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The Avenues HostelSalt Lake City | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Avenues Hostel Details
107 F Street, Salt Lake City,
Utah, USA
(To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.)
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Read Their Reviews (NEW)
Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
2.7 Average from 32 Ratings
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative reviews. We can't validate the legitimacy of guest reviews posted on this site — so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Absolutely awful!! I could not believe how unprofessional this place proved to be. Once arriving in Salt Lake around 11 PM, I had reservations to stay there with a guest. Unfortunately my guest cancelled on me, and the hostel was informed of this through a phone call on my way there. Apparently, there was no reason for calling and leaving a message of this, because when I arrived I was told I had to pay for her room even though she was not there! Terrible! I was basically told I had to pay a late fee of $10 and her rate, which totaled to $50 something extra! I will not refer this place to anyone, I left w/o paying or staying, the place looked disgusting anyways.
The Truth- Why Avenues Hostel ratings are rigged? Why Hostelz has the most accurate and unbiased comments?
I've been inside the Avenues Hostel several times. Once I met the owner and he was very rude to me. I just feel it is my duty to tell everyone the truth about this hostel.
Hostelz has the most accurate and unbiased comments you can find on the web; They have "the good, the bad, and the ugly", just the way the guest originally posted them- un-rigged and pure.
Ever wonder why the Avenues Hostel comments at hostelworld and hostelbookers are all so good and different from the ones here in hostelz? If you haven't noticed, then please go there and compare hostelz vs hostelworld and hostelbookers, and you'll understand my question.
One of the former managers of the Avenues Hostel told me that they rig their comments and ratings so they can get more bookings and beat their competition.
He explained to me how they rigged their comments in Hostelworld booking engine. First, they would ask the travelers to use one of their computers to leave a comment. After the traveler left, they would jump on that computer and go to the browser's history and find the customers ID; then once they had the traveler's personal information they were able to directly edit and change the travelers comment and rating.
I believe this story because I am sure they are still doing this right now. If you read the comments here in Hostelz, you will see that they don't match with the comments of hostelworld and hostelbookers.
Below you can read an article from KSL, a Utah news station; this article tells the truth about the avenues hostel which doesn't match their ratings and comments; Avenues Hostel allows felons from prison and mentally disturbed-homeless people, that are sent from local church's welfare organizations.
Their comments are saying everything the owner wants them to say. He is using these comments to advertise a bunch of lies. If he doesn't do this, then who is going to want to stay there? If you look at their pictures, you will see that their place is a dump, a run down hostel.
Below, I am also including a comment I found from a traveler who stayed with them.
Comment from virtualtourist:
"It's very hard to trust the reviews about this place. The owner would constantly tell guests to write a good review. He also offers
incentives if they write a good one. He doesn't like to get anything even remotely bad about the place, and I was kicked out because of my
review on another site. (He says there were problems, but they conveniently appeared after I posted the review.)...The security might be an issue. The front door gets locked at night, but there's at least one that remains unlocked at every hour..." -February 2010, skipped_stones, Utah
"Neighbors unsettled over Avenues hostel" from KSL:
Neighbors unsettled over Avenues hostel
July 20th, 2009 at 8:54am
By Andrew Adams
SALT LAKE CITY -- Neighbors of a hostel in the Avenues are upset about who is staying there. It's intended for travelers, but neighbors say more often it is becoming home for parolees and transients.
Next-door neighbor Ezra Jones tells the Salt Lake Tribune somebody backed into his house with a car once, his bike has been stolen and he has even had a guest of the Avenues Hostel at 107 F Street walk into his home.
Another woman, who did not want to be identified because she says she has been threatened in the past, says she doesn't understand why this has to be in her neighborhood.
"I realize they need a place to live, but does it have to be here in the Avenues?" she asked. "We find that it's difficult to let our grandchildren or our little people come out and play because of the men that
are sitting on the walls and on the steps."
Police have responded to roughly 150 calls to the Avenues Hostel since January of last year.
The owner of the hostel tells the Salt Lake Tribune these are good people who stay there. While he acknowledges some of his visitors are fresh out of jail or prison, he says he's not going to turn them
away with his international business down right now. He does say he's considering it. He also has put up security cameras around the building.
A Department of Corrections spokesperson tells the Tribune parolees frequent hostels around the valley.
Neighbors' Comments from KSL:
Our little people"
by wilco64256 @ 9:17am - Mon Jul 20th, 2009
"We find that it's difficult to let our grandchildren or our little people come out and play because of the men that are sitting on the walls and on the steps."
Odd, I wasn't aware that it was legal to own hobbits in Salt Lake.
Our volunteer group...
by Codiax @ 9:19am - Mon Jul 20th, 2009
....from Utah State University stayed there once during a service projsct in SLC. That place was sketchy as hell. We didn't realize it was a fugitive hangout when we booked it. Oops!
You grew up there, then you got the hell out when you could, right?
by Jack Bauer's Pinky @ 11:14am - Mon Jul 20th, 2009
Would you want Glendale's crime level back in your current neighborhood? Neither do these people. In order to make a buck this hostel owner is letting anyone with two cents to rub together stay at the place regardless of the nuisance they commit in the vicinity. 150 police calls to a single hostel in 18 months? That is absurd for people living in a residential area to
have to put up with.
Hostels are not supposed to be used for parolees.
by Robert84124 @ 12:30pm - Mon Jul 20th, 2009
Hostels are supposed to be places of refuge for travelers that is supposed to be safe and secure. This place sounds far from it. With a call to the police every 6 days. Tells you the crime rate there is unacceptable. Compassion for criminals. Hmmm! How about their victims. By having all the criminals there it lets the innocent Hostel guests as new victims. No this place should be closed. And the owner should not be allowed to open any more. This is supposed to be hostel not a half way house.
Little People
by Robert84124 @ 12:35pm - Mon Jul 20th, 2009
Some older people refer to children as little people. So those of you who critize this part of the story, show your lack of knowledge.
If you going to have a halfway house for convicts. Call it that. Don't have a hostel and run it like a halfway house. That way the unsuspecting tourists who think its a hostel know that they are going to a
halfway house not a hostel.
My friend
by cowboylover1980 @ 1:29pm - Mon Jul 20th, 2009
My friend stayed at this hostel when she got out of prison....somethings she told me about the place, they should not have people who just get out of prison stay there, to many temptations for them... I just don't
think it is a safe place, and am very happy she moved out of the place....I think they should go to a "REAL" halfway house to get them on there feet again....that is if they want to change their habits!
Very Good I had an excellent experience. The owner/manager was very helpful and addressed any issues I incurred. I would recommend this place to anyone that comes to visit Salt Lake City.
Awful place. bugs everywhere Our first night, we were overbitten by bug bites. On the sheets our blood. The management knew that there were bugs in the room in the bed. He admitted the day after. Why he gave this dirty room to us? I asked a refund because we wouldn't stay there for the second night. The management said "no refund." I called the police. They came over but couldn't do anything. They come regular for the same problems. I went to the visitor center, they couldn't do anything. I wrote to the health department. No answer. I'm a tax inspector in my country. This is fraud, fraud, fraud, and fraud. The management know that nobody will stay a second night with bugs in the bed. The bugs were so fat, filled up with our blood. This hostel has to be closed immediately, it's dangerous for the youths' health. How is it possible in Salt Lake City, the cleanest city of the U.S.A.? Who protect the management and allow the fraud?
Great for ladies, skiing, or just getting into town I've stayed at the Aves for a month as I've just moved to SLC, and I thought things were great. Jon checked me in at 12:30 a.m. (I woke him up). There is a separate ladies floor (no men allowed), which staff member Margaret keeps fantastically clean. Management is remodeling a few of the rooms and they look great! The internet is free, and there's Wi-Fi. The hostel is a little cold, but that only means the Aves is Green and cutting down on the heat a bit. The Aves is great for lady skiers, it's in an awesome residential location, very safe even late at night. Great stay, great price, great hostel.
Worse than poor....fraudulent I can't believe any but the most desperate would stay here. Dirty, unkempt, rude, loud, and definitely not helpful. The room was not secure -- broken door, no screens on the windows. The room was filthy -- metal spring poking out of the mattress, used razor in shower, dirty dishes in drainboard, grimy counter and table tops. I didn't even try the public kitchen it looked so bad. Trash was overflowing the dumpster with piles all around it. I politely asked for a refund for the nights I would not be staying and was rudely refused a refund for anything. I hope they get closed down for fraud.
A weird and useful place to stay I've been staying here as a wintertime base for skiing for five years now, and I have to say that it suits me just fine. The atmosphere is a little different than your average hostel, with a lot of locals living here full time. I like that. It offers an odd variety of exchange of experience uncommon to hostels. It is also ideally located downtown, right next to a great grocery store. There is almost a familial aspect to the staff here, and once you get to know them, they will do what they can to help you out. There is usually a fire in fireplace, and often dinner is made for everyone at the hostel! Now that's familial! For less than $20 a night, it can't get better than this -- cheers to the Avenues Hostel!
Absolutely awful! While the pictures display a somewhat clean and pleasant hostel, my stay here was anything but! The place is more of a halfway house than a hostel, as most of the people there seemed to be older, sick druggies or alcoholics. When I called to make a reservation, the man said he put my name down, but upon arrival it was clear they were completely disorganized and didn't take reservations really. The room they gave us was a "semi-private" meaning we had a door directly to the shared bathroom, and it was just me and my travel partner. While this sounded fine, I spent over five hours of my night listening to a sick woman cough her lungs up and puke in the adjacent bathroom. It was absolutely disgusting and I left feeling like I had just contracted TB. Even worse, the first set of sheets they gave us had stains of them, and were taken from a pile on the floor of the office, which was far from clean. This is the worse hostel stay I've ever had -- I barely slept, listened to someone puke for hours, and was surrounded by mentally ill adults who had no better place to stay. Do not stay here!
Stayed here in 2006 -- the staff were friendly enough, however I would say that they didnt go out of their way to help us too much. A lot of the clientelle seemed to be live in residence and some of them were not the friendliest and seemed to have something against strangers.
Friendly and Helpful was the exact oposite of what I thought. I'm basing this on staying in a bunch of other hostels in the U.S. during the same few months. First night, I found out the next morning, a crazy guy got in (they don't ever lock their door and there's not a night worker there the whole time). He hid in the shower all day, my roommate found him and reported him to the staff. They did nothing until eleven that night. I went to bed. He had brass knuckles and punched the staff (two guys) and ran away. The cops got him, but what is that to say about this place? It is in a nice neighborhood and it was clean and big, but everyone there was basically living there because they had no place else to go, which isn't the purpose of a hostel if you ask me. Also, the morning of my checkout, I wanted to leave really early, but the kitchen was locked until seven thirty, so I planned to be there at seven thirty (yes, I could've taken my stuff out the night before, but seven thirty was fine with me). So, I went down, it was locked (do you see something wrong with locking the kitchen to protect the food, but not locking the doors to protect the hostelers?), there was a staff guy in the office, so I decided to check out and get my food after, it was still locked. I asked the guy to unlock it, since it was eight a.m., and I guess I opened a can of worms. All I heard was, "I'm trying to get this office open for the day, I have a lot of work to do, I get here so early in the morning, etc. I said, ok, I'll wait you don't have to be mean and he said "and since you already checked out I shouldn't even let you go in there." Um, ok, somebody's not a morning person. He opened it soon after, and I hit the road faster than I could say Salt Lake City.
A great hostel to stay while you are in Salt lake. The staff were nice and friendly. I got a lot of help. They were ready to help whenever I needed any information. Recommended.
This was my first time here in the summer but it was a layover from driving to Glacier National Park. I've also stayed here during the winter because of its convenient access to the UTA ski bus route. The hostel is located within walking distance of downtown and Temple Square in a safe neighborhood, not that there are any crime-ridden neighborhoods in Utah. It gets warm in Salt Lake and at least this time they put portable fans to cool down the rooms. The only warning to guests is that this hostel allows locals to stay here. These are not criminals, just folks that have had a bit of a setback and I believe the church helps them out. I've never had any problems while I've stayed here on multiple occasions.
Not a very good experience. The management was very rude. The guests were pretty unfriendly. The basic facility would have been fine, but the manager needs some serious training in making the guests feel welcome. Checking in and then finding out that the price doesn't include a single blanket was a shock. No explanation; just a three-ring binder listing extras (including a blanket for $2). I decided that next time I see a "No Refunds for Any Reason" sign, I will look the place over before paying.
This was our first experience at a hostel, and based on it, it will be our last. We made reservations as far back as Feb. 2005 for a four-night July 2005 stay. The staff were not ready for us. They were overwhelmed by our family of 12 and we were overwhelmed by them.
All the bathrooms and the floors of the bedrooms needed to be washed and thoroughly cleaned before using them. Although there were nice residents there, there was a situation of one resident fighting loudly with a staff member in the early morning. There were definitely people staying there with emotional problems.
Our reserved rooms were not available. We were told the ceiling had fallen in on one of our rooms so we were placed in another for night. The next day our room became available, not because the ceiling had been fixed but because the renter that was in there was moved to another room. There were no screens on the windows and what windows were there, were very, very dirty.
I would not recommend staying here unless you are used to hostels and prepared to adjust to unclean rooms, less than adequate accommodations, an indifferent staff, and an expensive stay for a family.
I will say that once we adjusted through the shock of the situation, we made the best of it and were able to enjoy ourselves in spite of the initial upset. There were two residents that were especially helpful and enjoyable, Richard and Christian. Thanks to these guys for making our stay better than it may have been.
This is really a disgusting hostel. I booked my reservation online for a private room and ended up being forced to sleep in the dorm area because they had given my room away. The manager, who smelled like he hadn't taken a shower in a week, told me that the people that take the reservations don't bother to write all of them into the book so that happens all the time. They do not refund your money either for any reason and they have a big sign that tells you so. This place really ended up being a layover spot for social misfits that were all pretty much from that area. I got stuck with a girl that had relationship troubles in Salt Lake and was trying to figure her life out while dating one of the other permanent residents at the hostel. She said that a lot of the people that stay there are working in Salt Lake. She also said that there was a girl living there in the dorm room across from the one we were sleeping in that had head lice that apparently had just left. It was seriously filthy though. They also charge $3 for 30 minutes on the Internet, which was a rip-off. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. About Hostelz.com - Privacy Policy - Contact Hostelz.com - Add a New Hostel - Group Bookings - Reservations at The Avenues Hostel
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