The Hostelz.com Review
Located two miles from downtown and on the waterfront of town lake, Austin Hostel can be a place for anyone who wants to go party in the clubs on Sixth street or relax on the lake. It is less than a fifteen minute city bus ride from the major things to do in the city such as taking in the live music scene on Sixth Street, swimming in the Barton Springs natural pool, watching the Mexican bat going for hunt at the Congress St. Bridge, walking around the University of Texas or visiting Artistic neighborhood in South Congress (SoCo). One simply can rent a bike or a Canoe from the hostel and explore the city that way.
The hostel itself is non-profit and operates by the board of directors. It is not easily located in major bus road so most of the visitors with no car or taxi have to walk for a short distance to get there. The hostel has thirty-nine beds and most of them are used by males. Each room is occupied by average of fourteen beds (earplugs are recommended and are sold in the hostel). The beds are comfortable and don't make much noise.
Austin is known primarily for it's live music and nightlife, but this hostel isn't very conducive to visitors who want to stay out late to enjoy it. They go around and try to wake people up at 10 AM. And by 11 AM the bathrooms and rooms are closed, so you wanted to sleep in you have a very limited amount of time to get up and take a shower and go about your business, and frequently guests are forced out before they're ready. There isn't any reason they couldn't move back their cleaning schedule by an hour or so to fix this problem.
The bathrooms and showers are a downside of this hostel. The bathrooms are tight and the showers are divided into four sections by shower curtains with little privacy. The flow of the water is poor (with an "efficient" showerhead that puts out mostly air) with no temperature control and not placed high enough for someone tall.
The kitchen is usually clean and usable. Tea and coffee are provided if one wants to make them. Most days some local stores donate their bread to the hostel guests.
The common area is large and has a high ceiling with fans and nice couches to rest on. There is a guitar and piano for guests to use. There is also a friendly cat who is the long-time resident of the place who doesn't pay for his bed (cat allergy sufferers beware). There is also a TV room upstairs for people to watch TV or videos.
There are locker rooms, internet access and free wireless, and laundry facilities are one dollar wash/seventy-five cents dry with detergent for sale. There is also a phone for incoming or outgoing calls.
You can leave your luggage if you are checking out and come back after five to pick them up. There is no one from office from eleven to five but there is always someone staying over night for emergencies. Overall this hostel has a lot to offer to anyone from a traveler to someone hanging around to check out the great city of Austin.
The hostel itself is non-profit and operates by the board of directors. It is not easily located in major bus road so most of the visitors with no car or taxi have to walk for a short distance to get there. The hostel has thirty-nine beds and most of them are used by males. Each room is occupied by average of fourteen beds (earplugs are recommended and are sold in the hostel). The beds are comfortable and don't make much noise.
Austin is known primarily for it's live music and nightlife, but this hostel isn't very conducive to visitors who want to stay out late to enjoy it. They go around and try to wake people up at 10 AM. And by 11 AM the bathrooms and rooms are closed, so you wanted to sleep in you have a very limited amount of time to get up and take a shower and go about your business, and frequently guests are forced out before they're ready. There isn't any reason they couldn't move back their cleaning schedule by an hour or so to fix this problem.
The bathrooms and showers are a downside of this hostel. The bathrooms are tight and the showers are divided into four sections by shower curtains with little privacy. The flow of the water is poor (with an "efficient" showerhead that puts out mostly air) with no temperature control and not placed high enough for someone tall.
The kitchen is usually clean and usable. Tea and coffee are provided if one wants to make them. Most days some local stores donate their bread to the hostel guests.
The common area is large and has a high ceiling with fans and nice couches to rest on. There is a guitar and piano for guests to use. There is also a friendly cat who is the long-time resident of the place who doesn't pay for his bed (cat allergy sufferers beware). There is also a TV room upstairs for people to watch TV or videos.
There are locker rooms, internet access and free wireless, and laundry facilities are one dollar wash/seventy-five cents dry with detergent for sale. There is also a phone for incoming or outgoing calls.
You can leave your luggage if you are checking out and come back after five to pick them up. There is no one from office from eleven to five but there is always someone staying over night for emergencies. Overall this hostel has a lot to offer to anyone from a traveler to someone hanging around to check out the great city of Austin.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2006
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HI - Austin Hostel Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Very nice stay! what a fantastic place to stay. very helpful staff. clean beds and lots of room to make yourself at home. nice area of town to be. i had a car, but bus line is not far away. very well kept place. will be back again. felt like home. lots of very nice people to visit with from all countries abroad. cannot say enough great things about my stay. — nathan day , usa bedford texas (2011-07-21) SXSW I stayed here for a week, had no problems of any kind. Staff were courteous and friendly. Location is beautiful, five-minute walk to bus routes. People I met were mostly from Europe and very cool to talk to. I would stay here again without hesitation. Austin is a great city to visit. — steve 0. , usa (2011-03-26) Meh Sure it was super clean and the location is beautiful, but I really wasn't thrilled with this place. For one thing, my friend reserved it online, and when we got there, she ended up having to pay like $10 more than she was expecting, because of some kind of fee that's not listed on the web site. It was still only about $25/person, but I don't like the idea of "hidden fees." Also, The girl who checked us in kept cutting us off, and I thought she was really rude. She was rude to the people who checked in after us, too. It's a good place to crash if you just need somewhere quiet to get some rest, but I felt like I was in a library. — Monica , USA (2009-04-15) Relaxing lake-side hostel This hostel is a short bus ride from downtown Austin. The staff was helpful and the facilities were clean. The best thing about the hostel was that it was located off a beautiful lake. There was a large common area with free internet, couches, tables, books, and a piano, and it was a great place to relax. There was a kitchen were you could store and prepare your own food. I would definitely stay here again. — Michelle , USA (2009-03-12) A Great Place Location -- Great. I had a car, though, and I didn't use public transportation. But for someone with a car, you're about ten minutes from most tourist spots. Building -- Clean, bright, and comfortable. Everything is very well labeled. It's very thoughtfully stocked with pretty much anything you might need. There are bulletin boards everywhere showing you how to get around town and featuring attractions in and around town. Nicely decorated. Staff -- Very professional and friendly. More professional than many hotel chain staffers. Amenities -- Great! Free Wi-Fi and computers; plenty of books, board games, and other distractions if you need them. Neighborhood -- Not the nicest, but not at all bad. I felt safe and secure in and around the hostel. — Lily , United States (2008-04-28) Pretty good I enjoyed my two-night stay at this hostel. It was my first time, as an American, staying in a hostel in the U.S. and I wasn't sure what I was going to find, but I was pleasantly surprised. The girl working the front desk was very friendly, the rooms were clean, the beds comfortable, the environment friendly, the common room was large and spacious, the internet was free, and the bathrooms were clean. I had my car with me however, and it did seem to me even with the car to be more than a bit out of the way in Austin, even if the location itself on the lake is quite nice. — Anonymous , U.S. (2008-01-27) Oh my god i love this place. first off, if it was a house, it would be sold for millions, because it is in a beautiful location, with large, airy, rooms, free internet, even a free phone for local calls.
they have the right attitude and attract young travellers because of it. when i went there were 4-5 staff who knew everything good in the locality and 41 other likeminded people who wanted to see the best of austin and have fun doing it.
kayaks: $10? bargain
because its so large, lots of communal food- can live off it if you like
yes, it is out of the way, but taxis are cheap and transport isnt bad.
i could actually live here.
stay there. — Christian (2007-03-18) I had a really good time at this hostel -- it's clean, relaxing, and in a really good location by the lake. No idea about a housing project, I walked back there at 3 a.m. most mornings and felt perfectly safe. The lockout is a bit annoying but it's only four hours and the sofas are great for a quick afternoon nap if you're still tired. I found the staff pretty good. They're efficient and know their stuff, and the tall guy with long hair is really cool. An ideal place for exploring an absolutely brilliant city. — Tom (2007-02-26) This hostel is absolutely awesome! The bright and airy living room overlooks the Colorado river and is filled with comfy couches, perfect for lazing around. There's books in the library and the kitchen is well-stocked. The staff were totally friendly and helpful and gave great suggestions on things to do around town! The hostel was right at the start of the hike and bike trail -- bike rental was only 10 bucks! — Madison (2007-01-29) Went on a two month trip around the U.S.A. over the summer, stayed in sixteen hostels over all and this was by far the worst hostel of them all. The woman behind the desk with blonde, curly hair is offensively rude to most people. Yes the hostel is located next to a nice river but its also located next to a very dangerous housing estate (project) which I got told was a no go area by the police after dark. The all day hostel lock out is baffling, far enough the rooms but surely you don't have to lock up the rooms with lockers in for most of the day. Thats why lockers have locks, so nobody can get in them. And beware, You may find yourself locked out if you leave without a the daily hostel code. Overall very poor, Austin is a great place though. find yourself a cheap motel, there are plenty around for just 39$ a night. — James Davies (2006-11-29) I had a good time here. It's not too bad to get into the centre of Austin from here, but it's a bit of a walk to the bus stop. The only other problem with this place was the lockout -- do they really need six hours to clean four small dorms? Being on the lake is nice. I met some good and friendly people here too. The staff were fine. — PJ (2006-10-22) I have stayed in HI dozens of times all across the US and this was the furthest thing from a nice place to stay there is. The people I met were wonderful -- a couple of Swedish folks, and a guy from Holland were the only redeeming qualities. The staff would be better suited working at a prison camp. The guy who lives here must have gotten picked on as a kid and now is on a power trip. The staff is absolutely horrible. Rude and caustic does not even begin to describe the staff here. The lockout during the day is non-negotiable. There is no staff around in the event of an emergency. Unless the internet goes down, and then they will yell at you if you are using wi fi. I paid for wi fi, was given the code, and then got cussed out because it took the computers offline just by logging in. What a disaster! The grounds guy is nice, but doesn't have keys to get into the rooms. I felt more like a burden than a guest. Stay at a cheap hotel. You can still use the park that the hostel sites in. They will kick you out "because of your attitude" if you forget the door code at night. I saw three people get kicked out in a twelve-hour period. All for nothing. One guy was just sitting there playing chess. I will never stay here again. Austin is great though! — Youngrambler (2006-04-19) Some guidebooks rate HI-AUSTIN as the highest rated hostel within the USA. I was completely disappointed. The staff are not only cold, but go out of their way to be rude. For example, I had to wash two dishes right before leaving after a two-night stay. I politely asked one of the employees, who was using the sink, to allow me to wash my two dishes and informed her I would be just a few seconds as I needed to leave quickly. She then turned around and sneered at me and told me to back off. There were other instances where the staff made you feel more like an unwelcome criminal than a paying guest.
The people I met there were all lovely people and I wish I had more time to get to know them, but the managers there drove me out with the immaturity and lack of a basic understanding of hospitality.
Facilities were clean and kept up nicely. The common room was spacious, but frustratingly lifeless. Outside of one of the lady managers trying to hit on a British guy during the first evening of my visit, there was very little vibrancy at all. However, the accommodations are top notch and save the hostel a 1 star rating.
HI should look into this hostel, as there have been other complaints. Perhaps a reshuffling of management would make this a 5-star hostel. The location and the city can't be beat. I'd look forward to staying here when this is under new management. — Dave (2005-06-09) HI-Austin is the best hostel I've stayed in within the US. I've hosteled in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and DC.
The hostellers I met at HI-Austin are friendly. The common area is large and conducive to conversation. The bus stop is nearby, and the lake is a few hundred feet away (and there is a boat available for rent). Access to the computer kiosk and wireless Internet costs a total of $1. The kitchen is stocked with spices and food left behind by previous hostellers. There are laundry machines within the hostel ($1 wash/$.75 dry with detergent for sale if there isn't a free box in the laundry room), and there is a hostel piano and guitar for public consumption.
You have to leave your room and the dorm area by 11 a.m. But the common area is always open and the couches are comfortable. You could potentially spend a few more dollars on a motel. But there is no common area to meet like-minded travelers at a motel. The people who snore in your room at night may keep you up. You should bring earplugs. If you forget to bring your own, they sell them here.
This hostel isn't for everyone. If you're a light sleeper, need a private shower, need alcohol with you in the hostel, or have trouble getting up and out of your room by 11 a.m., you may find it hard to stay here.
In the end it's the hostellers that make the hostel. Visit Austin. Crash at HI-Austin. Eat breakfast and walk to the bus stop with hostellers. See Congress Ave. and 6th Ave. You may find it hard to leave.
I came here for Austin but found the hostel just as valuable of an experience. — Tevan Alexander (2005-03-20) This place sits on a lovely lake in a city park with comfy patios, which are nice for socializing. Some of the front desk people are friendly enough, too. And Austin truly lived up to its reputation as a fine town for the live music scene — one of the best I have encountered so far. BUT the bloke who lives in the hostel (right by the front door) must be some kind of reject from the infamous Texas prison system. What kind of organization would be stupid enough to pay someone like this to be around hostellers? He is THE rudest person I ever met in a hostel. There are plenty of cheaper hotels close by where you don't have to suffer this kind of humiliation. If you decide you have to try this place, DO NOT forget the door code. This chap will bite your head off when you least expect it. That is, unless he is too busy being full of himself and hitting on the women hostellers who are half his age. — London Chris (2005-01-23)