LA Backpackers Paradise Hostel

Good clean fun and relaxing place -- recommend to everyone
Nice and helpful staff and friendly. lots of free stuff. good people to meet. clean twenty-four-hour heated pool. cheap beer. one of the best places in Los Angeles.

A large heated swimming pool in a hostel? What the #&*%?!
As far as this place is concerned, for the price, it's pretty good! Sure, you've got some planes going by, some noisy neighbors from time to time, and it's probably not the tidiest place you've been to, but for $18 (with tax) for a pool, dinner, champagne, coffee, muffin, a shuttle to-and-from Venice Beach and the airport, clean-looking-and-smelling sheets all included in the price -- in L.A. -- it's hard to beat that! Yeah, you might have to load and unload your luggage, it's a free ride (and do not forget to tip the driver either!). You should consider not venturing out at night around Inglewood on foot (you might also consider not staying in the hostel if you have never listened to old-school L.A. area Rap/Hip-Hop). One thing to note, though -- the shuttle to Venice Beach (as far as I can remember) leaves at Noon from the hostel and at 4 from Venice Beach (because the dinner is at 6, I guess, and there'll be traffic), so it's not too much time. I don't know about the Hotel portion of it. When we stayed there, we didn't even take advantage of the free dinner and the rides to Venice Beach (we -- a guy and a girl -- rented a car for a couple of days instead), but it was still very much worth it! Positive -- close walk to stores and restaurants (mostly chains), jukebox by the pool (did I mention the pool is heated?). Negatives -- overpriced pool tables; probably not the best place to load up on sleep if you're staying in the dorms (but the partying varies by the day, and the planes are not so noisy at night); also they don't mention it on the website, but if you have a U.S. passport you might be required to stay in a private room instead of the cheaper dorms. Overall -- Pretty good!

Think twice -- are you really that desperate!
Whenever I have been in LA, it's only for a short time so I've sucked it up for a brief stay, however the last time I was there is was terrible! They advertise themselves in two ways, One as a hostel, but also as an affordable hotel. The first night we were booked, we thought we were checking into a hotel only to find out it was this place. We ended up staying in the dorms as there were no hotel rooms left. They were dirty and unclean, along with very close to a noisy area which we a specifically requested not to be. The next day we were put into out "hotel" room which was only three doors down from the dorm room we were in the night before and despite another specific request to be somewhere quieter than the night before. the staff during this transition were extremely rude and very inconsiderate. The morning my friends were leaving, music was booming at 8:30 a.m. and no one in sight. I had gone down to reception at 11:45 a.m. to find out when shuttles were picking guests up to take them to the airport. she claimed that we had to be in the lobby and that there was not a specific time but that she would call the driver to pick us up. It would be about half an hour. So we had to haul all their luggage down and wait. After forty-five minutes, my friend asked her about the pick up and she said "oh it it'll be here around 1 p.m." To which I had asked her why she would have us come down so early and why it is hour and fifteen minutes, and not the half hour she had told me before. Then in her polite manner, got on her microphone thing and yelled angry into it "driver, there are angry customers in the lobby for pickup." As if this is my fault. The pickup driver wasn't any friendlier. We had to open the doors ourselves as well as load our luggage. Once at the airport, we had to unload our luggage ourselves. I asked the driver in kind of a joking way "you having a bad day or something." He just said it had to do with the lobby girls. Now in my opinions, we were conned into the hotel aspect of this. We were paying customers. We received rude service from the lobby staff on more than one occasion. The driver was unhelpful with luggage and very unfriendly. In my opinion this is the worst hostel I have been to. The manager was outside drunk one night and after I'd asked him to deal with noise outside my window at 1:30 a.m. I then realized it was him making the noise. They hire backpackers which I totally agree is great, however there is a standard to be kept in this industry, and they are well below. Please, the website looks alright I guess, and they are cheap! but save yourself the drama and check in somewhere else!

Scary
My friend and I stayed at this hostel a few years ago now. It was our first stop on our year-long trip so didn't have much of a clue as to what to expect from a hostel! The dorm was filthy with rubbish and plates of food half-eaten everywhere, cats were roaming about the dorms, the doors didn't lock, bathrooms horrible. We tried to get the bus into Hollywood one night but we were picked up and told by two different police cars to get back to the hostel as quickly as possible as it wasn't safe for two girls to be out on their own! The hostel staff happily pointed us the right direction though. So that was end of our night out! The free dinner was inedible. I would advise anyone to stay clear!

I stayed here in August 1998 and also May 2003. I liked the decor of the place, bar, reception, very original 70s retro, instead of today's vapid styles. I didnt mind the planes too much, but then I like airliners. a marvel (but taken for granted) of modern technology. Some staff were quite friendly, but one, big burly guy was really nasty and like a bully. With the absurd age restriction of 30 (only hostel I've known to have this prejudice) I had been allowed in for a few nights. (I was 35 at the time.) Due to difficulty with accommodation I'd had with a friend there, then being in the nearby hospital after an accident, this burly bully guy was going to throw me out on my ear in the dodgy neighbourhood (where I'd already had a close shave night before, gun involved, lucky cops turned up when they did) at midnight! Fortunately there was another much nicer guy at the desk with an iota of compassion who persuaded the bully who, funnily enough was about the same age as me. Patrons, well plenty of narcissist posers, but that goes with the city, I guess.The last night I ever spent there, it was almost full, and I had a foldaway bed. as I opened this bed, I felt a hard metallic object sitting in it. Couldn't see what it was as it was darkened. It was a handgun, cocked! Lucky I hadn't touched the trigger! Inadvertently my fingerprints were on it and I felt reporting it to reception would have had the cops around, and in U.S.A. half the time you are guilty till proven otherwise, myself and another guy in room, simply uncocked the gun and left it in cupboard. I was at LAX on standby to leave for U.K. next day, I dreaded another night in this awful city. My relief was such when I was told I had a seat made the first flight, I nearly threw up after hours of immense anxiety. The complimentary drink soon after take-off was well received!

It is cheap if you are on a budget that is all I can say. The neighborhood is really ghetto and dangerous. I did not feel safe at night though I rented a car. The night I checked in these was this guy at the gate of the hotel asking me for money. I called the security from inside which is ideally supposed to be outside guarding the premises. They serve coffee and a single muffin in the name of breakfast which is well not that bad though. The items available for 99 cents are not that bad. A twenty-bed dorm has only one single bathroom available which is a pain in the neck and plus it is not too hygienic. Yes, it is a place for the homeless Americans without jobs. In the dorm there were these old ladies who kept coughing through the night. Yes the staff is very snooty and not helpful.

The hotel sucks. it's dirty, the showers barely work, it's in a crappy neighborhood, and the staff members are very rude. i didn't know that a continental breakfast was a muffin with coffee. you can hear planes all night long, so it's hard to get a good sleep. they close everything at midnight. it's very far from everything, it's almost impossible to grab a bus to go anywhere, and they change prices once you get there. They told me it was fifty per night but they charged me seventy. it's the crappiest hotel i've ever been to, but the girls at bar are hot.

My two daughters and I arrived at L.A. with nowhere to stay and picked this place off the board at the airport. Rang and were told the van would be there in fifteen minutes and it was. We had a private room which was fine. The pool was nice and the free bus to Venice Beach great. Wasn't noisy when we were there and the staff were ok. It was cheap so we didn't expect the earth but it was ok.

This is the cheapest hostel in L.A. and is very close to the airport. I stayed here with three friends after arriving in L.A. for a night. We were picked up from the airport free of charge. The dorm smelt a bit damp and was warm at night but was of a reasonable standard. The hostel supplied spotless towels for guests use and the bedding and bathrooms were clean. We enjoyed ninety-cent hot dogs and beers, free fizzy wine and dinner (basic but good for those on a budget) and free coffee and muffins for breakfast. The pool was very busy on arrival and looked clean. The area seemed pretty dodgy so we didn't go out after dark and the dorm was pretty noisy, so wasn't great for us as we'd just come off a long flight and didn't get a great sleep, but generally you don't get much sleep in dorms anywhere. Overall though it was great value for money at ten dollars a night.

What a dump. Unsafe, dirty rooms, dirty showers and dirty pool mixed with plenty of weirdoes in the bar and it being situated in the middle of the ghetto make this a DEFINITE NO for anyone. I hostelled for 5 months and didn't come across anything like this. Unhelpful staff topped it off, and we left after 1 night and breathed a sigh of relief to have not been robbed or shot.

1. The pool is dirty; I have not seen anybody swimming in it. 2. The security level is not good. A security guy told me that non-guests are walking in and out and taking stuff with them. The door of my dorm room was open all the time because people didn't lock it. They should use those key cards instead of conventional keys! 3. Inglewood is not a nice district. There's nothing going on in the hostel's area. I would stay in, for example, Santa Monica or Hollywood next time! It took me 2 hours to get to Santa Monica by bus. 4. The hostel front desk staff aren't helpful. They didn't even know there's a train between LA and San Diego. 5. The showers are dirty. 6. Breakfast isn't really included. It's only coffee and one muffin. They push you to take the 5.95 breakfast. 7. You will mainly meet strange old guys in the hotel bar. 8. All facilities are outdated. It looks like there hasn't been any maintenance done in the last few years. Don't go there!

All right, I was pretty skeptical about this place after reading all of the scary reviews on this site, but realistically this hostel was no worse than any other one I stayed at. Certainly safer than some I've stayed at in Vancouver or Europe for SURE. The price was pretty unbeatable. You can't stay anywhere near the airport with a FREE shuttle for $15. I stayed in a co-ed dorm with a friend of mine and everything in it was clean (linens, bathrooms, floors, etc). Most people in the dorm (although we were there in February so it wasn't super busy) were extremely considerate of everyone else there. I noticed most people were only there for a couple of nights as a sort of bridge between LA and elsewhere. The food/drinks are cheap if you want to forget that you're staying in the ghetto. The staff were fine to me, and I'm pretty picky about the way I'm treated by hotel staff. Maybe it was a good week to go. That's it, that's all. It's an average hostel. I get the impression that some people on this site haven't actually stayed in hostels before. Good luck!

I loved the pool and the 99-cent margaritas. Other than that, this place has nothing going for it. It's an absolute dump with cramped uncomfortable rooms and more than a fair share of nutters staying there. The area is awful. We were warned not to leave the hostel because of the number of drive-by shootings, etc. It's way out of the way of everything. Don't stay here if you value your life. The only way I survived was the sheer volume of margaritas I drank!

This hostel is a mess. The owner is a mad man. I stayed here last February 2005. The security was bad. It got better in March but in April it went right down again. Don't stay here for more than one night.

This hostel would have potential, if it weren't for the bad staff, druggies, and the bad neighborhood.