The Hostelz.com Review
3 Ducks Hostel is perfect for the sociable traveler who wants to make friends and party with interesting people.
The Location
This hostel is located about fifteen minutes from the Eiffel Tower on foot. There are several taxis available in the area but they tend to be expensive. The metro station is also located about two blocks from the hostel, which allows for easy access to the rest of Paris. There is no space for parking except along the street. This neighborhood has a variety of restaurants and grocery stores to shop at within walking distance as well.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are no private rooms available at this hostel but there are a lot of four-, six-, and eight-person dormitories. The rooms are very small and the beds are extremely uncomfortable. The rooms have a sink, table, beds, and chairs. All bathrooms are located in the open courtyard on the ground floor of the hostel. The hostel does not provide towels or soap but they do have blankets that you can rent. The hostel is two floors so may of the rooms are located on the second floor.
We found the bathroom situation very inconvenient. The bathrooms that are available on the bottom floor are tiny and not very clean. They face the courtyard, which also means there will most likely be people sitting around outside of your shower.
Common Spaces
The common area of the hostel looks normal during the day, lots of travelers talking or eating outside. It is very brightly colored and there are a lot of tables. It is located in the center of the hostel and it is open-air. At night, the reception area of the hostel is actually a bar that is open until 2 a.m. This allows for a very fun and inviting nightlife scene where many people get together and dance and drink in the bar and in the courtyard. We found that this hostel had the most unique and laid back nightlife around. There is a kitchen area that provides all necessary appliances but no towels or soaps. There is also a storage area to leave your bags if you check in early, which is good because check-in is 4 p.m.
Summary
In summary, 3 Ducks Hostel is a great place if you are interested in meeting new people and having a good time. We would not recommend this hostel for anyone who has to be up early in the morning because the party seems to last all night.
The Location
This hostel is located about fifteen minutes from the Eiffel Tower on foot. There are several taxis available in the area but they tend to be expensive. The metro station is also located about two blocks from the hostel, which allows for easy access to the rest of Paris. There is no space for parking except along the street. This neighborhood has a variety of restaurants and grocery stores to shop at within walking distance as well.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are no private rooms available at this hostel but there are a lot of four-, six-, and eight-person dormitories. The rooms are very small and the beds are extremely uncomfortable. The rooms have a sink, table, beds, and chairs. All bathrooms are located in the open courtyard on the ground floor of the hostel. The hostel does not provide towels or soap but they do have blankets that you can rent. The hostel is two floors so may of the rooms are located on the second floor.
We found the bathroom situation very inconvenient. The bathrooms that are available on the bottom floor are tiny and not very clean. They face the courtyard, which also means there will most likely be people sitting around outside of your shower.
Common Spaces
The common area of the hostel looks normal during the day, lots of travelers talking or eating outside. It is very brightly colored and there are a lot of tables. It is located in the center of the hostel and it is open-air. At night, the reception area of the hostel is actually a bar that is open until 2 a.m. This allows for a very fun and inviting nightlife scene where many people get together and dance and drink in the bar and in the courtyard. We found that this hostel had the most unique and laid back nightlife around. There is a kitchen area that provides all necessary appliances but no towels or soaps. There is also a storage area to leave your bags if you check in early, which is good because check-in is 4 p.m.
Summary
In summary, 3 Ducks Hostel is a great place if you are interested in meeting new people and having a good time. We would not recommend this hostel for anyone who has to be up early in the morning because the party seems to last all night.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2009
Their Description
3 Ducks Hostel Details
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3 Ducks Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Scam Overpriced. Also didn't realize it was part of the bartending staff's job to attempt to hook up with its guest. I believe in karma. The bartender from Chicago will get his. I've ended my relationship due to this. manager is a psycho, very emotionally unstable. — Judd Remy , US (2009-09-02) Sucked This hostel is a complete fraud. The rooms are small, dingy, and dark. The "low" priced bar is a sham with $4 beers and the showers shouldnt even be called such. Mildew and a sketch crowd are about the only things to look forward to at this hell hole. — AmericaTheBeautiful , USA (2009-07-22) The hostel is horrible Bad bad bad. My experience with this hostel is very bad. The room and bathroom were bad and dirty. The worst thing was around 5 a.m. two stranger guys could suddenly entered the room through the windows which is mean the hostels is not safe at all. You must not allow a stranger unless in your bar. I will not use this hostel again. You are supposed to have a better hostel at your price. Improve your security system, fix your bathroom, toilet, room, and even the area. It is more like a slum than a hostel. — Ira , Indonesia (2009-07-20) Worse than terrible toilets and showers are on the fresh air (very fresh in winter). rooms are poor, dirty, and small. it is not worth to stay there for it's price. Their website does not show the true picture of accommodation they offer and they ask you to pay in advance for the whole stay. it was the most terrible hostel I have ever been to. — karokaro , Poland (2009-02-04) Not up to standards! Terrible! This is the worst hostel i have ever stayed in (and i do not consider myself to be a difficult person). All I can say is that this hostel does not even come close to meeting basic hostel standards! First off, the rooms are way over cramped with too many beds -- there is simply no room to do anything in there, even changing is difficult. The hostel is also very dirty, even though they have a lockout time every day for many hours. It is a small hostel, cleaning should not have been a problem with the hostel being empty. It is a beaten down hostel, windows and doors half broken, offering no peace of mind for security. (we got some stuff stolen too!). It is impossible to sleep as they do not limit the noise inside the rooms as they should. I really do not recommend this place, not even for meeting people. — can1 , Canada (2008-09-13) Basic facilities, not very clean, noisy, and disrespectful staff. We stayed here for six days and I have a bit of advice for anyone coming. Bring earplugs unless you plan on getting drunk and passing out, which plenty of people do, and do not come here if you are older than twenty-five. If you are a grown-up, somebody from the staff will tell you that you don't belong to this place. They will not refund the money you have paid in advance, and you will be harassed by an unfriendly employee. There is only one key for each room so you basically have to leave the room unlocked if you're sleeping and not everyone is there. I would absolutely not stay at this hostel again and would not recommend it to anyone. — Bernie , American (2007-06-30) I think that 3 Ducks hostel is a pretty standard hostel. The courtyard was great for meeting people and just generally chilling out. The rooms were ok, the beds basic but comfortanble, and the bathrooms were clean but small. The bar was smaller than i expected but still cool for an afternoon drink after a long day of sightseeing. And after comparing the prices with other bars, it is cheaper to get a pint at 3 ducks. The Location is great as it's only a short walk to the eiffel tower and to the Fat tire bike tour shop (handy if you plan on doing one of their tours which are great by the way). The only complaint would be security, i felt a little uneasy leaving my bags in the luggage room as it seemed anybody coud walk in and grab them, but i had no problems whilst there. I would definitely stay there again. — Anna , Australian (2007-05-11) The best part of this hostel was its atmosphere. It was always filled with youth and they were always having a great time at the bar or eating the crappy free breakfast. There were two computers with free Internet that ran fine it is just that someone else was usually using them. The hostel is far away from the center of Paris and requires you to hop on the metro in order to get somewhere fast. The metro can be heard every now and then but is so faint that it is not a problem at all. The beds are standard and after traveling around Europe with my friends a bed with some old sheets was nothing to complain about. The bathrooms served their purpose but were nothing extraordinary. — Bunker , USA (2007-04-02) i loved the hostel. it's got a great bar to meet people, i met five aussies four years ago and i am still friends with them. if you are looking for some swank place then don't go to a hostel in the first place. its cozy, has loads of character, and is a basic hostel. if you want an experience then stay here. — Ash, USA (2007-01-31) I think people who moaned about the 3 Ducks arent cut out for traveling. you've got to make the best of any situation. I stayed here for about four nights for my eighteenth birthday in november '06 with two friends under eighteen and a twenty-year-old. the surrounding place is really lovely, quintessentially french and there are plenty of cheap bakeries to buy something from if the baguette and jam served for breakfast wasnt enough for you, which was great. the showers werent that cold and i was there in november! Our room, the door wouldnt lock from the inside because it was broken and we freaked out and tried to get the guy to fix it but he was a total waste of space (like when we left for the airport at 5 a.m. and needed to get our passports, the moaning git) so we used our female brains and tied the door handle to one of the bunks and hell it worked but after two nights there we realised we didnt even need it, it was such a friendly atmosphere and group of people, young people traveling basically. (you get the odd couple of losers in the bar cause it's public but they cant go into the courtyard) we were lucky as we had four people and got a four bunk room, but sharing wouldnt kill anyone and taking your earplugs is common sense even if you are staying with friends. Friends snore too! personally the sound of the metro didnt bother me at all, i liked it and its definitely not loud enough to keep you up. the place was clean enough for me too (and im easily grossed out) we also found a lovely chinese restaurant across the square which was great and not expensive. given you can't see the eiffel tower (as we managed to walk in the opposite direction to get to it in the dark for about three hours!) it's still a fantastic french place and definitely worth going. dont bother spending money on any other hostel when you can save it to see some of the sights, i mean thats where you spend most of your time isnt it! overall i really enjoyed my stay at the 3 ducks and i would go back, if you look for things that are bad then you're going to find them anywhere. this place was fine and safe. I feel I owe it to this little hostel to let other people know i met some lovely people here, was safe, felt safe, and approved of it because people moan too much. its hostel, not hotel. — Alex from Yorkshire (2007-01-19) After I read some comments on the hostel I knew that there was no need to write something too, but I have to say too how horrible the place was. We stayed here for three nights after New Years Eve in 2004 as we couldn't find anything else for less money. It was extremely expensive for what we found. The place might be ok in summer when you can use the courtyard but in winter it was just horrible cold and it was just a strange, open to the wind and the cold place. We had a six-people dorm and another room was only accessible through our room so much about security. We had a shower in our room but I can't remember anyone having a shower as the water was so cold. As the other said: don't stay there. Paris is an expensive town but there must be something better! — Katha (2007-01-09) Ok, this isn't the cleanest place to stay (the rooms themselves smelled like sweaty feet) but that isn't really the point. The point is that this place lives up to its reputation as a party hostel. The bar is very lively and full of awesome, (mostly) young people from all around the world, and it is close to a metro station in case you want to head out to another bar or a club. They say that they have a curfew but they are actually very lenient, which was nice too. To sum it up, if you want a classy, quiet place to rest, this isn't what you're looking for. This hostel is simply a great place to meet people and then crash when you're done with the nightlife! — Alex W (2006-08-24) Well, we stayed here for three days and I have a bit of advice for anyone coming. Bring earplugs unless you plan on getting drunk and passing out, which plenty of people do. Now I'm no stranger to hostels as I have been traveling for almost nine months now, and this was by far the worst. The hostel is close to the Metro which is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing should be self explanitory the curse is that your walls shake every fifteen minutes or so as the trains go by. There is no security, which is the point I wish to drive home as implimenting some would not be a problem. I have stayed in hostels that only had one key per room before, but they always required some form of identification to get it back. Here all you had to do was walk in and request a key and it was given to you. They wanted you to keep your valubles in the same place as the keys which I didn't do since I saw how easy it was to get the keys. The luggage room has no lock nor any security cammeras or lockers. The kitchen is shabby at best -- two hot plates and an oven, very few dishes and I only saw one bowl and no plates. Also if possible get a room on the top floor as I stayed there and the showers and toilets were infinitely cleaner than those that opened into the courtyard. Breakfast was good and the staff were very helpful and nice, which was redeeming. But it couldn't make up for the complete lack of security. — Sara E (2006-05-29) I recently stayed at the 3 Ducks for a week and had the time of my life!
Ok, so the facilities are extremely basic. The rooms are covered in graffiti and can be very noisy thanks to the rumbling metro tunnel below and noise from the bar until 2 a.m. However, what makes this place so great are the cool, friendly people you will meet in the bar. I had such fun meeting so many interesting travellers from all over the world. The location is also very good, close to a couple of metro stations and in a nice part of Paris. If you are a solo traveller and party animal (like me) this is an ideal place to crash and meet some cool people. If you are after the Ritz and a full eight hours' sleep, then look elsewhere. — Paul (2006-03-23) Horrible hostel. The bathrooms are outside and not well-maintained, and I didn't see showers anywhere (though I didn't look). Linens are NOT free. "Breakfast" is a baguette that you can put butter or jelly on, and coffee. They ran out of baguettes the second day I was there. The noise from the bar (and there's a lot of it, between voices and music in that tiny cramped space) at night carries up to the rooms so that it's hard to sleep. There is only one key for each room so you basically have to leave the room unlocked if you're sleeping and not everyone is there. The luggage room doesn't lock. The only redeeming value of this place is that the bed and pillow were comfy so I could actually fall asleep once the noise from the bar stopped. I would absolutely NOT stay at this hostel again and would not recommend it to anyone. — Erin (2006-02-27)