HI - Monterey Hostel

Jerome, the front desk staff, was extremely helpful! I asked about directions and he looked it up online for me, gave me a map of all the hostels around the country, told me about Arizona (a place I really want to go visit), and was just generally a pleasure to be around. As for the hostel, the token system is a bit over-the-top, but with the water shortage, understandable. Other than a strange gentleman in the kitchen asking me where the "free food" was, I'd say this was a comfortable hostel.

The Monterey Hostel is the best! It is in a great location, very clean and welcoming. The new staff are awesome. They share valuable informatoin about where to go and what to do. The huge common room is a great place to visit, to read or use the internet. I love the classical music they have softly playing and the pancake breakfast is the best. I love the aquarium, the walk along the beach, Cannery Row, the Point Pinos Lighthouse tours on weekends, the Wax Museum, Bubba Gump's and a visit with Forrest. The weather is fabulous. Everyone should plan a trip to Monterey and stay at this hostel. There is a new one a.m. curfew and registered guests may come and go during the day with the door code. The staff has done everything in their power to make this hostel accommodating to the guests.

Excellent quiet hostel. I loved this place. Very clean with a homey feel and just two blocks from Cannery Row. They had classical music on when I arrived and one of the staff members was an avid and good piano player in the living room which is full of comfortable couches. I originally was going to stay two nights, but after a plane delay I had to call that day and cancel, and the staff was great about it -- they didn't even charge me! The shower token system, while unusual, still gives you plenty of time in the shower unless you take forever and then it's your own fault and the added bonus is you'll never have to wait forever for a shower to free up. The late night curfew and limited check in times actually help make the place quieter so you don't have people coming and banging around in the rooms at all hours of the night. The one thing to keep in mind though is that they don't have lockers for your stuff in the rooms like most European hostels do -- there's lockers outside for during the daytime, or if you have a car you can store stuff there. The parking lot is spacious and they even let you leave your car there for the rest of the day after you check out -- parking elsewhere around Cannery Row is like $7/day. I'd recommend this hostel to anyone.

I love this place, it's very comfy...ok, things might have changed since I was last there in 02, but I've booked a couple of nights this October. As for the 11 p.m. curfew [now extended] I was usually ready for bed after a long day. My only complaint was that the bunks in the men's dorm were a little rickety and not the most comfy, and this from someone who is at home on a Thermarest!

This is one of the better hostels I've stayed at and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to get a good night's sleep. I say this, because some people (including myself) after a long day of driving and traveling around don't want hear people up all night talking loudly and laughing into the wee small hours. This hostel doesn't attract them. Thank God! It's also clean and comfortable with an enormous common room, decent sized kitchen and a couple of extra small rooms with comfortable seating for cozy chats. As far as the tokens for the showers go, it won't be a problem for most people because you're given more than enough time. Also, the people at the front desk are helpful and accommodating. They must have new people at the front desk because no one is rude or will demand that you do chores.

It was awesome. Well, if you need a place to crash and meet people. The ambience was fairly agreeable and the kitchen, wow! There were little treats for everyone all around it: muffins, pie, and the like. I really care for this place. When I come back to Monterey I am definitely staying here again. The chick in the front desk was hot!

Ok, for a start, Monterey is so lovely that even if the hostel was a complete dump, you should still come here. The good news is that the hostel is really, really lovely. It really feels like an old Americana style house, complete with big kitchen and living room, with pancakes for breakfast and not five minutes walk from the Monterey action (!). The only thing I found a bit weird was the number of signs EVERYWHERE telling you the Dos and Don'ts of the hostel. My personal favorite was "Clean up after yourself — your mother doesn't work here." Tip to the owners — take some of these down! Your guests are not children and do not need to be told not to run up the stairs! Aside from this, though, I loved this hostel and would definitely come again!

The Monterey area has much to offer. Besides the nearby Monterey Bay Aquarium less than 4 blocks away, there is Cannery Row that Steinbeck made famous. Monterey was California's first capital and has many historic buildings. The coastline south, (Pacific Grove, 17-Mile Drive and Pebble Beach, Carmel, Big Sur), is magnificent. The local bus to Big Sur runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I also recommend the Steinbeck Museum in nearby Salinas. Most of our hostel guests only stay a night. To encourage longer visits the hostel now is open during the day for registered guests. Curfew has been extended to 1 a.m. Housing along the coast is very expensive, so even at $20/night this hostel is reasonably priced. The city collects 10% tax. You ought to discover prices of hotels and motels here during the many special events that Monterey lives for, including the Pro-Am Golf, Sea Otter bike event, motorcycle and car races at nearby Laguna Seca, the Big Sur Marathon, Monterey Jazz and Pop festivals, Carmel's Bach, Concourse classic car shows, and much more. The Lodge at Pebble Beach starts at $550/night. I think a round of golf there is about $500 (if you can get a date). Whale watching trips for a couple of hours costs about $20 and usually they are blowing out there. We sell Aquarium tickets good for two days for the same single day price. They're not cheap, but it's worth just to see the jelly fish. There are many nearby restaurants along Lighthouse Ave. and some offer very reasonably-priced meals. The hostel's living room is large and very comfortable. We have a large kitchen, but no stove (can't afford a commercial hood). There are plenty of electric skillets and pots. There is some leftover free food in the fridge but Nob Hill supermarket and Longs Drugs are very close by. I volunteer Tuesday nights and usually show a movie of local interest (I can show the same movie over and over again without many complaints). Sometimes I do show "The Big Country" (1957) with Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons (the canyon was filmed near Modesto, not Texas). Usually it's "East of Eden" or "Play Misty for Me" featuring Clint and some spectacular Big Sur scenes. Sorry, Greyhound no longer comes to Monterey, but there is Amtrak bus and local bus service from Salinas and Santa Cruz. The small Monterey airport now has some additional flights and can be cheaper to fly in or out of than other airports. If you come, like the area, and move to the Monterey Peninsula, I do expect you to frequently volunteer here at the hostel. Have a great journey!

I am a business owner and I am shocked to see the negative listings towards the Monterey Hostel on this Web site. For those who do not know the history of how the Monterey Hostel became a reality, I would like to share what I know. The Monterey Hostel took years of hard work by people who believe that the hostel environment is a safe and inexpensive way for travelers to travel and enjoy. It took YEARS for this hostel to happen because of obstacles and the City of Monterey has a water shortage. The shower token system at the hostel is the only way that the city of Monterey would allow the hostel to become a reality. We simply all have to tolerate this if we want this hostel to survive. As for the curfew it has its value to each of us and to the hostel. If the hostel had to pay meager wages to its employees to keep the hostel open during the day it would have to be added to the cost of the room fees. That goes for the same when you are asked to do a chore. Hostel chores are often asked by a lot of hostels and as I recall they usually only take a few minutes. I realize some already feel that the cost to stay in the Monterey Hostel is high, but try to keep in mind that this is a not for profit operation and this hostel has higher operating costs then most. It cost more money to keep this hostel open because of its location and the fact that this property is not leased by the city or government like some of the other California hostels are. The costs are what they are because that is what it is going to take to keep this hostel open for all of us to enjoy, providing we want that. As for the woman who mistreated a traveler, or if you are mistreated in the future, simply write a complaint letter about this person and ask that your letter be answered. I think we can all agree that this hostel is in a prime location and the cleanliness is well worth the minor negatives. I look forward to staying at the Monterey Hostel again someday when I am back on the West Coast. Thank you to those who spent years putting this hostel together and for not giving up on the thousands of us who enjoy staying here. I appreciate your heart and soul efforts.

I stayed here for one night shortly before Christmas. This hostel has some downsides, but it has a very comfy living room and a nice kitchen. The make-it-yourself pancake breakfast was good compared with the two slices of toast you get elsewhere. You can park your car next to the house for free. It is very clean and well maintained. The downsides: You get two five-minute coins for the shower. But once I knew that, I needed only one coin and left my second coin in the bathroom. I was not the first person doing so. When I was in the bathroom (I was definitely not the last one) there where already four coins from others. If two coins is not enough for you, use those. Do not plan to stay out late! Mind the curfew. This hostel is good but expensive.

Let's get it straight, this is an oldster hostel not a youth hostel. It is spotlessly clean, amazingly furnished, comfy and friendly if you don't pole up at 2 a.m. expecting to get in. The curfew is very annoying, but if you take the time to read about the struggle they had to open the hostel against local resistance you maybe understand. We loved it, but then again we wanted a quiet day or two away from partying.

This hostel has a lot going for it: it's very big and clean, has a great kitchen and a huge, comfy meeting room, and there are lockers outside the hostel for travelers (without a vehicle) to store their things in until the hostel opens. But it was my least-favorite hostel. It was mainly the women at the front desk. She had two people waiting at the door at 5 a.m. (myself and another guy) and she acted like we were a horrible burden (to show up right at 5!) In a very curt voice she explained to me that I get two three-minute tokens for my shower and once they run out, I'm out of luck. At the five hostels I had stayed at before this one, I had seen ads for the "FREE pancake breakfast at the Monterey hostel." "Pancakes on us!" The snotty desk women then said, "We have a free pancake breakfast in the morning PLEASE (tone translation: YOU WILL) donate money so we can buy more pancake supplies." She made a point of placing a box in front of me that stated (in capital letters) "To Keep Down On Costs Please (cough You Will cough) Pick A Chore That Will Be Finished Before You Leave." After I read this, she then mentioned the chore again and gave a strict reminder of the curfew. And with that I was sent off to my hole. She was even ruder to the other guy (he had come on a motorcycle). I have happily done a good amount of hostel chores. But this was the most expensive hostel I had stayed at (besides Boston) and I was paying $22 (HYI member price). I had just come from an eight-hour hike in Northern California, followed by an 18-hour Greyhound bus ride, followed by walking around Monterey for seven hours in the heat. I was exhausted and was dying for a shower. But seeing as I had waist-length hair (that I didn't want to wash right before I went to bed) I climbed into bed feeling rather gross. The next day the desk women ignored just about every hosteler (other than to give an order) and spent the morning loudly laughing at anything said by this guy (NOT a hostel person) who was talking to her as he swept his eyes over every person that walked by. The few people who did stay to eat breakfast left pretty quickly. I saw probably two people venture into the lovely meeting room. I tried it, but it wasn't very relaxing with the desk women casting sharp glances into the room. I think this hostel's problem is it wants to be very well run and efficient, and comes off as very strict and unfriendly. That or the owner just really hates younger people with backpacks and wishes the guests were just all adults like her.

The Monterey area is short of water. To obtain a use permit and water the Monterey HI Hostel had to limit water use. We have half gallon per flush toilets, timed faucets, Neptune washer for our laundry, and tokens for showers. Guests receive two tokens per day, three minutes each which is plenty of time. Surprise! Seems that many overseas travellers have never stayed at hostels back in their country. I tell them that hostels are not for every one. Those that valule privacy or want to watch TV all night better stay elsewhere. But if you want to meet interesting travellers and save some $$ then HI Hostels are the way to go. $25 might seem expensive but just check out prices at area hotels or motels, especially when there are special events (nearly every week end). Hostels in the British isles are usually substantiall higher than ours, yet still about half the price of least expensive B&Bs. We do have to meet expenses such as water, power, mortgage, insurance and worker's comp that are increasing all the time.

This has to be the worst hostel I've ever stayed in. From the 11 p.m. curfew to the coin-operated showers, it's run like a prison. You pay twenty-five dollars to be treated like a twelve-year-old!! Oh, and they want you to do a chore on top of it all. You're better off sleeping in your car than staying in the "nunnery" hostel in Monterey.

I loved it, but I didn't understand why we were locked out if late; it's madness!!