Arlington House International Hostel

Interesting people, no A/C except dorms, bug investation in Room 229
If you use this hostel, stay away from Room 229 and those contiguous to it on all floors. My cousin and I stayed there July 2008. No A/C so we brought our own fans. On our second night we found we were being invaded by some sort of blood sucking bugs similar to ticks but not ticks themselves. When told of the problem at 3 a.m., the front desk clerk was very accommodating but never appeared surprised by the situation. When we asked for a refund we were given what we asked for. My suspicion is that this is a recurrent problem. We even encountered a woman who was pretty well bit up on her arms and complained about bugs in her room. Good luck to all who stay there.

It was like summer camp but without arts and crafts.
I went to Chicago this summer not knowing where I was going to stay. Luckily they had a room open for me. I ended up in the huge room with about twenty-two other women, and they told that in a couple weeks I would be put in a room with only three other people. I was excited about that, but they gave my room to someone else. I knew that was a possibility though, because preference goes to international customers, so I was ok with that. The room was one of the only rooms with air conditioning, and trust me the other guests took full advantage of that. It was usually freezing! I tried to adjust the temperature, but by they next day someone had made it freezing again. I woke up one morning with my hoodie on, hood up, and my sleeves covering my hands, and I was still shivering. That's not the hostel's fault. I was just really cold. Anyways, other than that the room itself was nice. I wish it had had more electrical outlets, because I needed to charge my phone, and there were only, like, two, and they were usually being used. That was frustrating. Also the big room for twenty-four women was right across from the kitchen and common area, so it would get really noisy at night, drunk people and loud music. As far as bathrooms go, I used the one on my floor (there was only the one the whole floor) for the first couple of nights, but in the middle of the week, the shower was clogged up, so I started going upstairs to take a shower. I didn't mind that though. Those showers were really nice actually. I was kind of glad the shower clogged up, so I would have a reason to go explore the rest of the hostel. The staff is really friendly. I had a lot of trouble with the lock on the door to my room, and I would have to pray that one of the other twenty-three girls was in there to let me in sometimes. I liked the location a lot. It was a very nice quiet neighborhood with cool stores and really close to the train. In fact, the location was perfect. As young girl who was staying in the city, or anywhere for that matter, by herself for the first time, I felt completely safe. I enjoyed my stay here for the most part. There were just a couple little bumps in the road. Oh, and bring your own pillow and blanket, so you won't get cold like me (Or just grow more of a backbone and be like, "Listen, about trying to make it snow in here -- not working for me") and because their pillows were quite flat. I liked staying here. I met some really cool people, one of which I still talk to regularly. I really hope I didn't make it sound like an awful place to stay. I'm just trying to be completely up front about the cons, but I would definitely recommend this place to other travelers.

This was my first ever hosteling experience. I arrived for a Friday/Saturday night stay and had booked two beds for two people, and somehow when we arrived I was told I only booked two beds for one person. Luckily there was two beds left (in a dorm room with nineteen beds) so we were able to stay there. I heard the front desk employee say to one of the guests that they (referring to the hostel management) had overbooked and were having to turn people away. I only was around enough to interact with two of the hostel employees (the afternoon and the midnight shift) and both seemed no-nonsense types, but this was probably from the frustration of the overbooking. The hostel itself seemed decent. The beds were comfortable enough, but the door was in awful shaped and made a loud noise every time it was shut which I am sure wasn't appreciated by the eighteen other people sleeping in the room (Room L11, by the way). The bathroom was oddly put together with one toilet with no door, a sink which was more private than the toilet, and a shower. I believe (not 100% sure) that this was shared among the entire male population at the hostel. Plus, it was on the opposite side of the hostel from my room so I had to do quite a bit of walking. The kitchen was nice and had a "free" shelf which was great for me. Although, I had trouble finding any bowls (which I probably should have brought), so I couldn't eat the "free" cereal. The social area was great with travelers from all over the world throughout. It was a bit out of the city, about ten minutes from downtown and next time, just for this reason, I think I'll stay somewhere closer. Public transportation is great in Chicago, but it was a bit confusing for someone who had never stayed there before, especially since the Red Line train was down for a bit on Saturday evening. Like I said, this was my first hosteling experience, so I can't compare it to others. Even though I mentioned aspects they can improve on, it was an overall very enjoyable time. Perhaps the staff can just be a little more organized and polite.

I stayed here a couple of years ago, and I found it fine. It's not in the centre of town, but the area is really nice, with lots of night life, swedish bakeries, hippie cafes, record shops, gay bars. Great spot. The hostel is nothing special, but it really was fine for what we paid.

I've given this hostel 2 chances when I visited Chicago. This hostel is in a great neighborhood--unfortunately I have to agree with most of the comments about the place being dirty and the staff impersonal to say the least. They dont even look you in the eye when they talk to you! And it also seems to house longer term residents, some of them that I've found to be very strange. Ladies be careful who you talk to! If you MUST stay here do not bunk in the basement rooms. They are the dirtiest and you'll come across some scary looking spiders. There is no air conditioning but they do have cable TV. It would be better to spend the money on improving the place overall. You have to pay for internet & I found the equipment annoyingly difficult to operate.

I stayed here for a while just a few years ago, and it was a generally ok place. Until one morning, this older, apparently mentally unbalanced person (she liked to use the toilet with the door open) staying in our female dorm room had to use the bathroom while someone was in the shower. She knocked on the door, but the person did not hear. So, she tried to get out the room, but as it was humid the door was stuck. So, before anyone could help her with the door, she peed in the garbage can. Yes, peed in the garbage can. She took the clear plastic bad out of the can and place it in the hallway (for pickup?!). I went down to tell the front desk person about this, and that there was a clear bag of urine sitting in the hallway for anyone to see. Don't you know, this guy told me that he could do nothing until the cleaning staff arrived later that morning. So, of course, you never know who you'll share a room with at a hostel; but my issue was with that front desk guy's reaction. Just, the bag of pee must wait.

Ok, this is the grungy alternative to HI. its not terribly dirty but its not as clean as the HI. it's a very friendly hostel where you can't help but get talking to somone. It may not be downtown but its not a bad area, you're only two or three blocks from the Metro line to Downtown which takes maybe fifteen minutes. a block away is Clarke Street which has some nice places to get food which are open quite late as well as cybercafes, comic shops and a bout half a mile from Arlingon, an Art House cinema. you're also not far from Lincoln Park Zoo [which is free] and Lake Michigan

This hostel did the job and was great for chicago and was in a very good location. I was pretty clean and had a good kitchen/common room. The staff were friendly enough but did the bare minimum, they are still trying to improve this place, and the owner was going around writing notes for improvement meaning this place should get better. It's near a great internet cafe, screenz on N. Clark just near diversy and it's near great restaurants, transport to downtown and the beach. I recommend staying here over the other hostels and hopefully it'll improve. Parking was a pain though for people who had a car but it is in any city.

I can't understand why this place is getting such a bad rap. I stayed there for a few days last month and found it to be quite good. The neighborhood is top-notch. The room was fine. I have been in a lot worse rooms all over the world. I thought the staff was good, in particular, the manager. He was helpful, friendly, and gave us no problems whatsoever. I would highly recommend the Arlington.

I have stayed at the arlington house thru the summer and i have to say that I have always enjoyed the arlington house, not only its location, but also the staff and guest that come and stay at this hostel. it is neat and clean and run well by the manager which is always accommodating and helpful. he as well as the staff will help you with information about city events, directions, and fun and exciting things to do when you come and stay here at The Arlington House. i would recommend this hostel to everyone!

Private room was overpriced, resembled a prison cell, and unbreathable (no fan or air-con). Was so hot that both the carpet and toilet seat were burning. Was told there were no fans, and advised to sleep in the common room as the only room with air-con. Reception also advised us ‘it was a hostel and was ment to be sh!t' – another bunch of incompetent morons hired with no customer service skills. Common room had ten others already in there, and spent the night on the floor for $60. Manager was an absolute wan#er – I was screamed upon, patronized, sworn at, and told at 3 a.m. I had a choice to have left and found somewhere else to sleep. Refused point blank to refund. I was mortified. Canceled my next four nights, and left with a near-nervous breakdown! Checked into a hotel, to try and make the most of my stay in the city. Yet again, Hostelz.com have let me down with another bad suggestion of a hostel.

I have stayed in many different hostels over my last year of travelling and Arlington House has to have been the worst! Please listen to mine and other people's reviews so that a stay here doesn't completely ruin your trip, like it did mine! My friend and I arrived at Arlington in the middle of a humid night and checked into our private room which we had treated ourselves to. The room could barely fit two beds in it for a start, so was hardly worth the price being charged, but more annoying was the fact that the room had no air con, not even a fan. It was so stuffy that it was literally hard to breathe in there. We asked a guy on reception if there was a fan we could borrow, to be told that they only have enough fans for two-thirds of the rooms and they'd all been given out. When we said that it was impossible to sleep in there (unless you just passed out!) another guy came over and very patronisingly told us 'its a hostel, its supposed to be sh*t'. Well, I've stayed in many hostels, I know exactly how sh*t they can be, but it shouldnt be when you're paying three times the price of a dorm, and I've also never dealt with such rude staff before in any other hostel. He then told us that the media room was the only room with air con and that we could sleep in there if we wanted. We didn't really have a choice, and went into the Media Room, where we found over ten other guests sleeping! All the chairs had been taken so we were left to sleep on the floor! The next morning we decided to check out and cancel our other nights there. Despite the fact that we had slept on the common room floor the Manager refused to give us any money back for the previous night because apparently we had 'chosen' to sleep there instead of our room. He informed us that the guy that told us to sleep in there didn't even work there!! The Manager was very rude and arrogant and said that we could have left if we weren't happy. Well as two young girls on our own we know better than to check out of hostels at three a.m. and wander the streets in a strange city, thanks! Aside from the hostel itself being unsleepable, the staff were rude, patronising, and obnoxious. Do not stay here.

A place to be avoided in my experience. The staff are largely surly, approaching being rude. The manager, in particular, gives the impression of disgust towards anyone who would stay there. In retrospect I can almost understand why. Private rooms are overpriced for what you get and, again, do not seem well cared for. On our return, we found that our room had been infested with bedbugs and that we had both been bitten all over. I understand that hostels are prone to this problem, but when we complained, the manager was extremely unhelpful, frequently rude and unwilling to offer anymore than fifteen percent discount. The only redeeming feature of this hostel is its undeniably great location in a pleasant part of Chicago within easy reach of public transport. Overall, spend a few tens of dollars more per night and stay in a B&B or hotel.

The Arlington House situates itself in a prime location, which is the hostel's best attribute. After this, the lobby and rec room were very nice, although we didn't spend much time there but noticed that a lot of others were socializing. The bathrooms were less than average, with only one out of the five or so women's stalls having a lock. We had a problem locking our door and at the end of the trip, we realized that we probably hadn't locked it correctly during the whole weekend. The rooms look barren (no decor whatsoever) but the beds were more or less comfortable. People from around the globe were staying at the Arlington House. The staff was friendly. All in all, the Arlington House was a good place to stay for a low price because the location can't be beat.

I will let everyone know not to stay here. The neighborhood is the best. Beautiful and safe. As soon as i arrived there was a young man who seemed very unstable. He approached me with many questions. I asked the 2 girls at the desk if I would be safe with him around. They said yes, then put me in a private room next to his. For the next 3 days he constantly approached me trying to invite conversation. On my third night he played loud music from 10pm til 230am. I called the front desk to complain. The young man at the front desk explained to me that he was "mental and not to be reasoned with." I also found out that he had been there for 9 months and was constantly terrorizing people. The wacko was asked to lower his music because there were complaints. The wacko became violent wanting to know who was complaining, cussed out the front desk guy. The police had to be called, I had to be moved to another room. The front desk guy spent his time with a bat in his hand to protect himself because the police did nothing. The manager did not want to reimburse me the night of the incident because she said it was the first time someone complained to her. I told her she was lying. The employee had told me and the police that he was an ongoing problem for 9 months. They knew he was a threat to the peace and safety of guests and they did nothing about it. She did finally reimburse me 2 nights. The price for a private room on the website is $68.00 I was quoted $71.00 when i made the reservation and when I arrived it was $73.00. Do not stay there if you are a female or traveling with children. There is no security and the front desk cannot see who goes in and out from where their view is. I want to thank George the front desk guy for helping me and protecting me. The wacko was a physical threat to George and that is why he had to have a bat with him for the rest of the evening.