Chicago International Hostel

Chicago

3 of 7

Address	6318 North Winthrop Avenue, Chicago Illinois, USA Map
Price	$17+tax Check Current Prices by Date Here

Location/Contact

Details

This is a VIP hostel. Show your VIP Backpackers membership card for a discount at check-in.

Their Description

Features

Free Breakfast
Kitchen
Lockers
Bar
Lounge / Common space
24 Hour Free Hot Showers
Washing Machine (laundry)
Phones (public or in room)

The Hostelz.com Review

Chicago International Hostel is one of the cheapest in Chicago, while still being bearable. The decor and the hostelers have a decidedly international flavor, making the hostel a unique experience.

The Location

The location is ok. The hostel is located about three blocks away from both the Granville and Loyola metro stops on the red line. This means that via public transportation, you are thirty to forty minutes away from downtown Chicago, and maybe twenty minutes from the cool and rather yuppie neighborhood of Evanston. The hostel is located in a middle-class, primarily African American neighborhood nearby Loyola University. There's not a ton of local culture or places to eat, but at least you can buy necessities nearby.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Each bed (which is a regular bed, not bunked) includes drawers for storing luggage. However, the doors on the rooms do not have locks, and the only lockers in the hostel are tiny. Additional complaints are the lack of air conditioning (which makes visiting in August rough) and that the train runs nearby, making a lot of noise (this would not be a problem if you go to bed late, however, as the train stops running at midnight). Male and female bathrooms are present on every floor, containing a few stalls and showers, but amenities leave something to be desired. Half the showers are missing curtains, the toilet paper is in need of replacing, and there is no soap provided (bring your own).

Common Spaces

The common spaces are rather roomy, and the eclectic decorations are nice in a bohemian sort of way. There is a large living room with a television and a piano. There is a kitchen (it is roomy and well-equipped for people to cook and eat together, but it smells kind of funky). There is also a laundry room and a back room for free luggage storage (only the hostel staff has keys). The hostel is not overly crowded, but other hostelers are sociable and friendly enough, despite the sweltering heat.

Summary

Overall, we find the hostel to be ok. For Chicago, the price is good. Additionally, the hostel decor is rather charming in its own way (everything from oriental furniture to numerous music and movie posters). However, amenities are not what one could find at one of the nicer chain hostels, and without air conditioning, staying for several days in the 90-degree summer could be unpleasant. Additionally, checkout is rather early at 9:30 a.m., and even when not checking out, the hostel requires that hostelers not be in the hostel from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for cleaning (so no sleeping in). If you can live with the drawbacks, we recommend the hostel for the price, especially in the more moderate months of spring and fall. If you are looking for a hostel primarily to visit sites in downtown Chicago though, and you don't have a car, you may want to look for a hostel actually located downtown.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2007

Ratings & Comments

2.8 Average from 32 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.

Comment by Javid Kahn, Pakistian

October 2009

It is a sh*thole
This place is a peace of sh*t. It is nasty. The owner is cheap and mean and yells and scream. Why do you promote such a disgrace of a hostel. The staff are rude and stupid. No one should stay here. I got bedbugs and lice while staying here. Do not book this hostel. It is a peace of sh*t and a real sh*thole.

Comment by Harry, England

September 2009

Avoid like the plague.
A vile, nasty, and poisonous place to stay. Don't be fooled by the low price. you get much less than you pay for. Spend a few extra dollars and stay at somewhere that at least presents a veneer of caring for their customers. The faults are almost too many to list, but most are linked to the fact that the owner and staff all border upon being criminally negligent. If you stay there you have no choice but to leave all your valuables in unlocked rooms, since they give you no key and there are no lockers. You are kicked out of the hostel from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. everyday, when they "clean" and provide you with "freshly laundered" sheets. This minor frustration would be justifiable if anything in the hostel could be labeled clean. The place is a dump from top to bottom. The toilets are a particular highlight, walls coated with dead flies, cobwebs in the rafters, a layer of piss across the floor, and various fungi growing on the shower curtains. However, my particular favourite is the bedrooms. Do not expect to sleep in comfort, you are right next to the El and trains go past every fifteen minutes throughout the night. I heard the sounds of people having sex out the window every now and then. The rooms have no air con and are thus always too hot or too cold. I woke up every now and then throughout the night and had to put on a jumper. However the piÃ©ce de rÃ©sistance is the state of the beds which swarm with bedbugs as the state of my body can currently testify. In short, do not stay at Chicago International Hostel unless you want to leave looking like a person in a Seurat painting. I have said nothing yet about the attitude of the people who work there, and I wont because I can't be bothered, and neither can they. Also, it's next to a mental asylum. Woops! Forgot to mention that in your location description, didn'tcha.

Comment by ermadi, Spanish

June 2009

Do not stay there, worst hostel ever seen (out more than twenty)
Cleanliness. Absolutely repulsive, no joke. Men's bathroom is really filthy, both the toilets, the showers and the sink (full of insects). Believe it or not, nobody cleaned the bathroom in the five days I stayed there. They didn't even collect some litter from the floor (neither in the bathrooms nor in the dorms). Guests must leave the hostel from 11 to 4, they are supposed to clean but believe me, they don't. There is no fitted sheet in the beds, so you know that you sleep in the same place as somebody else did before. But there is something much worse that people usually don't know -- a roommate left the hostel and the staff didn't change the sheets for the next guest! They just made the bed and pretend them to be fresh! Security. There are no keys for the rooms, you have to ask in reception for them to open the door for you. The result of this (stupid) rule is that the door is always open, and anyone can enter in the dorms. There are no lockers in the rooms, and the staff should know that it is very likely that you get robbed, because they make you sign a document stating that you agree that they are not responsible for lost items. We complained about the lack of lockers, and they offered to take care of our items for us, but would anybody in his right mind accept this after having signed that they are not responsible for the lost of items? Price. Once you arrive at the hostel, they do not pay the conditions of your booking regarding the amount of money to be paid at your arrival. They claim that they do not receive the 10% that you pay in advance as a deposit and that you must repay it (never seen before). Also, they also tell you that you must pay some taxes which do not appear in the terms and conditions (as it is the common and lawful situation). At the end, the price to pay is rather arbitrary and not so cheap. Furthermore, the hostel is very far from downtown, so you have to pay for the public transport which is not cheap either ($2.25 to $2.50 a single ride). Location. Close to a metro station, but very far from the city centre and the main attractions. Be prepared to spend a lot of time and money on the public transport. Staff. Sounds unbelievable, but the staff are even worst than the rest. They obviously do not like their job, and only care about the money. The one guy was extremely unhelpful, insensitive, and miserly. He ripped us off, saying that there was an overbooking and that we had to pay again a deposit of 10% that we had already paid. He also invented some additional taxes for us to pay. He changed the price for us to pay twice of three times, it was absolutely arbitrary. No apologies for the overbooking, no understanding of the situation, they only care the money. Arguments as solid as "this is Chicago, men," "I didn't make the rules," and such. It came as no surprise to me that there is a big poster of Al Capone in the reception, the staff obviously follow his example. We booked a private three-bed room for the women, and two beds in a dormitory for the men. At least they could have had the detail of arranging a five-bed room for all of us, but they didn't want to forget the sex-separated rooms (stupid) rule. Check-out time is at 9:30 a.m. Every guest must leave the hostel from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There male and female dorms, but no mixed ones. The elevator does not work (I guess that it has never done). If you really have to or want to go to Chicago, there are more hostels. I don't know them but I don't need to -- stay at other place.

Comment by Erica, USA

April 2009

Not bad
Not bad, especially considering the price. (what else were people expecting for about $22 a night?) This was the first time I had stayed at a hostel, and didn't know exactly what to expect. Stayed two nights, check in and check out was a breeze. The staff was very friendly, and even though they say check out is at 9:30 a.m., they let me check out three minutes before they closed for cleaning without any fuss. The extremely squeaky men's bathroom door on the second floor was more of a bother than the noise from the train. As long as you wear shower shoes, the bathroom was decent. It could definitely be cleaner, but there was plenty of warm water, and it warmed up fast. Every time I came back to the hostel during the day, the door to my "dorm" room was locked, which was a little bit of a inconvenience, but kind of reassuring. The beds were pretty uncomfortable, and my comforter had some questionable stains. None of my stuff was ever touched, and I lucked out and had some cool people in my room. Definitely not a bad experience overall.

Comment by Adam, us

October 2008

Something's missing
I have stayed in a few hostels and didnt get what i've come to expect. The staff was rude, at check in i was treated like i was inconveniencing them as i was only staying the night. i was told at least twice about the 9:30 check out and when i went to leave at 7 to make a meeting they acted surprised. also there is no liquor allowed -- while this didnt affect me i know it may some people and with these policies and the commercial/industrial bare bones look of the dorm areas you get a feeling almost like your in a shelter. finally the hostel is three floors with no elevator. All I can say is I was warned and didnt listen.

Comment by Lilly, Austria

September 2008

Horrible times three -- stay away!
this was horrible! i've stayed at another very horrible hostel before and it has found its match! the sheets were dirty, there was hair that was not mine or my friends everywhere (shower, bed, floor), the floor was dirty (i would have never walked bare foot there), the towels were stained (don't wanna know with what). the bathroom was gross, too. the hostel closes for cleaning but then we came back after we have been out all day and the door we locked (we had to leave a deposit of $20 to even get our own key) was open. good thing we hid our stuff in a closet! after questioning the manager he told us they don't even touch the room as long as you stay there -- so when exactly is it being cleaned? good thing we didn't plan to stay for a week. he even was fresh enough to ask me why the door was open -- and then didn't have an answer when i wanted an explanation! i can just advise everybody to stay away -- it's outrageous to charge 30 bucks a night for a place like that.

Comment by Caro, German

July 2008

Excellent value for money
People please understand this is a hostel and not a hotel with a $ sign. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Location is great. twenty-five minutes from City and three blocks from the lake. Bathrooms were clean and kitchen was amply equipped. Security was good as the staff are vigilant and always present at the front desk.

Comment by Thomas, Switzerland

November 2007

Awful!
ok, first we booked a private room. Once we got there, they didn't have any room for us. So we were stuck in two dorms. Then the owners were really unfriendly and not honest. They wanted us to pay twice the reservation fee because we paid for a private room but we only got dorms. They tried to cheat on two hundred four minus sixteen. According to them that equals to one hundred ninety-two -- first new! If we didn't get upset, they would not have changed their mind! Some girls were stuck in dorms for three days although they had booked for private rooms. And everyday the owner says "tomorrow we'll find a room for you." We finally found an agreement and went to the dorms. Dirty is just a word next to the real state of the room. No blanket other than the common one. Good luck to find one without hair or blood on it. Then if you like sharing your bed with insects it is a good place. But it was not my case! What a nightmare! the heat during the night and the noise of the train make your stay more unpleasant! The next day they could find a private room for us. What a good new! We also could leave our bag in the room. unfortunately it was too early and the room was not cleaned yet. The owner promised that it'll be cleaned by the time we'll be back. Surprise when we got back, nothing in the room had moved. No clean sheets, no light in the bathroom. we almost had to fight to get some cleaned sheets and blankets. The worst hostel ever.

Comment by Deni, USA

November 2007

Worst place I have stayed while doing travel
Having arrived the host had to search for my group's reservation once again because it was misplaced. During my stay here, three days/two nights, the group had to change rooms four times. There were bedbugs in the sheets in two of the four rooms. Our belongings were relocated from one room, which we locked, into another without our permission. We were told that only management had a key to our locked room but wouldn't enter unless given permission. However management did not attempt to contact anyone before entering the room to move our things from one place to another. We were not compensated for the rooms with the bugs and were told when we showed the bugs to management that they knew of the bugs existence. However we weren't apprised of this key fact before having booked the room. Having traveled to a third world country and lived in their housing, I stand by my statement that this is the worst lodging experience I have had away from my own home.

Comment by peter

September 2007

Horrible
As a matter of fact, it was the most disgusting place that I've ever gone. I had an unpleasant chance of meeting bedbugs, small creatures that live in mattresses and dirty places. Bedbugs are really terrible. they make you have a terrible allergy that itches a lot. What is more, the parking space does not have enough space for many cars, maybe only six to eight and you will have to go around until one space is vacant. Finally, the bathroom is awful, too.

Comment by Rosie, British

August 2007

Not bad
These pictures aren't the true state of the hostel! Its not bad, near to the L (subway) station, although about 30mins from downtown. Staff were pretty unhelpful although I could check out at 5am with no hassles. Rooms don't have locks, although we did have fans and my room was clean - although some of the boys dorms did have some sort of bedbugs. Although bathrooms were ok etc so no major complaints!

Comment by Jesse, USA

June 2007

Good hostel, unorganized staff.
Best part of the hostel is the lounge/social area -- lots of comfortable chairs/couches, with books to read, playing cards, chess, a piano, and internet. The worst part was the staff. Although they were not unfriendly, they seemed to be very unorganized. I had to wait fifteen minutes to get checked in, even though there was only one party in front of me. My check-in then took over five minutes, even though I had my confirmation number, payment, and photo ID waiting in hand. The desk worker could not find my reservation anywhere on their list. There were three or four people waiting behind me. At the rate the clerk was going, the last person in line probably had to wait almost an hour! At check-out there was a different employee, but same result -- he couldn't find my name in their records, and a line had formed by the time I finally finished checking out. This was the only bad part about the hostel, and to me it was not a big problem. If you are an impatient person you might not like the staff, but I didn't mind so much. The men's restroom is pretty old and smelly, but bedrooms are fine. Very good value for the price, and it's probably the cheapest place to stay in the whole city. The hostel is a bit far from downtown (twenty-five-minute train ride), but it is very easy to get there. Just walk down the street and get on the red line and it goes right to the heart of the city -- no transfers or connections necessary.

Comment by scott, canada

May 2007

This is a good hostel made better with low cost and proximity to the Red Line "L".

Comment by Pete

May 2006

Great hostel and great location. Clean, friendly staff, organized events, game room. Hostel Internationls are always a bit on the pricey side, but usually worth it (any hotel in this area of Chicago would run at least $200/night). If you're driving, keep in mind parking near the Hostel is $18/night.

Comment by verity

April 2006

Very disappointed with our week stay. Some staff friendly, others very rude. Hostel unclean, we were in a private room and the bin wasn't emptied for the whole week. Train noise unbearable and they run regularly twenty-four hours a day. Bathrooms don't even have soap and showers not nice. Regularly reminded of the 'curfew' if not out by ten a.m. Free breakfast is one bagel -- mine was mouldy so didn't go back for more! It's a long way to downtown and subway regularly breaks down. My advice is steer clear, there are plenty of other hostels in chicago.

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