Washington International Student Center

Washington, DC (Adams Morgan)

4 of 14

Address	2451 18th St. NW, Washington DC, Washington, DC (Adams Morgan), Washington, DC, USA Map
Price	23 dollars Check Current Prices by Date Here

Location/Contact

Details

Description

Features

Free Breakfast
Kitchen
Lockers
Lounge / Common space
TV
Washing Machine (laundry)
24 Hour Free Hot Showers
Phones (public or in room)
Air Conditioning

Ratings & Comments

1.5 Average from 27 Ratings

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Comment by Luiz Andrade, Brazil

April 2009

It shocks at first sight
When I read the other ratings I thought people were overreacting, or maybe that they could be too picky, It really is an awful place to stay. The only advantages it has is the price and the proximity to the center of D.C. It's difficult to find, there's a huge stairway to carry your bags up, and the hostel is scattered throughout the building. The guy from the reception is awfully stupid and rude. The place seems really old, but at least is clean. They provide "lockers" which are the size of a purse and a "well furnished" kitchen. If you are able to find any clean silverware in it you are lucky. The breakfast is complimentary and a joke. I didn't have any problems with my belongings, but I didn't find it a safe place to let my things while I was sight-seeing. Despite all of these I managed to have a god time in D.C.

Comment by Crystal, New Mexico, USA

March 2009

Perfect for Students
I think most of the complaints on here are over exaggerated. Obviously this is a hostel and not a hotel so don't come with expectations of it being like a hotel. If that's what you want, go pay for one. That's not to say that this place isn't clean or friendly -- it definitely is better than college dorms. The pictures of the bathrooms are outdated. I was just in DC this weekend for the Powershift convention, and it seems like they've upgraded the showers, sinks, and toilets in their bathrooms. Also, there is only one room that has the triple stacked bunk beds, all other rooms have normal bunk beds. It is in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, pretty much the party neighborhood of metro DC. So needless to say if you don't want to be in such an area, don't book this place. If this is indeed what you are looking for, this place is perfect. There are so many places to eat too, and it's all pretty good! The nightlife goes on until well after 3 a.m. Not too far from the metro station. Met very many interesting people. Would stay here again.

Comment by Cgfester, Australia

January 2009

Terrible
All comments about the horrible nature of this hostel are true. Adams Morgan has cheap bars and interesting food places, but it is absolutely not worth it to stay at this place. Between the midwestern hick with handwriting like six-year-old and the mental capacity of someone even younger, and the arrogant jerk, it is hard to get even toilet paper, which, inexplicably, is kept in the common room, never in the bathroom. The bedsheets were so old the elastic in the fitted ones was nonexistent. The mattresses were so worn they felt as though they had been used by a thousand and one dirty hookers. The rooms were so crowded it must be in violation of some sort of planning rule. This place is a disgrace, no internet hostel sites should advertise it. Please do not repeat my mistake.

Comment by Cemile and Jan, Germany

January 2009

Very nice people but don't expect too much
The area the hostel is located at is amazing. It's hip, it's cool -- bars, pubs, and great people. But it's kind of far from the subway station. The people working there are very nice! The rooms are tiny. We hated the three-floored Bunk beds. If you have no expectations you will not get disappointed. It's ok for two or three Nights, but if you want to stay longer -- go somewhere else! They only have two bathrooms. It gets crowded in the morning. If you bring your own laptop you can use internet for free.

Comment by Mel, New Zealand

October 2007

Steer clear of this place!
This hostel is simply crap, disappointing on all fronts. The staff were unfriendly, unhelpful, and downright rude to other guests. Triple bunk beds were crammed into tiny rooms with very little space for luggage, and only tiny lockers were available for rent. The bathroom was clean but there was probably one bathroom between thirty people, the kitchen was gross, the breakfast was bad, there was no tourist information at all. The whole vibe of the place was bad, probably because everyone was bummed out at having to stay at such a hole. Avoid this place at all costs!

Comment by P2Z, New Zealand

August 2007

Couldn't be any worse!!!
I first satyed at this "hostel" about 2 years ago. Back then it was in Adams Morgan, and very centrally located. It was terrible: filthy and disgusting dont begin to do it justice. I didnt think t could be worse. Then they had a fire and closed. When I saw they had re-opened, I thought maybe they rehabbed the place and updated (cleaned) it. Well, it has moved to another location. It is NOT centrally located, unless youre looking for drugs, a prostitute or are looking to be a crime statistic. The staff is TERRIBLE! Unfriendly and unwilling to do ANYTING for you. I wish I could leave ZERO STARS, but it isn't an option. TRAVELERS BEWARE!!! STAY AWAY!!!

Comment by Appalled American, USA

June 2007

Absolutely Awful.
I would give this place zero stars if that were an option. The website hasn't been updated, so when I arrived I'm glad I thought to call and discover that it had moved from a really central neighborhood to a very questionable part of town that is far from everything. The staff were incredibly rude, they charged me for a night that I didn't stay and then wouldn't refund my money, and it's not just the males there who don't help small, baggage-laden females lug their stuff up the two flights of steep concrete stairs. I finally ended up leaving mid-stay and finding another place because I just couldn't stand the staff and filthy shower any longer. It was filthy, nothing worked, and the internet kiosk hardly works and is a total ripoff. The staff treat you like you are either a criminal or, if you're really fortunate, just an inconvenience. Charging $23 a night for this place is audacious beyond belief. They did let me stay, despite being an American. I just had to show a student ID. Really, this place is only an option if it's either the International Student Center or the street, though. It's awful, awful, awful. And, if you do choose to sleep on the street, you definitely won't be alone in this neighborhood.

Comment by lou

January 2007

if there was an option of zero stars, then i would give this place a big fat zero! my friend and i arrived to find we were in the ghett. the windows next door were busted and boarded up. after being let inside by the scary man (we didn't know if we were at the right place due to no signage) we had to lug our heavy bags up a million flights of stairs (i love the way male americans don't offer to help young females with hard tasks). the room itself was scary, the bathroom even more scary. we decided we couldn't stay there because the guy would murder us in our sleep, or even worse, lock us up forever. instead we spent the afternoon walking around dc looking for somewhere safer to stay. when we returned to get our stuff and leave our keys we snuck out so the man couldn't stop us.

Comment by Blah

December 2006

The bar/restaurant below this place caught on fire last year -- enough to keep the business closed for over a year now. The overcrowded rooms above it had no clue there was a fire due to lack of a fire system. The rooms hold about nine people and shouldn't have more than four at most. Its truly a fire hazard due to lack of alerting systems, overcrowded rooms, and lack of exit points. Not safe and not updated.

Comment by Suzy

March 2006

This hostel is disgusting! We had to drive around in a taxi for 2 hours trying to find the place because there was not a single sign on the building. The staff were rude and the place was filthy! Tiny rooms had three high bunk beds crammed in with no room for any luggage. We did not stay even one night but were forced to pay even though it was disgusting! We found a hotel in town for only $5 more per night -- well worth it!

Comment by Ron

October 2005

I called them a couple of hours before heading out to this hostel, from the airport, to make sure they had space. Everything seemed ok. After lugging my bags for the 20-minute hike from the Metro, I was told they don't accept Americans, only international visitors with passports. Why didn't they tell me this on the phone??? They are m*****f****** bigots.

Comment by Ben

September 2005

Awesome place. I was there years ago, during September 11. It was a bit weird but they took care of most of the people who were stuck there. I stayed there eight days and enjoyed it big time. The French dude working there was cool! Cheers.

Comment by Hally

June 2005

It was hard for me to rate this hostel. It is not clean but not dirty. The "breakfast" is toast and tea. The beds are stacked three high, disallowing you any opportunity to sit up in bed. This focuses you to socialize in the commons area. I realize so far, this does not sound good. However, I stayed there six nights and had a blast. The hostel is in an awesome part of town (though dirty). It is surrounded by three blocks of ethnic food joints and nightclubs. Fridays and Saturdays are a riot. The bars let out at 3 a.m. People eat pizza out in the street until after 4 a.m. This makes for a convenient place to head out on the town, just feet away. The people that stayed at the hostel were really cool, down-to-earth individuals. It is located right in-between two subway stops. This equals about a twenty-minute walk to either station. I thought it was convenient. They do supply sheets and towels. The place though seemingly dirty is sanitary. I don't feel as if I'm doing this place justice. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. It is not nearly the nicest hostel I have stayed at. However, I had a blast! I would definitely stay there again.

Comment by Sam

May 2005

Had the misfortune of staying here a few months back. A complete dive with unfriendly staff. We left as soon as we could check out the following morning. The only think it had going for it was the lively street it sat on. I felt on edge the whole time, don't stay here, it's a dump!!!!

Comment by Vicki, United Kingdom

April 2005

The best feature of this hostel by far is its location, admittedly it is nowhere near the city centre and kind be bit difficult to find as nobody seems to know that it is there, but once you find it you are in the middle of the best street of pubs, clubs and restaurants in Washington DC. The hostel itself is not the cleanest of places, we paid for a private room which was a bit dusty, but had loads of space, proper double bed, two big wardrobes and a desk, would recommend the private rooms if you can stretch to it as the dorms looked very cramped. Don't expect to get a quick shower in the morning unless you are up ridiculously early as there are only about four bathrooms in the hostel so there is always a queue in the morning. Free breakfast is pretty much just bread and jam, but what do you expect for free!? There is a lot of helpful information in the common room with directions in every language for every tourist attraction you could possibly want to see and the staff are pretty helpful too. All in all I would recommend this place on location alone, but book ahead as it gets really busy at the weekends.

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