Venice Beach Hostel - Pacific Avenue

Venice Beach Hostel on Pacific Avenue is a very basic hostel with a great location and mediocre accommodations. One thing to note before checking in is that there is a $100 deposit required for each person staying here and if you put it on your credit card, they say it will take up to a week for the charges to clear. This hostel is located one block from Venice beach and is across the street from a couple coffee shops and restaurants. The closest bus route is just a couple blocks away.

We stayed in a six-bed mixed dorm, and while it is a little cramped, there is a private bathroom and closet space that help make it feel more spacious. The room has a computer that is hooked up to the internet and while the room doesn't have WiFi, you can connect through the ethernet line that the room computer uses, as long as someone else is not using it.

The mattresses are ok but a little creaky. The sheets are clean. The room has an overall outdated and dirty feeling (it is an old building that could use some fresh paint), but they do clean the rooms each day. We found two little, red, roachlike bugs on our suitcase when we woke up in the morning -- not surprising, as there are many open windows without screens on them in this building. There are two wooden bunk beds and one metal in our room. Laundry is down the hall and generic detergent is available for free use.

There are two main common space areas with old couches covered up with sheets. The furniture is secondhand but serves its purpose. The kitchen has an open floor plan that connects to the shared rooms. Smoking is allowed in these rooms and also in the kitchen. There is a computer in the main room that can be used to check email or do video chatting. There is a luggage storage room off of the kitchen and we were allowed to store our bags there after we checked out so we could go out on the beach for a few hours before taking off to our next destination.

The people we met during breakfast were very nice and we all helped each other out because we were all having problems figuring out the "free breakfast." Breakfast is provided in the form of pancake mix that you must mix and cook yourself and very strong coffee that you must drink out of bowls because the kitchen has no mugs. Creamer and sugar are provided.

This hostel was a little expensive for the quality it provided, but given the location, we were willing to pay a bit more. We were in our rooms long enough to sleep and shower, and for that purpose, this hostel is great. If you are planning on hanging around and visiting all day this may not be the right place for you.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2007