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Please see Los Angeles for other available Los Angeles hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
Hostel California is within five minutes' walk from LAX airport bus stop, and town bus. The rooms are ok if you are on a budget, but if you can afford a bit more, we recommend somewhere else. The rooms can be smelly and dirty. Staff are ok -- some are friendly and some are not. The atmosphere at this hostel and the surrounding area are depressing.
The Location
This hostel is conveniently located within walking distance to the LAX airport bus stop and bus that goes from downtown to Venice Beach. It's easy to find and there is a small convenience store and some food shops around the corner. There is parking at front of hostel.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The bedrooms are dirty and smelly. The pillows and blanket are also smelly, so we recommend bringing your own if you can. The bathroom is not so bad, with two showers in each gender-separated bathroom. We saw a cockroach during our stay. The floor can be squeaky. There are no in-room lockers; the door locks work with no problems.
Common Spaces
There is one pay phone in the bedroom hallway and one outside the kitchen. The lounge room is of adequate size with fairly old furniture, which gives you a feeling that it is not clean. There is a big TV in the kitchen. The internet computers are available in common spaces (fee required). Kitchen is clean and adequate, with lots of tables and chairs in the kitchen. Free Wi-Fi is available if you have a laptop, which is a bonus! Travelers tend to hang out in the lounge room in the evenings, which is a great way to meet other travelers, and socialise or get some tips on what to do in L.A.
Summary
Stay here if only you are on a budget. We recommend staying somewhere else if you can, like Venice Beach.
The Location
This hostel is conveniently located within walking distance to the LAX airport bus stop and bus that goes from downtown to Venice Beach. It's easy to find and there is a small convenience store and some food shops around the corner. There is parking at front of hostel.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The bedrooms are dirty and smelly. The pillows and blanket are also smelly, so we recommend bringing your own if you can. The bathroom is not so bad, with two showers in each gender-separated bathroom. We saw a cockroach during our stay. The floor can be squeaky. There are no in-room lockers; the door locks work with no problems.
Common Spaces
There is one pay phone in the bedroom hallway and one outside the kitchen. The lounge room is of adequate size with fairly old furniture, which gives you a feeling that it is not clean. There is a big TV in the kitchen. The internet computers are available in common spaces (fee required). Kitchen is clean and adequate, with lots of tables and chairs in the kitchen. Free Wi-Fi is available if you have a laptop, which is a bonus! Travelers tend to hang out in the lounge room in the evenings, which is a great way to meet other travelers, and socialise or get some tips on what to do in L.A.
Summary
Stay here if only you are on a budget. We recommend staying somewhere else if you can, like Venice Beach.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2011
Their Description
Hostel California Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | 2221 Lincoln Boulevard, Los Angeles (Venice Beach), California, USA |
| Location | |
| Website | www.hostelcalifornia.us |
| Telephone | +1 (310) 305-0250 |
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Hostel California Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
I stayed at the Hostel in January 2011 and had an excellent time. The staff were super friendly and knew lots of information about the area. I stayed in the six bed dorm which was clean and i was supplied with my own bedding. I talked to the owner Klaus who was very helpful and friendly who gave me the best rates in town! The location was great, not too far from Lax and 15 mins walking distance from Venice beach. They had free parking satellite tv, pool, and a free safe deposit box which was very helpful to store my belongings! The atmosphere there was great and i cannot wait to return when i visit Los Angeles again! — Anonymous , Australian (2011-03-13) Owner is a crook I made an agreement with the owner Klaus to leave my car in the carpark when I went overseas. I advised him a week before I got there of my return, and when I got back he had hurriedly put a lien on my car and stolen it! I took him to court but he had a lawyer who seemed to be pally with the judge who literally laughed at me! he wouldn't even let me get my belongings from the car, which I had set up with a roof luggage case for a trip to the East coast I was going to take. Of course all those plans were destroyed by this heartless scum. This place is very dirty and has serious pest problems. I even heard that someone had bedbugs which are a nightmare. It's also very dilapidated and poorly maintained, as you'd expect in a place owned by a ruthless and greedy crook. It's 1.5 miles from the beach so not very convenient. The area is very slummy, I was punched in the guts by a criminal as I walked past on Lincoln Blvd, luckily I was able to get away without being robbed. No-one working in the hostel gave a damn. I hear that lately he has a lot of local itinerants living there (no doubt can't get many travelers anymore) and things go missing a lot. All in all, avoid this place like the plague! — Jack , Australia (2010-12-27) Bad This is the last hostel I ever stayed in. I used to love Hostels, stayed in them all over the place, but this one did it for me. Vile, dirty, full of workers living there. did I mention dirty? I was in a dorm room, and the mattress on my bunk stuck out way beyond the edge of the bed, it was dangerous. The linen was old, frayed, crumpled, and very suss. The bathroom was foul, full of mold, filthy filthy dirty, and packed with the toiletries of the people living there. I was never so happy to leave a hostel in all my life and I've not set foot in one since. Proper hostels are cheap and cheerful, full of friendly interesting travelers. This place was a doss-house for local low-paid workers. It's years since I stayed there, and I'm still disgusted. On my return trip through LA, I'd happily discovered a discount hotel booking website and for the same price stayed in a brand-new hotel room near the airport. — ant , Australia (2009-07-08) Colourful, buzzy, and a bit too noisy This was just an average place to stay. Minimum of amenities. Beds are not comfortable -- the ladder used for mounting to the upper bed is shaky and hurts you on the feet. I did not like the kitchen at all -- it's quite tiny for a big hostel like this. And I noticed flying insects in the kitchen furniture. I was twice robbed of my food. I did not like that almost all the stuff live in this hostel. What I really liked -- several kittens living outside the hostel. There are no AC, though the climate is quite hot and humid. I met so many people from around the globe. But on the whole this place is a great one to meet new people. — Elya , Kazakhstan (2008-09-18) Horrible If you like to get sleep Do Not Stay here! I booked a private room that is on the second floor above the main entrance of the hostel and it was a horrible! It was ten people drinking and talking really loud.The partying under my window started at 10 p.m. and did not finish until 5:30 a.m. I went to the front desk at 3:30 a.m. to complain and they said there is nothing they can do about it, in the summer time they hang outside until whenever! Are you kidding me! I got an hour of sleep and asked for a refund first thing in the morning. Also there are two beds in the private room I stayed in, each bed was so tiny I almost fell off. And the mattress was really thin. The TV was annoyingly loud, the remote did not work, and the volume button on the TV broke off! For the $60 that they are charging per night the stay that I had was terrible. For a little more money I went elsewhere. — Althea , New York (2008-07-16) Fun The best thing to keep in mind when staying in a hostel is that it is a hostel, not a hotel or a motel. This one was quite clean, though there was very little privacy. The staff was very friendly. The only weird thing that happened was some drunk guy jumped into my bunk at about two in the morning. I just told him he had the wrong bed and went back to sleep (an honest mistake). Compared to some other hostels I stayed in in L.A., this one was practically a hilton. The location is great too. It's a straight shot from the hostel to the airport, as well as interstate 10 and the beaches. You might have some trouble if you are allergic to cats, as the owners do seem to be fond of them. However, all the cats I saw stayed outside and were very cute and friendly. Parking is limited and don't be surprised if you are woken up in the middle of the night to move your car if people get blocked in. Within walking distance of convenience stores like Rite aid as well as liquor stores. I wouldn't stay anywhere else in L.A., and I can't wait to return there. — Bri , USA (2008-05-13) Yuck I found this Hostel via a guidebook and booked in advance. It was the filthiest hostel I've ever seen. The kitchen was so grimy you stuck to the floor. The sheets weren't clean. The whole building stank of cat sh*t. The paint was flaky, wood splintery, there were holes in the wooden floor in the hallways, the rooms were crooked, and the beds were too high -- and some were not straight so you had to hang on tight not to roll off. Those pictures, when were they taken -- in the seventies? — Hosteler , Holland (2008-04-18) Fun I stayed at the hostel for about a week. Its in a great location close to buses and the beach. There are bikes to rent for $12 a day and the guy who rents the bikes George is great. Hes always good for a laugh and make sure you take him up on the bonfire. The kitchen is well a kitchen. I sprung for the six-bed dorm which was only 4 bucks more and worth every penny. The only negative thing about the place is a guy named Kevin. He works/lives there and is a asshole. Every experience i had with the guy was a bad. What i gather from others staying there was the about the same. — frankie shurmitis , american (2008-03-28) Who cares, you're in LA Hostel California is the first hostel me and my friend have ever stayed in and did not know what to expect. On arrival we noticed straight away that the hostel had a good vibe with all the different nationalities mixing and having a good old fashion knees up, the staff greeted us in a warm and friendly manner, and I can honestly say I never once saw them downbeat -- always helpful no matter what time it was. When you go to LA all you need is a place to lay your head and this hostel offered much more. The kitchen was well kept along with the toilets and wash facilities, local to the hostel was 7/11, fast food, nightclubs, pubs, and bus service. Venice beech was a ten-minute walk or alternatively you could hire a pedal bike form the hostel. Night life is just a taxi away it takes about twenty minutes to get to the strip where you can visit the Viper room and Whiskey bar along with other hot nightspots. I would recommend if you have the cash renting a six-bedroom dorm or if you're flush go for the two-bedroom dorm -- the only reason I suggest this is if you have a late night "which you should do" then that extra couple of hours sleep in peace is well worth the extra dollars. If I go back to LA then I would use this Hostel California again. — Anthony Joyce , English (2007-10-03) Good Experience! Very nice hostel. very clean. friendly staff. not directly on the beach but you can reach it by bus (two minutes) and it is pretty cheap to go by bus. Supermarket is right around the corner as well as McDonalds. I definitely would stay there again! — Germannnn , German (2007-09-24) I found this place a little too quiet. It felt more like a motel (in atmosphere). The staff were really friendly though. The kitchen is nice, the lounge is nice and the rooms are pretty nice too. It's cool that you have a shared balcony. This place was just way too quiet for me, with no social scene at all. — Lydia , New Zealand (2007-05-22) To be fair I will start by saying that I never stayed at Hostel California, just arrived there with the intention. I drove a beach buggy from Stockholm Sweden through all of Africa before shipping it to New York and driving to Central America. Recently I drove up through Mexico arriving eventually in LA on my RTW tour. The Buggy still has Swedish plates and is obviously well traveled. We maintain a homepage documenting our journey. Despite pointing all this out politely to a midget (ok, probably he is not a certified midget, but he is REALLY short) working at the hostel he refused to check me in because I did not have an onward plane ticket. I understand the desire to keep out riffraff but obviously we were traveling in the truest sense of the word. Finally I asked to speak with the owner and was flatly refused. Eventually in frustration I lost my temper and called him a conniving leprechaun or something equally mature. That is better than the thrashing I would have given him had he been full-sized. I have no respect for mindless adherence to rules obviously designed for another purpose. This was the only time in my life that I have been treated rudely trying to check into a hostel. Needless to say this put a dampener on my arrival to the City of Angels. — Tom , Sweden (2007-05-10) After paying for my stay, I made an overnight trip to San Diego and the staff immediately offered me a voucher for the unused night's accommodation. Much appreciated. Probably, the most significant persuasion, in my case, for selecting this hostel unseen, was a single bus ride, straight from LAX to the site and the same back again. This place is much better than the hostel I stayed at last year near the beach and deserves its high rating and recommendations. So much so that I broke tradition and made the time and effort to write this commentary. — Ross (2007-01-26) Although I planned to stay at the hostel California for a week only, I stayed there for a month because I could not find a better place for the same price and quality. It is situated only twenty-five minutes by walk from the famous Venice Beach! While you are walking to beach you can stop at the library to check your e-mail for free! But most of all I liked about the hostel is that the staff is very friendly and helpful. It seemed to me that they know everything about California. I went to Las Vegas and San Francisco, leaving my baggage in the hostel for free! In the evening you can hang out with many people from different countries. Sometimes we drank beer till 3 o'clock in the evening and the staff was patient. The client has priority there! — Alex (2006-10-22) Myself and three other girls stayed in 1997, we had a blast. we only expected to stay one night but ended up staying a week and then came back again at the end of our holiday. It was great as we paid a bit extra for a room and we could store all our gear in a lockaway in the room, it was walking distance to venice beach. We met a group of aussie guys -- spent loads of time drinking in the sun outside and playing pool. great times, great people, great place, great memories. hope it is still as good, one day I hope to make it back. — Louise (2006-10-21)