The Hostelz.com Review
The Minneapolis International Hostel is an excellent hostel in an old converted mansion that has been nicely updated. It's located south of downtown next to uptown, which is a great area for dining and coffeeshops.
The lounge areas are cosy and quaint. You could easily enjoy your night or day lounging around on the antique furniture. Free internet access is available throughout the hostel and you can watch cable TV/DVD player downstairs. The kitchen is well stocked and coffee or tea is available anytime.
The large dorm room is filled with more than a dozen single beds, which are much preferred to bunk beds. However having a large room with so many beds means there's a good chance you may end up with at least one snorer. Smaller dorm rooms are available downstairs. There are private rooms, but they're tiny, about the size of a walk-in closet, and you still share a bathroom with the dorm. The room was very cold at night, which from other guests' comments, is a frequent problem at the hostel.
The bathrooms are nice, clean, and updated. Our biggest complaint with the hostel is that the "efficient" showerhead in the showers only puts out a bit of mist. So showering takes a long time and there never really is enough water to even wash the soap off.
The Minneapolis International Hostel is close to downtown and located opposite a bus stop. Free street parking is plentiful on the street in front of the hostel. The hostel is a great base for exploring Minneapolis.
The lounge areas are cosy and quaint. You could easily enjoy your night or day lounging around on the antique furniture. Free internet access is available throughout the hostel and you can watch cable TV/DVD player downstairs. The kitchen is well stocked and coffee or tea is available anytime.
The large dorm room is filled with more than a dozen single beds, which are much preferred to bunk beds. However having a large room with so many beds means there's a good chance you may end up with at least one snorer. Smaller dorm rooms are available downstairs. There are private rooms, but they're tiny, about the size of a walk-in closet, and you still share a bathroom with the dorm. The room was very cold at night, which from other guests' comments, is a frequent problem at the hostel.
The bathrooms are nice, clean, and updated. Our biggest complaint with the hostel is that the "efficient" showerhead in the showers only puts out a bit of mist. So showering takes a long time and there never really is enough water to even wash the soap off.
The Minneapolis International Hostel is close to downtown and located opposite a bus stop. Free street parking is plentiful on the street in front of the hostel. The hostel is a great base for exploring Minneapolis.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
February 2007
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Dont bother This is the worst hostel I've ever stayed in. It's outdated, dirty, and disgusting. Everything is just bad, from the bathrooms to the rooms to the kitchen. In my room, there were bed linens on the side of the bed toward the wall that obviously didnt get picked up. The carpet is dirty. Dont even think about putting something in the refrigerator. It will probably grow legs and walk away by morning. Wifi is weak. For a few dollars more, you can get a cheap motel and probably feel cleaner, safer, and more comfortable. Just plain disgusting. — Anonymous , USA (2012-05-22) Very Nice This is one of the nicest hostels anywhere in the U.S. Clean, well cared for, in a lovely building, situated in a lovely, safe neighborhood across the street from a beautiful park and an excellent art museum. Lots of public transportation and many services and amenities within a few blocks. It was easy to make a reservation and everything went smoothly. (I stayed here for 3 nights in April 2010). The only thing that keeps this from a 5-star rating is the price -- a bit high for hosteling. It's part of a disturbing trend whereby many hostels are pushing their prices up to unreasonable levels for the real budget traveler. Otherwise, a delight to stay in. I will definitely stay here on future trips to Minneapolis. — Anonymous , US (2010-09-19) Got shoved, physically, by George, the front desk girl I told charlie I was going to be cutting it close, but I would make it. If I don't make it, I am going to have to sleep in the street. Well I arrived in Minneapolis, at the correct exit, after a hostel employee told me he has no idea what the hostel is by nor directions. So I make it to Lyndale, the exit he told me about, at 9:40. The hostel is about seven minutes away from the exit. He gave me wrong directions, on purpose, maybe, after all he was having a bad day. He had to work fourteen hours. Or so told me the next day, the girl that was now working named George. She told me that I should understand too, that he had to work fourteen hours yesterday. So that almost was justification in my head for him ruining my night and me having to sleep in my car! But I was not convinced. I told her I had been calling since 9:40 just to get help with directions so I could arrive on time. He never answered once. When I did arrive at the hostel at 10:05 after driving around lost for twenty-five minutes, he was gone! 10:05 and he knew I was coming, and could not even wait for me, much less pick up the phone. When I arrived, Len and another younger guy came to the door.The younger guy told me that Charlie was mad that day cause he had to work a double shift. And that is was strange, he heard the phone ringing every minute for about twenty minutes while Charlie cleaned the office and just watched the phone ring. I told this to George the next day, I am not sure if Charlie is her boyfriend or husband, but she told me that the rules are super strict, not even one minute after 10 can they check anyone in, rules of the owners. After she dismissed I for thirty minutes, I asked to speak with a manager. She told me it was her, Charlie, and the owners, who are Jewish, and they do not take calls on Sat.
I told her no problem, to just call, cause she would not give me the number, but she said "No, I will not do that. I already told you they won't answer today." I said that I need to talk to someone about this, so I will leave them a message with my number so they can call me when they listen to the message. She said no, and this time shoved me to the door and told me I have to leave now. I thought, is this an international hostel? How? But then I remembered what George told me earlier. That the hostel is not part of HI, and if I want, I can think of it as a motel or a hotel, not a hostel, that I am just confused by the name. Well after sleeping in my car, and getting absolutely no help, beside physical help to the door, I was still charged $5.10 by Hostel World for sleeping in my car next to the park across from the Hostel. Shame! Charlie is a terrible employee, a terrible ambassador for the U.S., and this was a horrible hostel, from the outside. And George, she is ridiculous, bigger than me, and started to attack physically in front of another guest who just arrived! What a sham and a shame this Minneapolis Hostel is! — Irie Lion , USA (2009-11-17) Good but too cold A/C. You can now return to this hostel with confidence. All the old and difficult characters that used to plague this hostel have now gone. It has also had a makeover and although it is expensive it is well run and the staff seem friendly. The hostel is also on the bus line so it is easy to get around town. The A/C runs so well it can be a little cold staying there! — Mike , World Traveller (2009-06-26) mediocre The building itself is a very cool old mansion, the common living room/kitchen area is really nice as well. My first night I stayed in the attic room with seven other girls, very orphanage-esque. The next night i stayed in one of the nicer downstairs rooms. Bathrooms are fine but scarce. Hardly homey, the people who work there range from polite to asshole. It seems like temperature control was a problem, two girls in the room next to mine were freezing but there was nothing the people working there would/could do about it. The area it's located in is fine, but not great. — Chelsea , USA (2008-09-30) Mustn't grumble! This hostel was a beautiful building, inside there's really old wooden decor, old fireplaces and a big kitchen. We stayed here in August '07, and arrived without a booking which was good. The guy running the place was very short tempered and somewhat rude, and as we were a couple he did give us a dorm to ourselves. The bathroom in the dorm was absolutely great -- like a hotel (this was a treat), but had we been sharing, it would've been quite cramped -- there were a lot of beds in the room. The beds were comfy and clean (they weren't bunk beds which was a refreshing change), and the kitchen was large, so as a place to rest your head for a night this place has all the essentials. The Eat Street is a five-minute walk to some great authentic restaurants, and the hostel itself is about a half-hour walk from the bus station. I would also say that this place was quite expensive for a hostel. — Beth McCandlish , UK (2008-02-12) This hostel was obviously great in the day but the new owner has put the prices and done little else. Staff are volunteers working for free rent and seem to not care about guests (depends on the day I guess). As suggested heating comes and goes, bathrooms are dirty/unclean and the hostel is filled with long-termers on welfare -- some were aggressive and very protective of their space. The positives are the beds are clean and comfortable plus parking outside is free. The hostel will attempt to make you pay for parking behind the building (which is free anyway) and are generally unwelcoming. Too bad there are no other quality budget options because this hostel would be driven out of town. — Joanne (2007-01-18) Beautiful, homey hostel. looks like it's the only one left in minneapolis, all the others seem to have gone under. good thing this one is the kick-ass-est. — J-Star (2006-08-02) Be careful. While the staff were friendly and the hostel was in good upkeep in a safe neighborhood, they have a strict no-refunds policy. I had actually paid for two nights in advance; but during the first night, I lost heat in my room. I opted to check out the next morning. I didn't expect a refund for the first night but I thought it only fair that I receive a refund for the second night; being that they lost heat...but no such luck... — Pat (2006-02-11) This place was pretty much a dump. Cruddy bathrooms. There were a bunch of "guests" staying there who were on public aid and were waiting for public housing to open up. The neighborhood is ok but it's a long walk to any good places to eat like cheap ehtnic restaurants. I won't be going back. — Keith (2006-02-09) I stayed here in May of 2005 and found that this place was great. The surrounding area is very nice. People told me to stay out of certain areas after midnight, but it was mainly just paranoia, and maybe a bit of naivete (after staying in Detroit nothing in Minneapolis was scary). People gather in the living room and you can meet people from all around the world. I, for example, met a guy from New Zealand, a guy from LA, a guy from New York, a guy from France, and a woman from Great Britain. The staff are cool and most of them will hang out with the rest of the people. The only people that won't enjoy this hostel are the people that have never been away from home and just want to sit around here all day. Get out and enjoy the city! This hostel is within walking distance of downtown Minneapolis (but I still recommend the $1.25 for bus 18 to downtown). Next time I'm in town I will most definitely use this hostel. — David (2005-09-22) I love this hostel. It is only nine blocks from the convention center, a few blocks from many wonderful and inexpensive restaurants with food from all over the world, and only about 1 mile or so from a great food coop! The guests were from everywhere...Ethiopia, Sudan, Poland, Canada, Ireland, etc. And many of us sat in the kitchen and watched the World Series together. Ok, yeah, the bathrooms are kind of difficult and it is a creaky house, but we LOVED our stay and are planning to go again this October. We really enjoy old and historic hotels and hostels. — Susan (2005-09-21) I thought this hostel was a dump!!! It doesn't look as nice as in the pictures posted on the Web site. I didn't find the staff to be super nice. It only has four shared bathrooms and the toilets are fussy!! There is only one shared computer and people tend to hog it!!! The only good thing is that the Minneapolis Art Institute is across the street. Oh and one more thing, there was a creepy guy who hangs out at the hostel but is not a guest!!! I found some of my fellow guests to be rude and strange. — Beth (2005-05-29) I visit the area often and I always stay here! You can't beat the price, and the staff are super-nice. I reserved my room for my next trip, and the staff member remembered me from the last time I stayed. It is a very friendly atmosphere and a comfortable place to stay. I always stay in the dorm rooms and the only problems I've had were with the creaky house (you can hear people going up the stairs). Winter is pretty slow, but be sure to get reservations in the summer when the place is jumping! The neighborhood is nice, but at night you do see a few weirder types running around. However, the art museum across the street has its own security people that drive around, so I felt very safe! Don't bother paying for the "secure" parking. Parking on the road is just as safe here — I've never had any trouble parking out on the road. All around, this is a great place to stay in a fun mansion atmosphere! — Heather (2005-02-02) I stayed here (a single girl alone) and felt perfectly safe. I didn't really walk outside at night (aside from my car to the hostel), but I felt perfectly safe. The place seemed pretty clean to me - I stayed in the seven-bed ladies dorm, and they had just redone the bathroom, so it was pretty nice. The beds were VERY comfortable, and the other people staying there were pretty cool. If I'm ever back in the area, I will definitely be staying here!! — Kim (2004-09-06)