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Elements Hostel Details
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Elements Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Good location and decent rooms, but not a real hostel The Mission district is my favourite part of SF -- it is part spanish, part bohemian -- so I have chosen to stay here instead of downtown in the more touristy areas. the rooms are quite clean and tidy. the lockers provided in each room (you need your own lock) are not very big so you probably won't be able to fit all your stuff in them. I have had things stolen here while sharing with some U.S. residents looking for work in SF. The owners of this venue seem to have put the hostel bit in to get some extra profits, their main enterprise is a club/bar on the ground floor and the rooftop -- so the hostel is basically the in between floors with thumping music and partying non-hostelers all around. Instead of providing a kitchen they encourage guests to have breakfast in the overpriced cafe and to drink and hang out in their expensive bar (unless they have a private party going on in which case the whole hostel becomes a few rooms surrounded by someone else's party). There is no kitchen and the lounge/internet spaces are a joke, just a tiny area on the landing. It is more like a cheap hotel in the middle of a nightclub. — te quila , australia (2008-12-20) Last resort only -- two nights is one too many Since I was already suffering from poison ivy, the bedbug bites that others seemed to be suffering from didn't seem apparent. The toilet in our room was in disrepair for three days, which was the length of my stay. The fact that the club was there was kinda cool for the sat night i was there. No kitchen, staff kinda sucks. The restaurant is a trendy place for a well-off crowd. You'd think that they'd spend some on the hostel. — jared frasier , usa (2008-04-15) Disappointing. No kitchen facilities. Private room had absolutely no furniture except bed. Not even a chair. No drinking glasses or towel racks. On Friday and Saturday nights, the entire hostel becomes one loud thumping giant speaker with guests inside it due to the high decibel electronic music played in attached bar owned by hostel owner. Must have been ninety decibels in the room. Went until 2 a.m. If you like to party all night, this may be for you. It was not for me. — John Robertson (2006-10-16) It wasn't too bad, I stayed in a room with a buncha Brits and Irish dudes. My friends and I left our stuff there and nobody took it, it seemed in general people were watching out for each other. People smoked, but you'll get that anywhere you go. The mission can be a bit of sh*thole, but elements is in walking distance of a bunch of cool San Francisco districts. Nightclub upstairs is for a bunch of wank-off trendy hipsters, and the drinks are f***ing ridiculous there ($4 for a domestic draft) so don't even bother with the bar upstairs. — MikeMars (2006-05-10) While this hostel is fairly new with modern facilities, I find it very disappointing. No common room to relax or meet the tourists unless you count the expensive Middle Eastern restaurant downstairs. No kitchen other than a microwave oven and filthy refrigerator with lot of mystery life forms.
During the weekend nights, you must push your way through the queue to enter the building and deal with the drunken clubbers coming down the stairs from the rooftop bar.
The television sets are attached to the anchors way high up on the wall. You can't screen the programs while sitting on the floor. The reception is so bad that it's not worth the hassle.
I also had to deal with some unsavory characters there, especially the ones who didn't fit the "tourist" category. A girl in my room smoked weed in the bathroom and used incense to cover the smell. I complained about it to the reception staff, who didn't do anything. One night, a guest was badly assaulted in the room and sent to the hospital. I met one guest who moved into my room from Room 318 because of strange energy or vibe there. He could not sleep there at all.
Yes, the parking is nightmare with those schizophrenic street-cleaning rules. If you don't read the signage carefully, you will get a parking ticket in the morning.
Now, here's the killer. This cheapskate girl made us choose ONE pastry (all of them muffins) or ONE tiny packet of oatmeal. Want a second helping of coffee? Pay 50 cents for each refill. The guy who served the breakfast didn't care and let us have whatever we wanted.
This hostel is too sterile and too anonymous for my taste. — German Guy (2005-11-09) I was quite pleased when I first checked into this place. But that quickly changed. After checking into my room I left for about an hour or so only to return to find they had checked a homeless guy into my dorm. This was quite disturbing as the personal hygiene of this fellow made it past the check in staff. They say they don't check in people from the Bay Area; I don't believe them. Later around midnight while using the Internet I was hassled by a drug-affected woman as she got out of the elevator. I'm sure she was a hooker. Maybe I just had bad luck but I'm giving my story. And another thing — breakfast was a dry pastry they give to the guests, taken from what I'm sure wasn't sold in their shop the day before. — Dexter (2005-10-13) This seemed OK at first, but the place was infested with ants. I found them crawling on me even in bed, and woke up with red bites on my body. The room was not cleaned the whole time I was there (five nights, prepaid or I would have left). There is no kitchen. They do that hoping to force everyone to eat in the expensive restaurant downstairs. It seemed nice, but the food wasn't worth it. It was also very noisy, even on the top floor, from the restaurant downstairs and club next door. I could hear it and feel the vibration even on the 3rd floor until they closed at 2 a.m., every evening and night. It was so disturbing, and the staff didn't care. I guess they have no control. This is a poorly planned place, a disappointment. It was nerve-wracking. Go elsewhere. — Anonymous (2005-04-03) This hostel is new and modern but it seems sterile. There's not much of a social environment happening and I was in bed early most nights. There also seems to be a lot of Americans living here short term and they are not keen on chatting to tourists. The location is pretty good, situated in a Hispanic area and close to public transport. If you're looking to party while in San Francisco I would suggest staying elsewhere. If you want peace and quiet clean rooms stay here. If you do stay here make sure you go to the roof for some excellent views of the city. — DPX (2005-03-04) Now this is how a hostel should present itself — very clean, modern and tidy. The one downside — don't come to this place by car. Parking is hell and the streets at night seem a bit creepy. — OZ (2005-01-09) This is the best hostel I have EVER stayed in. It's more like a nice hotel, but with hostel prices and crowd. It has a nice cafe and restaurant, free Internet and a great crew! Do yourself a big favor and stay here!! — Holland (2004-10-27) The hostel and its facilities are new and therefore are in good condition. The owner is very nice and will do a lot to help travelers. The receptionist, Gerry, is a jerk!! The major problem with this hostel is the location outside. The area is very dodgy, even in the morning! And this is both for groups or lone travelers! The breakfast here wasn't that good, either. — Anonymous (2004-10-11) This place has clean, comfortable rooms, smartly decorated interiors, a great restaurant downstairs with free breakfast, free Internet computers, and friendly staff. It's one of the best hostels I've stayed in. — Anonymous (2004-10-10) This is by far the best hostel we have ever used! The rooms are spacious and very clean. The staff are really friendly and knowledgeable (our thanks to Anthony and his brother) and they could not do enough to assist us with our holiday plans. The food available included the free breakfast, which was of a very high standard, and the facilities are A-plus. The Internet access is also an A-plus. Each room has a private bathroom, and the beds are really comfortable. Andrew and I will be back and we would not hesitate to recommend this hostel to our friends. Well done to all those who have made the New Mission what it is today :-) "Excellent." — Iain and Andrew, UK (2004-10-08) This is by far the best hostel ever! The rooms are spacious and clean, and the staff are really friendly and knowledgeable. Add this to the great free breakfast and internet access; what more could you ask for?! Each room has a great private bathroom and the beds are really comfortable--which is a godsend if you end up walking all over the city! Excellent place, I would never want to stay anywhere else. — KLM (2004-08-25) This is the best hostel I have ever stayed in. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. The staff and the owner were very friendly and courteous. — Anonymous (2004-08-24)