The Hostelz.com Review
The Green Tortoise is definitely a hostel that has been created with travelers in mind! The great facilities, free breakfast and internet, and the occasional free dinner ensure that it is a great deal. Organised activities, very helpful staff, the large communal area, and the location right in the middle of a bustling area of San Francisco will make your stay tons of fun.
The Location
At first glance the hostel´s location may seem a little suspect to say the least. The hostel's located amid the flashy lights of the nude dancing scene -- don´t be shocked if it seems a bit sleazy. However, it's right near the busy restaurants, bars, and nightlife of Chinatown and Little Italy -- the area is bustling, safe, and fun. There are plenty of side streets to explore, full of interesting shops and places to eat and drink. It´s about a twenty-minute walk to Fishermans Wharf and the Financial District (but the hills here aren't famous for nothing, so be warned). Alternatively Columbus Avenue is a fairly busy bus route, which is always nice for the way back. The bus is probably the best and cheapest way to get here when you arrive and they have a pretty thorough directions section on their website.
Rooms and Bathrooms
From our experience the rooms were a lot quieter and larger than expected. However, we can see how some of them could potentially be a bit louder and more cramped. That being said they were some of the best thought out rooms that we have stayed in. Solid wooden bunks ensure no wobbling or squeaking when others move around at night. There are separate reading lights, plenty of hooks, large lockable storage under the beds, and a basin in the room -- all that you really need.
The very clean bathrooms, which seem to have been redone recently, are plentiful on all the floors but are often all full at the busy times of the day -- so you may want to plan your shower times accordingly. Despite this, the wait is never too long.
Common Spaces
The socializing centres around either the computer area or the large ballroom. Free and fast internet is available on a large number of computers -- some with Skype -- so even at really busy times there is only a short wait. Wi-Fi is also available throughout the hostel. The ballroom is where breakfast and the occasional suppers are served, bands play some evenings, and the movie and game nights are held. There is also a pool table, vending machines, and plenty of tables and chairs around the room.
The environmentally conscious kitchen is clean and well equipped with everything that you'll most likely need. Breakfast is sufficient -- bagels, toppings, fruit, and juice and coffee are available to start the day. The free dinners that are three nights a week are a bonus and the food is plentiful and delicious (you can help cook if you want). The staff are friendly and helpful and seem to be in touch with what travelers need (and need to know). They organise activities in the hostel for guests as well as a pub crawl for cheap drinks in spots around the area. They also ask everyone that comes in to show their key. The lockers in the rooms and in the ballroom mean your stuff should be safe.
Summary
Overall it´s a great hostel with a good atmosphere to meet other travelers and we would definitely recommend it.
The Location
At first glance the hostel´s location may seem a little suspect to say the least. The hostel's located amid the flashy lights of the nude dancing scene -- don´t be shocked if it seems a bit sleazy. However, it's right near the busy restaurants, bars, and nightlife of Chinatown and Little Italy -- the area is bustling, safe, and fun. There are plenty of side streets to explore, full of interesting shops and places to eat and drink. It´s about a twenty-minute walk to Fishermans Wharf and the Financial District (but the hills here aren't famous for nothing, so be warned). Alternatively Columbus Avenue is a fairly busy bus route, which is always nice for the way back. The bus is probably the best and cheapest way to get here when you arrive and they have a pretty thorough directions section on their website.
Rooms and Bathrooms
From our experience the rooms were a lot quieter and larger than expected. However, we can see how some of them could potentially be a bit louder and more cramped. That being said they were some of the best thought out rooms that we have stayed in. Solid wooden bunks ensure no wobbling or squeaking when others move around at night. There are separate reading lights, plenty of hooks, large lockable storage under the beds, and a basin in the room -- all that you really need.
The very clean bathrooms, which seem to have been redone recently, are plentiful on all the floors but are often all full at the busy times of the day -- so you may want to plan your shower times accordingly. Despite this, the wait is never too long.
Common Spaces
The socializing centres around either the computer area or the large ballroom. Free and fast internet is available on a large number of computers -- some with Skype -- so even at really busy times there is only a short wait. Wi-Fi is also available throughout the hostel. The ballroom is where breakfast and the occasional suppers are served, bands play some evenings, and the movie and game nights are held. There is also a pool table, vending machines, and plenty of tables and chairs around the room.
The environmentally conscious kitchen is clean and well equipped with everything that you'll most likely need. Breakfast is sufficient -- bagels, toppings, fruit, and juice and coffee are available to start the day. The free dinners that are three nights a week are a bonus and the food is plentiful and delicious (you can help cook if you want). The staff are friendly and helpful and seem to be in touch with what travelers need (and need to know). They organise activities in the hostel for guests as well as a pub crawl for cheap drinks in spots around the area. They also ask everyone that comes in to show their key. The lockers in the rooms and in the ballroom mean your stuff should be safe.
Summary
Overall it´s a great hostel with a good atmosphere to meet other travelers and we would definitely recommend it.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
April 2010
Their Description
Green Tortoise Hostel Details
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Green Tortoise Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Very noisy but clean and central. I had mixed impressions from this hostel. The staff were a bit weird, and the big breakfast hall tends to be immensely noisy. They sometimes have parties and music in the big hall, which is really incredibly loud. My room was a five bed dorm, not very big but you were able to move in there with five people. It had a sink which was full of stuff, and I didn't really know whether that stuff belonged to the other people in the room, or whether nobody took care of throwing it out. There were only common bathrooms on the hall, but at least they were real bathrooms and not co-ed. Most of them were showing signs of long periods of use. Breakfast is free and plenty! The kitchen provides bagels, spreads, cereals and several kinds of drinks. Very sufficient.The Wi-Fi worked fine, but only in the common rooms. Reception in my room was very bad and I kept getting thrown out, so sitting down in the common rooms is really the only thing you can do if you want internet. There are also computer there which you can use to surf for free. The location is perfect, the hostel is right between Chinatown and San Francisco's Italian neighborhood. You can walk down the hill to the financial district in about twenty minutes, or walk up to the Bay and the Pier in half an hour (depends on how good you're at climbing hills). I walked from the hostel via the Exploratium to the Golden Gate Bridge, took half a day or a bit more maybe. Very noisy, even twice as noisy on the weekend. The breakfast is good, the facilities are clean enough to not complain, and it's definitely the cheapest accommodation you can get in the middle of San Francisco. — adastra , Germany (2009-07-21) A pit! This was the most disgusting place I had ever stayed in. It's in the middle of the red light district, so if you're a skeezy old man looking for action, you'll fit in. People stand outside of the clubs like vultures, so you never have a pleasant walk back to the hostel. There is a bowl of condoms at the front desk that has to be refilled every morning. I don't even want to know what was living on the mattress I stayed on. Maybe I'm sheltered, but I didn't know what "party hostel" meant (the girl at the desk actually said "We're a party hostel"). I learned quickly because this place is full of a bunch of people who treat their bodies like garbage disposals. It almost feels like Day of the Dead with all these shroom-fiend zombies walking the halls. Our roommate was a dude that ran around the halls in his underwear and juggled hacky sacks for change by the Embarcadero. They don't clean the blankets. If you refer to my second comment (about the condom bowl), this will disturb you too. "Breakfast" is a bowl of dry bagels, which was served by this emotionally unbalanced redhead who was crying and complaining to the guests that someone had stolen her special dill butter and she was running out of food-stamps and couldn't eat for the rest of the month. Who buys dill butter with food stamps and complains to paying guests about it being stolen? My best "friend" all weekend was a spray can of Lysol, which I sprayed liberally on every surface I touched in this place. The bathroom is disgusting and filled with mildew. The floors of the bathrooms were drenched with pee (probably from the wastoids that were too f****d up to aim correctly). This place is the freaking twilight zone and more of a homeless shelter than a suitable place for travelers! Avoid at all costs. — K , USA (2009-04-22) Best Ever! I love this place. I always stay here when I go to San Francisco, which is fairly often because I love that city. The staff is always friendly and helpful. They always have advice on what to do and love to chat it up. The price is unbelievable considering what you get for it. Free meals, free internet, a sauna! I make a new friend every time I stay there. I love it and wouldn't stay anywhere else. — Jennifer , USA (2008-12-02) Best hostel ever This is the best hostel I've ever stayed at. Everything about it was great. I especially like the leopard sheets in our room. — Helena , Sweden (2007-12-29) Eclectic but overall an enjoyable place to stay The staff here were always polite to me and everyone else I saw them interact with. The location is a little out of the way, but if you don't mind walking then it's not too far to get to Downtown or to Fisherman's Wharf. Fantastic views of the Bay Bridge from my room, which had a sink and mirror in it too -- couldn't ask for much more! Ample locker space and a bunch of free internet computers downstairs. It's a kind of eclectic or bohemian feel to the place, like a real Hotel California but even if you're not into that sort of thing it's still a cool experience. Free breakfasts were decent -- bagels and fruit! This is probably nothing to do with the hostel but I met lots of cool and friendly people there, unlike other hostels I've been staying at. They organise activities almost every day of the week too so if you're a solo traveler there are plenty of opportunities to meet your fellow hostel-buddies. — Elisha , Australia (2007-12-09) The worst of the worst As somebody has already said -- unprofessional, dishonest, discourteous, and I'd throw in, just plain psychotic. Some of the high points of the experience would include institutionalized theft of customer property, a customer being lied to about their willingness to accommodate dietary needs made necessary by a medical condition, the driver falling asleep at the wheel during our excursion out of the hotel to Burning Man, travelers being screamed at because they had used more than a drop of dish soap on the dishes on a trip that they had been charged $240 for (above entry expenses) or for using paper towels to clean their hands -- and so much more. Enjoy. I guess. — Joseph Dunphy , United States (2007-09-14) The Best Hostel in the States I went all over the U.S., and stayed at my share of down-and-out hostels, but this place blew my mind. The staff was uber-helpful, the guests were fantastic and had a good time, and the hostel had everything a good hostel should -- lots of fun and no conflict, open mike nights, great breakfast, huge and beautiful dining room (good for meeting people), and an overall great environment. Honestly, when looking for hostels while traveling I always compare them to this one. Stay here! — Sky Joiner , United States (2007-06-27) My friend and I stayed in the private room, a block or so away, and it was really nice! We had a shared bathroom, but it was cleaned daily! This was a clean room, great view! Right in amongst it all along the strip of some of the most popular night clubs in San Fran! Staff were really friendly and helpful! Free breakfast every morning was sweet and dinner three nights a week was a blast! Was really great food! Great location -- we could walk to most of San Fran tourist attractions! I recommend this place! You would be crazy to go anywhere else in San Fran! — Jo , Australia (2007-03-31) I just got back from three-night stay at the Green Tortoise. My friend and I stayed in a private double room on the fourth floor. This was my first hostel experience and I would do it again. The rooms are very small yet surprisingly cozy. there is a TV with a video player and the hostel has a pretty decent collection of movies to rent for free. We found that there were plenty of bathrooms (be sure to bring flip-flops to wear in the shower of your are anal about cleanliness). The free breakfast was nice but if you don't get there early enough you are left with only bagels. The free dinner was amazing and there was plenty of it. There was a wide range of characters staying at the hostel. mostly younger but a handful of older folks. We found staff to be extremely accommodating and helpful. Any questions asked were answered and they have printouts of almost anything you could want to know such as cheap restaurants and close grocery stores with step by step walking directions. The location is great. right in between little Italy and Chinatown. We are two females in our early twenties and there was never a time we felt unsafe. The only complaint we had was the noise factor. Our first night there we were continually woken up by drunks screaming and slamming doors but nothing we could not live with. If you are young, flexible, and open minded stay here. This is the best deal you are going to find in SF as well as the most interesting group of people. it will make for some great stories and memories. — Jen , USA (2007-03-29) Had a week staying at the Green Tortoise earlier this month and can't fault it really. We stayed in a private double room a block down from the main hostel which was roomy and had good facilities. Also a great view from the deck of downtown. The staff were really helpful especially the guy with The Hat. We had a basement room which was kind of noisy being near the front door which people use at all hours. Free breakfast was great, location was great -- very central to most attractions. Sauna is rubbish but an added (free) bonus I guess. I thought that the GT make a real effort and it's the best hostel I've stayed in in the U.S., and I've stayed in a few. — Jim Smith (2007-02-24) the green tortoise was the most accommodating hostel i have been to. the front desk was completely helpful with even the littlest of questions (such as bus routes and restaurants). the atmosphere was always fun, and they had nightly activities to help travelers meet one another and bring out a very communal vibe. not to mention linens, free breakfast, pub crawls, dinners, and clean bathrooms. — susan (2007-02-20) I stayed here in August 2006. I also stayed at another hostel in SF, this one was my favorite. Very eclectic vibe. The staffers at the front desk were young and very knowledgeable/helpful. We met very cool people from all over the world here. Most of the people staying here seemed to be from other countries, all were young student aged it seemed. Rooms have many different layouts. I first stayed in a room with about 6 bunks and then the next night was in a room with only one bunk. The building is very old, but the rooms seemed fairly clean. Bathrooms a little dirty, but nothing too bad. It was similar to staying in a co-ed dorm. The location is convienient to Chinatown, shopping areas, and great bars. I would absolutely stay here again! — Jen (2007-02-20) Most of the staff here is weird (not in a good way), unprofessional, dishonest, rude, and full of themselves. From top management down, they're completely clueless about good or even decent customer service. They also ignore even the most basic laws, such as by serving alcohol to minors, illegally employing foreign hostel guests to do all the cleaning/grunt labor, and refusing to accommodate people with physical disabilities. The Green Tortoise earns its one star with a cool location and free internet access. — E (2007-02-14) This hostel is a backpacker hostel and for one night ok but not more. the breakfast was free but not a hit. Excellent are the nine free internet accesses. Only four toilets on one floor are not enough. I stayed in a twin room. It was the worst room I stayed during my holiday. Very small, very loud, small window. Atmosphere like Alcatraz. maybe the dorm rooms are better. — Marco (2006-12-29) Nice enough staff. My first night I staying in a two-person room, had a lovely bed with good blankets and clean atmosphere. My second two nights, I shared a 4-person room with a hard bed and crappy blankets. All nights were loud. The breakfast was yummy (bagels) and everyone was nice/accommodating. Average. — Jen (2006-12-11)