The Hostelz.com Review
HI - Portland, Northwest Neighborhood Hostel fulfills all the Hostelling International standards of comfort. Expect a very nice and quiet hostel, with plenty of comfort, and friendly staff.
The Location
The hostel is located in the Northwest neighbourhood of Portland, just one MAX-stop outside the Fairless Square. The hostel has its own little parking space where you can park your car, and there's a park just one block away. Shops, restaurants, and pubs are on the popular 23rd Avenue, the heart of the NW district, only a five-minute walk away.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The hostel offers private rooms, female, male, and coed dorms, all of which lock with electronic cards. Every room as large lockers to store your bags. Some rooms have bathrooms ensuite, and there are other bathrooms in the corridors. All facilities are large and extremely clean, with hooks and even some bath products provided.
Common Spaces
The hostel consists of two main buildings. Every building has its own large kitchen with seating area. The kitchens are fully equipped, has a large fridge, and there's free bread. There's an outside secret garden, book exchange shelves, luggage storage, and free wireless internet.
There is no smoking inside, nor in the garden, and a no alcohol policy after 9 p.m. The hostel is very friendly, but it is not a party hostel. Because of the price and comfort, it also attracts some older travelers. The price is pretty standard for all HI hostels, and in Portland you don't have many options if you're on a tight budget.
Summary
This hostel offers great comfort at a good price. It is close to all places you would probably like to see.
The Location
The hostel is located in the Northwest neighbourhood of Portland, just one MAX-stop outside the Fairless Square. The hostel has its own little parking space where you can park your car, and there's a park just one block away. Shops, restaurants, and pubs are on the popular 23rd Avenue, the heart of the NW district, only a five-minute walk away.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The hostel offers private rooms, female, male, and coed dorms, all of which lock with electronic cards. Every room as large lockers to store your bags. Some rooms have bathrooms ensuite, and there are other bathrooms in the corridors. All facilities are large and extremely clean, with hooks and even some bath products provided.
Common Spaces
The hostel consists of two main buildings. Every building has its own large kitchen with seating area. The kitchens are fully equipped, has a large fridge, and there's free bread. There's an outside secret garden, book exchange shelves, luggage storage, and free wireless internet.
There is no smoking inside, nor in the garden, and a no alcohol policy after 9 p.m. The hostel is very friendly, but it is not a party hostel. Because of the price and comfort, it also attracts some older travelers. The price is pretty standard for all HI hostels, and in Portland you don't have many options if you're on a tight budget.
Summary
This hostel offers great comfort at a good price. It is close to all places you would probably like to see.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2009
Their Description
HI - Portland, Northwest Neighborhood Hostel Details
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HI - Portland, Northwest Neighborhood Hostel Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Great location, kitchen, staff, nearby activities. I have stayed here twice visiting local colleges, once in 2009 in the spacious pvt room at the front of the bldg next door, and in 2/2012 in a tiny pvt room in the newly added bldg that faces Glisan St. We had a great experience both times; walked to local parks, dining, and groceries; took advantage of free tours (art walk) offered through the hostel; enjoyed the delicious free bread; and appreciated the helpful staff and clean rooms, bathrooms, and kitchens. The bathroom sink was "under repair" with no visible work done the 3 days we were there. Would have been nice to have hand sanitizer available. — Cynthia , USA (2012-02-29) Great location, good service, excellent facility! I spent 3 nights at this hostel in August 2010. I have no complaints. It was a 5-minute walk to the Max Red Line which goes directly to the airport. Convenient walking distance to downtown and other neighborhoods. Safe location, in an historic house that has been well cared for. Spacious and well-equipped kitchen and dining area with free bakery bread in the a.m. and pastries on the weekend. Helpful staff. Two outdoor patios, including a non-smoking patio. Scheduled activities. What else could a traveler ask for? And all at a very reasonable price. I'd recommend it and stay there again. — rambleswithrosie , USA (2010-08-16) I had a bad experience because of Adam the jerk at the front desk I'll admit that this was only the second hostel I have ever stayed at. First, avoid Adam at the front desk. He seems mild and timid, but actually he's very passive aggressive and makes very arrogant, condescending, unnecessary offensive comments. Abby checked me in and was very polite and sweet. But an hour later when I asked Adam at the front desk if they provide a continental breakfast (the HI I stayed at the day before DID), he said they offer bread (and water?) "as was explained to me when I checked in." Well excuse me for forgetting something they told me at check in. What a dbag. So I asked him if there's anything to put on the bread (like cream cheese or jelly?), and he didn't just say no, he made some snarky remark about that's my choice and some guests do. In other words, he wouldn't just say, no we don't provide any spreads for the bread.
Then I asked Adam the jerk, what time checkout was, and he said noon. I was so irritated with him at this point that I asked him if that was also explained to me at checkin (it was not), and instead of answering the question, he made it clear that noon was the standard time for checkout at most all the hostels. (The one I stayed at the day before had checkout at 11am and it was clearly posted, but at this hostel, it was not.) So ignore Adam. I spoke to Abby in private about Adam to ensure I wasn't being overly sensitive and she immediately understood my concern and has heard this complaint before and witnessed Adam's terrible tone. She said he even speaks to his mother that way. Why does he still work there? When I told her I was going to confront him and she said I would probably just get more irritated. There were 6 beds, so the room was crowded. The house is old and creaks when anyone walks anywhere, so it's always noisy. There's no a/c. There's only one mens bathroom on each floor with only 1 shower stall, so you have to wait. Because of Adam, I won't stay here again, I suggest you don't either. Everybody says that people in Portland are friendly, but I didn't experience that. I don't know what they are talking about. People in SLC Utah are friendly. People in Portland act odd. I can't describe it. They are very slow and don't care about customer service. Even the waiter at Roxy wasn't friendly. He just did his job and barely made eye contact with me. I'm a very friendly approachable person, but people in Portland are not engaging. — Bill born in OH , USA (2010-07-01) Beautiful hostel, very friendly! Portland is a great city and I kept extending my stay because I loved it so much -- and the staff were very helpful at keeping me in my same bed. The hostel is very clean, with AMAZING free artisan bread restocked every day and free nightly pizza! I also met a lot of people at the hostel -- it just has such a friendly, caring attitude. The one downside is that the office closes at night and everyone has to go in the side door which was far from my room (which was near the office). The hostel is walking distance to downtown, greyhound, Amtrak, and public transit, which is excellent. — captainwinter364 , Canada (2010-05-26) Two thumbs up This was my first stay at a hostel and it was a very positive experience. The facilities were clean and in a good location to get around the city easily. They have a large common room and also smaller common rooms for each dorm area so you have the choice to chat with others or take in some quiet time. I met a lot of great people and everyone seemed very friendly. A good mix of age ranges here too. I would definitely stay here again. — Janis , Canada (2010-03-25) Great service Not a bad hostel located in a central location. Staff was super helpful in directing me where to go. The Wi-Fi is good but heard that the central PC that cost money is super slow and unreliable. Good clean bathrooms (have the whole bathroom to yourself instead of cubicles) so overall not a bad hostel to stay in. They also provide free donated bread and pizza at 9 p.m. if someone gets it. — Michael , Australia (2008-12-30) Jerks I came to the Northwest area and had made a reservation for this hostel. The weather became very bad and the roads were snowed out and I was unable to make the reservation even though I did try. The hostel would not work with me to refund even part of the payment. If the circumstances weren't extenuating, I would understand. Just beware. — anonymous , usa (2008-12-15) Loved it I had a great time at this hostel this past weekend. It's clean, in a very beautiful neighborhood with Victorian houses right near the Pearl District and cool shops and bars further West. I wouldn't stay anywhere else if I go back to Portland! The staff is very helpful, the size of the rooms is great, and the kitchen has free bagels and pizza. There was a really good vibe at the hostel with tons of information about local activities and places on the walls. If there was perhaps anything missing, it would have been a separate living room area, but I actually didn't miss that too much. — Lily , Belgium (2008-08-06) A Good Choice Location - for the northwest part of town, it couldn't be much better. Staff - really great. They were all very friendly and helpful. Accommodations - the beds were fairly comfortable, the bathrooms could have used some scrubbing, the common areas were nice, the kitchen area was under construction, but it was still fairly clean. Atmosphere - generally very nice. — Lily , USA (2008-06-09) Quite nice, low key, great location, good service I had a private room and was pleased overall. The location is excellent and it is a comfortable place. Not bad for the price at all. I easily walked from the light rail stop and from the hostel could easily walk or take rail or the streetcar to most anywhere, They even have magnetic room entry keys. The kitchen is nice and there was free bread and pizza. Internet and phone service was easily available and there were plenty of maps and local information. — Paul , USA (2007-12-17) Chill This hostel is very clean and welcoming. The staff cleans in the middle of the day, so expect no napping! The location (close to downtown) is excellent. Easy ways to get to the east side of PDX (just ask the staff). The people who stay here keep to themselves but if you hang in the common room, it is likely a conversation will begin. I also met the cutest guy ever here, so I am a bit biased. I stayed in a co-ed dorm and it was great. I stored my bike and other valuable things without feeling uneasy about it. I recommend the hostel as a long-time traveler. — kennedy , usa (2007-07-11) Although this is a beautiful house and a great location, my experience at this hostel was very negative. There was a mix-up and the staff failed to communicate that they moved all my things to a locker without telling me. When I came back that night, I found someone else in my room -- they were quite surprised when I opened the door (I would be too!) -- and it was very awkward. When I called the owner, he was very rude to me about the misunderstanding -- at one point he told me (I am a single, young female, and this was at 12:30 a.m.) something like this "you don't have to stay here, you know -- I can kick you out." I don't think this is a very appropriate thing to say to a young woman late at night. I understand he might have been tired, but this is no reason to threaten a paying customer. I found the staff to be nice, yet a little disorganized (obviously). When I was given my room the next day (the night after the fiasco with the owner), one of the female staff members neglected to knock on the door of my room before entering and simply came in. Basically, I didn't feel safe at this hostel, and I didn't feel like I was treated well. I asked the manager to call me about what had happened and he never called. I talked to some people who have been staying at this hostel for a long time, and they said that there have been changes in staff recently, and that things have been rather disorganized lately because of the changes. I stayed both in a private room and in the dorms -- the situation in the dorms was a bit strange as there was an older woman who basically "staked out" one of the bunks -- the night that my things were moved, when I was finally ready to go to sleep in one of the dorms, I climbed into bed and the older woman feigned a cough and asked me to move bunks because she was sick. I would not stay here again, nor would I recommend it to anyone. — Anonymous (2007-03-22) I loved this hostel! Its really centrally located, close to music venues, twenty-four-hour coffeeshops, and most importantly the amazing Powell books. It's not a really lively/party hostel, but very clean, spacious, friendly, and has heaps of are information and discounts. Plus every evening free pizza and really good, healthy, free breads twenty-four hours. — Wendy (2007-02-21) I do not have any great complaints about this place, nor do I have any great praise. It was an average hostel in a fairly good location for exploring downtown Portland. Rooms were clean and rather large for a hostel. The kitchen was well stocked and having free bread all day certainly helped the traveler on a budget. Free, easy parking was great especially since it was so easy to just walk everywhere. One concern I had was that a girl in my room had been living at the hostel for weeks and had made the room her own apartment. She often made others in the room feel like unwelcome guests. I think there should be a max number of nights a guest can stay. — gypsysoul (2006-11-07) A place that was okay most of the time. I think that the people in Portland and around this area are a bit frustrated, and the staff is overworked, and the rooms are stuffed. Overall, ok experience that could be a lot better at an average hotel. Location is good, not bad, a few cool places on 23rd and 21st, but you can do better. Do not stay longer than four days, and the snoring in this place from other hostelers can get annoying. — Greg (2006-03-04)