Prescott International Hotel & Hostel

The Prescott International Hotel and Hostel is a well equipped hostel with a nice (out of town) location. The hostel is a converted historic hotel, and is reasonably clean and fairly well maintained.

It's located in a nice working class suburb called Everett. To get to downtown Boston you have to take a 15 minute bus ride to the subway stop, then take a subway train into town. It may take as much as an hour to get to or from downtown when you add in the wait time for the bus and train. They offer free pickup from the train station when you first arrive, but only during the summer. If you go out at night and you stay out past about 1 AM you'll need to catch a taxi back (about $15). There's a grocery store, bank, a few restaurants, and post office just down the road from the hostel, as well as a bus stop.

The dorm rooms have bunk beds and linen is provided. There is a required $5 key deposit that must be paid in cash. The ensuite bathrooms are small but pretty nice, but some are missing a soap dispenser and they don't have a place to put your clothes.

You can meet people in the TV lounge/bar area, which has a huge TV and comfy seats. It also has a very nice large front porch with tables and chairs. The atmosphere in the hostel potentially quite social and there are usually young backpackers around. But they do allow long term guests and there may be a number of elderly people, even in the dorm rooms, so it may not quite have the atmosphere you would want at a youth hostel. Internet access is free for 20 minutes but relatively slow.

The owner of the hostel (Wayne) is very friendly. The other man who works there seemed to be very friendly, almost overly friendly, but he also has a short fuse and he'll quickly turn angry if you end up on his bad side (don't even think about bringing up any suggestions, issues, or complaints -- he doesn't want to hear about guests' concerns). The hostel does not accept travelers checks, and does not give out change, so be prepared when you get there. Credit cards are accepted.

Overall it's a nice place to relax away from the city after a day of exploring Boston.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2005