HI - Bank Street Hostel

Really great
I've been to a handful of hostels and this has to be the best that I've been to so far. The atmosphere is quite different from that of a large hostel. There are no "rooms" but instead there are lots of beds on one floor. I personally had no problem with it because all of the beds were spaced out and the floor was kind of separated into two rooms because of a wall. Generally, staying at hostels don't give one a large sense of privacy, so what's the difference between bunking with eleven more people instead of seven people? I particularly enjoyed it because the girls running it were funny and really helpful. They played really good music in the common area and there was a free movie at 8 p.m. each night. They also make a really nice, strong coffee each morning along with free tea. I also met lots of cool people in the kitchen each night while I ate dinner. They offer free earplugs for people during the weekend when the club next door plays loud music. They also have free wireless internet access and billiards. The location was great because you could walk to all of the tourist locations and you're within a few blocks of everything you could possibly need and public transportation. There were lots of great ethnic restaurants in the block. The bathroom was pretty tidy. They didn't really have a changing area but from the shower you could walk into a bathroom stall to change if you really needed to.

Needs work
For $25 a night, it's a bit rough I think. The dorm I stayed in was twenty-four beds (yes that's right, twenty-four). And there were three toilets and three showers for that dorm and another. There were small lockers for daypacks but no large lockers for bigger backpacks or rolling travel-bags so the whole dorm was littered with peoples baggage. The showers were really just that -- showers with a shower curtain. No place for you to get changed in private (one guy clearly didn't have a problem, just walked around nude! Which is fine if he wants to do that, but I prefer to get changed by myself). The hostel itself is a little decrepit and run down, but clean overall. The main problem is the lockout. Between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., everyone must leave the hostel and you are locked out. No access at all. If you've got things to do then that's cool I guess. But when it's p*ssing down rain (as it was one day I was there) it's a little annoying. Especially when their response is "Buy an umbrella." Locationwise it is really good. Close to the historic sights and just a short walk down to Walnut and Chestnut streets where all the big city action is (Macy's, Borders) -- just don't walk it in the rain! Overall I don't think it was worth the money, but the location is pretty good.

The overall conditions of the hostel is extremely good when comparing to what I have paid. Moreover, the guy running the hostel is very nice and cute. Totally, I am extremely satisfied.

Cold! I know I was there in the winter, but we had to ask to have the heat turned on several times and I never had a warm shower. Good location.

very nice and easy going hostel in the center of Philly. The employees at the reception were both very nice friendly and easygoing. They helped us with everyghing starting the places to see and ending with good clubs to go to! The hostel itself is located in a good area close to the old important sites. Inside is cool kind of club atmosphere, no rush, no stress. I liked this place a lot.

It's a great place to stay. One suggestion would be to have lockers in the dorms for each bed. There are some in the hallway, but not enough for each person.

waking up everyday with great music was fantastic, i loved this place!

Perfect location, summer curfew is great (two-thirty a.m.), movies at nine p.m., internet, large common rooms. The guy at the desk was very helpful. Bathrooms and dormroom were very clean with four showers in the female dorm, I don't know about the male dorm. I could have done without a couple of the people staying there (kept opening the emergency door at three a.m.). My only complaint is the mirror in the females' bathroom, was placed too high on the wall -- a bunch of us could not even see it while standing on tiptoes.

Great hostel, great location. Very centrally located @ a very decent price. The facilities was among the "cleaner" ones that I have seen- rooms were generally clean, beds in good condition, the kitchen in the basement was spotless. Only thing to note is there aren't any "room" just a "guys" and "girls" floor that have like, 20 beds each. It's located right across this nightclub, which I am told, is pretty loud until about 2-3 in the morning...but I didn't notice since I was too hammered when I went to bed around 3. All in all, great hostel, and I will recommend it and will visit again!

This hostel is in a good location near all the sights and it is about 15 minutes walk from the Greyhound station but the only problem with this hostel is that it is closed during the day so it sucks if you want to go back to get something. They show a movie at 9pm every night. Apart from the times of the hostel hours 4/5.

Great location; very close to many of Philadelphia's highlights. Although we slept in a dorm containing 28 beds (14 bunk beds) we slept quite well, and everybody kept silent during the night. The bathroom was okay, and clean. They regularly showed movies. The personnel was sort of okay; we didn't get to see much of them.

Clean and bright. Pity the door guy was cold and kind of rude. Eh. Oh well.

The main staff guy is very rude, not to me but he is downright hostile with some of the other visitors, particularly if their English isn't so good. There are also flies in the kitchen — lots of them, and spiders on the floor. On the up side it is in a fantastic location and has wireless as well as nightly movies.

Hi, I am sitting on a sofa in the Bank Street Hostel right now, and posting this comment over a wireless Net connection. Great place!

The hostel itself is fine. It's located in the perfect spot for budget travelers. There is a movie at 9 p.m. every night. The curfew and check-in times are horrible. They make everyone leave the building at 10:30 a.m., then they allow you back in at 4:30 p.m. The door is again locked at 12:30 a.m. till 8 a.m. Overall it's the only choice in Philly if you're looking to be in the tourist area.