people and our feet almost touched the wall as we slept. I don't know where they found such a short bed to fit in that tiny room. If you are taller than five-foot-three, make sure they give you a room big enough to sleep in. — Disappointed , USA (2007-07-14) I had such a pleasant stay at HI Point Loma! It was my third stay at HI hostels -- have yet to feel disappointed. The staff were very friendly and helpful, the bed was comfortable to sleep in, and clean bathroom. The hostel has a free wireless internet if you bring your own laptop, accessible from the TV room. Otherwise, there is a computer (with printer) you can use to access the internet, payable with cash or credit card. Or you can walk three minutes to the public library down the block. I rented a car so transportation was not an issue. Parking however can be an issue as it is street-parking and nearby spots can fill up quickly by the local residents. If you're looking to party, this hostel is not for you. This hostel has that peaceful and family-run feel to it and tend to have more older crowds. The bonfire night is nice where you can chat with fellow travelers and they have DVD movies you can check out (free) to watch on the big screen. The only negative comment I have about the hostel is it lies under the flight path of the airlines going in and out of San Diego airport, so it's a no no if you like to sleep in til the afternoon. I made a good friend at this hostel so this hostel has a special memory for me. — aSiAnRiCk (2006-10-06) A beautiful building in a pleasant neighbourhood, this hostel has a really lovely feel. The TV room, complete with enormous television and comfortable couches, is a great place to hang out and socialise. The gorgeous public library is a short walk away and provides plenty of free internet access, and the ten minute bus service to nearby Ocean Beach is reliable and cheap, although I'm told energetic types can walk there easily. There are only two negative points, firstly that the hostel is right on the flight path for a surprising number of planes, although this shouldn't be a problem for people with good quality earplugs (I recommend American brand "hearos" if you haven't brought your own). Secondly, when we were given the keys for our room we were told the door was broken so the keys would only work "sometimes." This turned out to be about twenty percent of the time, and it could take upwards of ten minutes of key-jiggling and swearing at the door handle to get the thing to open. The laid-back staff didn't seem to think this was a problem, and couldn't understand why I thought this was unacceptable. Despite these drawbacks, however, I would definitely stay here again. — Kate (2006-07-19) This was a first time hostel experience for myself and my three year old son. Everything was perfect -- clean, friendly, knowledgeable, and embracing. The staff went above and beyond, not treating us as just guests -- but like family. It was a most wonderful experience and the memories we will cherish forever. I highly recommend a stay if you are in the area, to pass it up would be robbing yourself of a truly great experience. — Celeste (2006-04-28) This was the best hostel we stayed at during our 6 week trip in the U.S. The staff was super friendly and made it possible for us to stay another night. The atmosphere was very relaxed; all of the other guests were very nice people. You could sit outside on one of the couches, hang out in the hammock, play ping pong, or play board games. The kitchen facilities were okay, and the pancakes you could make in the morning tasted very good. Internet was cheaper than in most other hostels. It was a bit far away from downtown, but close to Seaworld and such. Nearby there was a super market, and a very good and inexpensive little Mexican restaurant. Rooms were very clean, spaceous, and friendly-looking, and although there was no aircondition, they weren't too hot. Showers were okay and clean. — Aafda (2006-01-10) Stayed at this hostel twice in September. Really enjoyed it. Great atmosphere, great staff and good location for the beach if you don't mind a little walk! The bus service is really good so getting into city isn't bad. Great value too! — Anon (2005-12-04) This is a nice hostel with good bathrooms, common room, TV room and kitchen. The free breakfast is make-your-own pancakes, which may not be very healthy every morning. However, although it is a lovely hostel, right opposite a supermarket and bus stop, I wouldn't stay there again because of the location. San Diego is a rather spread-out city and although the public transport is good, it can take a long time to get around. To get anywhere from here you first need to catch the bus to Old Town transit center, and to do this you need to get a bus that only comes once every half-hour. From there you need another two buses to get to attractions like the zoo, or one bus to get to downtown, or the beach. And there are a large number of mad people on the buses of San Diego, so it may not be a very pleasant trip. If you don't have a car I would try and stay somewhere a bit more central. — Mary and Dan (2005-11-17) I had a great time here. It is not right in the center but the bus stops right outside and it's near the beach!! They also have all the bus/tram information for getting to ANY attraction. The facilities are great, a large kitchen and your own boxes etc., to store food. There's a free pancake breakfast, free warm brownies and popcorn on movie night, great rooms, and friendly staff. What are you waiting for, book now! — Anonymous (2005-03-15) Great hostel. It had friendly people and was much fun! Dave went the extra mile and built a bonfire and made free S'mores for everyone! There were free movie nights and bonfires! It's close to everything and most of all, it's very clean and has courteous staff. Thanks! — Anonymous (2004-12-04) We stayed here in the family room. It's a great place, with a friendly and helpful staff. It has a comfortable TV room and a large activity room. It's clean, with a market right across the street. — Maureen (2004-11-27) This is an excellent place to stay with good staff and decent facilities. It's a great base to visit a terrific city. The hostel also runs activities, just in case you run out of things to do. — Anonymous (2004-11-10)