Global Village Hostel

They overcharged me. Told me I had to pay two extra days and made some excuse about not giving me a receipt. The people staying there were nice, but it is a bit of a dive.

This hostel has been damaged extensively by fire as of October 3, 2006.

Consider this a warning to anyone thinking about staying here. Things in reality are a lot worse than you think if you were to see them yourself. Basically, this place is a dirty dump that's falling apart and where drug addicts, criminals, and the city's homeless gravitate around. A lot of skanky prostitutes in drugs bring their clients here and we saw junkies using and selling drugs in the halls and the communal bathrooms, which were filthy to say the least. When we went out the first night, we didn't feel safe on the streets of the neighborhood where this place is located. It's very shady -- lots of prostitutes and drug dealers roaming around at night. When we got back to the hostel that night, we got robbed at gunpoint inside. The staff, who was extremely rude at all times, didn't move a finger or even care about it. We had to call the cops ourselves and when they came they weren't even surprised -- they had been there often and knew the place well because of the "elements" that frequent it. One of the cops asked us why had we chosen this place from everything else. We told him we didn't know any better being from out of town and he advised to find a place somewhere else. It was the best advice we got. We checked in another place right away. We wished someone could have warned us about this place before choosing to stay there. If you're thinking about going there or know someone who is, consider yourself warned!

I spent 3 days here in early September of last year. Compared to some other places I've stayed, it wasn't brilliant, but it was by far the cheapest hostel I've seen. It is extremely basic so don't expect much, but I wouldn't consider it anywhere near as bad as it has been made out.

What a complete dive. They don't even give you towels. The residents are mostly locals who are addicted to crack, and getting scabies is common in this filthy dive!! No Internet and no television. What a nightmare!!

Avoid this place at all costs! The rooms and common areas were filthy and grimy, several bathroom doors and shower doors did not lock properly, staff members were smoking in the building — it was just awful. I booked a private room for two people online for one week. We got there and paid, then were allowed to see our room and look around. After less than 10 minutes, we asked for a refund. The man at the desk refused to refund us, even after only a few minutes in the building — we didn't even bring our bags in! He finally gave us a refund after we showed him a printed online receipt saying that we were entitled to a refund (minus one night's fee) if we cancelled within 48 hours of arrival. I don't mind "roughing it", but this place was just terrible. As a woman, I didn't feel comfortable there on any level. Pay 5 or 10 extra dollars a night and go somewhere else.

As a seasoned traveller on a tight budget we chose this place as it was cheap. It really is a seedy dump, but being on a tight budget I did odd jobs around the hostel to pay for accomodation. I found out the hostel used to be a halfway house for ex-cons. Needless to say, it lived up to its reputation. We had numerous problems with crackheads coming in and creating mayhem. One morning I walked into the communal bathroom to find human feces smeared in obviously maniacal style all over and I mean, all over. There was a cospiracy theorist who described to me in detail how he wanted to blow up the world. He was 911'd out of there. I left pretty soon after. I'd rather pay an extra 5 bucks somewhere else, and enjoy San Francisco the way it should be enjoyed.

The rooms were ok. I liked the shower. "Huge" is a good description. The staff were helpful. I would recommend it for people on a budget.

I have been to many hostels in so many countries in my life but this is by far the WORST hostel in the world! No words can actually describe how disgusting and horrible the conditions are in this place. Avoid this horrible place at any cost!!!

This hostel is the filthiest and utterly most disgusting place I've ever seen on Earth. Roaches, trash, and mice are everywhere. Nothing works. Showers, doors, and windows are all broken. There's no functioning A/C or heat working.

This was the scariest place I've ever stayed. The neighborhood is dangerous, the hostel is dirty and filled with junkies, and the owner is paranoid and greedy. He shoved a kid in our room at 7 a.m. the day of our checkout, convinced that we were ripping him off somehow, and yelled at us to get out or pay for another day. We were sleeping in our beds at the time! I refused to walk around or shower in my bare feet the whole time I was there. There was a screaming match/eviction across the hall while we were there — very early in the morning. This place is just disgusting. You'd be better off sleeping in the streets. If you are a junkie or a prostitute, you'll love it here.

We stayed here in 1999 — it looks like it hasn't improved since then. The place was DISGUSTING and totally ruined our stay in San Francisco — so much so we stayed one night and left. There were no other cheap accommodations, as it was peak time, so that was our trip ruined and we headed back to LA. They were rude and the place was full of drifters and derelicts that stunk. The bathrooms were gross. We joke about it now that we actually survived the night at this place. Next time I went to San Francisco I stayed at the YHA and had a blast! Avoid like the plague (which you could catch by staying here!)

Don't stay here, it's not worth it at any price. When I came back one night the manager yelled at me to "Come here - hey! Hey! You!" like I was trespassing or breaking in. Rude doesn't describe it. He made me show him that I had a key, and then made me show him my room where I'd left my bag. Keep in mind I'd paid $20 and a $5 key deposit, but I was treated like a suspect. (When he confronted me I could smell the liquor on his breath.) When I checked out it was more of the same. The guy couldn't find a receipt for my key deposit so he wouldn't give me the $5, even though I had the key in my hands. (I didn't give it to him until he gave me the $5, after an employee verified that I had paid the deposit when I checked in and it was because they'd run out of receipts. I swear that happened. It's just the kind of place they run and it'll happen to you if you stay here, so don't.) As for the quality of the place, it's utterly horrible. I should have known saving five bucks over the other hostels was not worth it when the carpet in one of the halls squished when walked on. There was a screaming ghetto fight in the room next to mine during the night, and it lasted for hours. The guy in my dorm was deranged and drunk and kept saying "Get out of the cab, get out of the cab." All night that went on. I was too scared to get up and leave because I figured everywhere else would be closed. I got no rest. I was seriously afraid for my health from the filth of the place, or from being assaulted. Thank you, Travellers Inn, for the worst night of my life.

I have been to so many hostels in so many countries in my life but this is quiet possibly the WORST hostel in the world! No words can actually describe how disgusting and horrible the conditions are in this place. Avoid this place like the plague!

I live around the corner from this hostel. The owners regularly dump garbage on the sidewalks in front of and on the side of the hostel and refuse to clean it up. The backstairs (fire exit) are sometimes blocked by trash containers and trash bags. The staff occasionally let in crack addicts and street prostitutes late at night via a back door. It is not uncommon to see persons who have just smoked crack during the day enter through the front door (an access code is required, so I must assume that they are either residents or friends of the staff). I have been inside countless times to complain to the management, who are almost always unresponsive unless directly threatened with imminent city inspections or a police presence. All of this activity has been recorded on videotape by surrounding residential buildings and businesses, and reported to the San Francisco Police Department.