The Hostelz.com Review
Hostel of the Rockies has moved locations and changed ownership within the last year or so. Don't be confused by various "new" guidebooks that list the hostel at the old address and include features that no longer exist. The Hostel of the Rockies is one of Denver's most upmarket hostels. What makes it attractive is the location -- it's in a fairly good part of town and is opposite a nice coffee shop and bar (which provides free wifi access). Plenty of parking is available on the street and you're not too far away from public transport.
Dorm rooms are very basic as are the kitchen and TV room. Wifi is not available but you can use the shared computer downstairs. Coffee and tea is available but it's on a do-it-yourself basis. Bathroom areas are straight-forward and you'll be sharing the one combined toilet/bath with more than ten beds if they are booked out.
The Hostel of the Rockies is not a bad hostel and is definitely not unclean or unsafe. It does its job and is located in a great part of town. If you can snare an upstairs room than do so, most have private balconies and seem to be fitted out better (plus they are much warmer). The social aspect of the hostel is great and you're sure to meet lots of international travelers. It's pretty easy to find in downtown Denver and there is ample free street parking. Just look for the street cleaning signs (normally it's the second Wednesday of each month) and make sure you don't park your car -- otherwise it'll get towed.
Dorm rooms are very basic as are the kitchen and TV room. Wifi is not available but you can use the shared computer downstairs. Coffee and tea is available but it's on a do-it-yourself basis. Bathroom areas are straight-forward and you'll be sharing the one combined toilet/bath with more than ten beds if they are booked out.
The Hostel of the Rockies is not a bad hostel and is definitely not unclean or unsafe. It does its job and is located in a great part of town. If you can snare an upstairs room than do so, most have private balconies and seem to be fitted out better (plus they are much warmer). The social aspect of the hostel is great and you're sure to meet lots of international travelers. It's pretty easy to find in downtown Denver and there is ample free street parking. Just look for the street cleaning signs (normally it's the second Wednesday of each month) and make sure you don't park your car -- otherwise it'll get towed.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
December 2006
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Hostel of the Rockies Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Terrible Of all the Hostels I have ever been to, this one is by far the worst. The people there appear to be nice at first, but upon further investigation, one will find that the staff there are nothing more than thieves and pot heads. The place is never maintained. There are bedbugs and virtually no accommodations. The common room has 3 chairs, no couches. Half the showers don't work. The toilets do not flush properly, and the kitchen is lacking in cooking utensils and silverware. Stay at a homeless shelter before choosing this place!! — Anonymous , Australia (2011-04-21) Giving them the benefit of the doubt I came back late at night and found the front door unlocked. This didn't really bother me since I had locked my stuff up in a locker, but if my stuff had been out in the open (like everyone else's) I would've been pretty upset. Later on that night I woke up in the middle of the night to take a pee and found a surprise in the toilet. The toilet wouldn't flush, so I just had to deal with it. After I was done I went over to wash my hands in the sink, but the sink didn't work either! I reluctantly went to bed without being able to wash up -- pretty nasty. — AnonymousHostelLover , USA (2010-12-01) Great staff, great neighborhood, recommended! I enjoyed my stay at this hostel. At first, I was a bit worried about security (keeping my stuff from getting stolen) after reading reviews of the hostels in Denver. When I arrived, the staff was totally cool, told me that there hadn't been any problems, and I trusted them. Turned out to be a great stay. A couple notes, there wasn't much happening in the communal spaces here (maybe just a dead time of year), however, there are some good places to socialize (a bar and coffee shop) right across the street. Also, it's about ten blocks from downtown so, either enjoy the walk (lots of funky buildings and funky people to see) or take the bus. — Chops , Chicago, USA (2009-08-24) Very Disappointed This hostel ranks near the bottom of the numerous hostels I have stayed at throughout Europe and North America. It is very dirty and poorly maintained. Signs are posted about keeping dorm room and building doors locked but they usually are unlocked for most or all of the day. There are no lockers (at least not that I could see or that the staff pointed out to me) so I would not recommend bringing anything valuable inside. Office hours are quite limited and you must call ahead if you are arriving outside of them. Staff forgot to prepare my bed. — Brian , USA (2009-05-26) Would recommend to a friend. I stayed at the hostel for five days in late April and enjoyed my time there. It's in a nice quiet, residential location yet is still very close to many restaurants, bars, great public transportation, and is minutes away from downtown Denver. The owner and staff were very friendly and helpful and the other guest were great company. As a female traveling alone i felt safe in the neighborhood as well as the hostel itself. The place can get a bit messy at times but certainly not enough to be a deal breaker and i would gladly stay there again if im ever back in Denver. — WV , USA (2009-04-30) Friendly staff, convenient location, great neighborhood! I stayed at HoR last October and had a great experience. I was a last minute check-in with no reservation and the staff were great. Street parking was easy to find. Public transportation is excellent and there are cool places to hang out within walking distance in the neighborhood. — Daniel , USA (2008-12-22) Good and progressing The first night I got there, I came in very late (about 1 a.m.) and they still let me in with no problems. The staff were really nice and did everything they could to help me with my week's stay. The staff makes up for any downfalls that the hostel may have. The building is old but they are currently renovating and make pretty major improvements. The neighborhood is pretty good and has easy access to buses. — Travis , USA (2008-09-16) Rundown but ok for a night The people at the front desk were super nice and helpful. But they don't control the condition of the building -- and the building is a dump, honestly. Really rundown. My window was propped open with a metal pipe, ceilings peeling, bare bulbs. There didn't seem to be many people staying there. But it was ok for one night, and I slept all right. The Five Points neighborhood in Denver is overall pretty sketchy, but this street seemed ok, and it's just a few steps from this urban-renewal area with a cool coffee house, bar, restaurant. I felt safe as a woman traveling alone. Shame the building is in such crappy shape -- it's a gorgeous old house that could shine if it was remodeled. — Jen , USA (2008-08-11) Central, acceptable The management has a good heart and the right spirit about hosteling (including a free burger and hot dog on Saturday night). The place is a tad dirty (bring flip flops), a tad disorganized (slow check-in, ran out of toilet paper), but the location is a pleasant walk from the downtown, and just across the street are a Thai restaurant, a popular bar, a trendy coffee shop, and more. Plenty of street parking. Free computer use, free Wi-Fi. Both the neighborhood (a quirky mix of law offices, a day care, and public housing) and the hostel appear safe. There are a few long-term residents, like folks relocating to Denver for service industry jobs. Other fellow hostelers sometimes bypass the number code access to the building and similar locks on each room, but there are sturdy metal lockers in each room also. Towels and linens were included, and were clean and fresh. — TexasDoug , USA (2008-07-16) Good management I live in the neighborhood (which is my favorite in Denver), and ran into some people staying at the hostel who were drunk and causing a scene outside. The manager came out and took care of things quickly and quietly, without involving the police. I was impressed with his professionalism. — MD , USA (2008-05-28) Two Words -- Sh*t hole This place is awful! I read some negative reviews before staying here and believe me they are all true. Bathrooms, kitchen, showers all look as though they were cleaned sometime back in the 1980s. The management is so rude -- I complained about noise at 4 in the morning and was told I would have to leave. Me a woman, in a strange city just because I thought it was crazy that management was partying upstairs. I was also sexually harassed by Walt. I think that this place needs to be shut down. — Sanfran (2008-03-08) Do not ever stay at this hostel Do not ever stay at this hostel! I was physically attacked by the owner (who was drunk) and had to call the police on him in able to get my stuff and get my money back. The bathrooms were filthy, hell, everywhere was filthy. Many of the other people staying there were transients, not travelers. The staff was drunk and surly. (Except for one, he was the only decent moment in a horror of a stay, him and the free computer.). There are other, cheaper, cleaner, not run by a drunk, violent idiot hostels within a few blocks. Go to one of those. — The SnakeOiler , USA (2008-02-13) Filth and Disgust Apparently, a change of operation has accompanied the change of management. The pictures on this website have nothing to do with the actual hostel. The good points of this hostel are that it is located convenient to regional bus lines and has several nearby restaurants and shops. But, the place looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months -- right down to the dust bunnies mixed with hair in the dormitories and rusted bathrooms downstairs. There was a large portion of tile missing from the shower in the women's dorm, which was covered in plastic and duct tape. Men had similar comments about the men's side. The place was drenched in cigarette smoke. There are several residents looking for work in Denver and staying at the hostel, but none seemed to be problematic. Several mentioned that they were afraid to complain about conditions, for fear they would be asked to leave and have little place to go until they found permanent jobs in the city. The last straw was when I asked the manager and his friends to stop smoking (in front of their no smoking sign) and was screamed at for my rudeness and told that I had no right to tell them how to run their own home. I was told I was being "evicted" at 1 a.m. and gladly found lodging elsewhere. This could be a nice place, but unfortunately, it is a poorly maintained dump at present. — traveler , USA (2007-11-21) Excellent hostel! My experience here was fantastic. It's a great location -- not far from downtown, little shops and cafes nearby, and the place is cozy. The only issue I had was that the place doesn't have much in the way of air circulation, so it was a little warm, and humid. But, otherwise, the staff was friendly, the place is clean, and I'd highly recommend it! — Robin , USA (2007-07-30) This place was okay, not the best. The guy at check in didn't seem too friendly/helpful/talkative. I had a downstairs room. I found the place rather rundown and somewhat dirty, including the common room located in the basement, but by no means terrible. The staff did warm up a bit in the evening when they also were down in the common room watching TV with guests. One of the things I didn't like about this place was that about half the people staying there, including the guy I shared a room with, were not travelers at all, but rather long term residents who were there in between apartments, looking for a job, had been kicked out by their girlfriend. If you can, get a room upstairs. Overall, it's ok. — David , USA (2007-07-29)