Marrakech Hostel

The Marrakech Hostel (formerly called the Malibu Hostel) is a bit of a hodgepodge of different rooms of different standards. The basic dorm rooms are small and cramped. Linen is provided and towels but that's about all. There are no free facilities and it has much more of a hotel vibe than a hostel one. The hostel has expensive pay internet kiosks for 12 cents per minute. There is no kitchen, laundry or common areas. There is not even an area to sit down anywhere in the building other than on your bed. They are, however, in the process of renovating and perhaps in the future there will be more hostel facilities. Hopefully they will also renovate the bathrooms that are a bit run down and lack essentials like a place to put your towel and clothes and have no toilet paper holders. The bathrooms also leave a bit to be desired in the cleanliness department. They don't clean the shared bathrooms everyday, no matter how big the hairballs get, how blocked the drains are or how slimy the floor gets. So they can get quite nasty.

The whole place could do with a bit of a spring clean. It is a little untidy and the general day to day cleaning seems ok when they do it, but it's questionable as to whether they change the sheets between every guest if they still look clean. It's not a horrible place and by New York City standards it's not too bad. Especially considering it's cheaper than most NYC hostels. But it's not fantastic either. Essentially it's a half decent place to crash and that's it. Oh, as long as you don't mind sharing your room with a mouse or two.

The staff are friendly. There are laundries near by and plenty of places to get food as it's a residential area. It feels quite safe around there too. It is quite far from most places tourists would want to see but New York is so big you would most likely have to get public transport around anyway. Due to the lack of common areas and facilities it would not be a good choice for someone hoping to meet people. Don't let the "daily maid service" sway your decision to stay here as all that means is that everyday they un-make your bed and fold up your bedding (but don't change it) and take your towel and don't replace it. When you leave expect to pay $2 if you want to store your bag there for the day after you check out.

This place is not too hard to find if you have a map and a little knowledge of how the streets are numbered in New York. It's on the Upper West Side and is on the corner of 103rd street and Broadway. From the Port Authority bus station take the subway to 103rd street station or take bus # M104 up Broadway. The subway is faster but the bus is more interesting. It can be hard to find the bus stop though and the "information" booths in the bus station are useless. They way to find the bus stop for the M104 from inside the bus station is to exit the 42nd street exit, turn right and walk to the corner (42nd and 8th) and the bus stop is on the diagonally opposite corner. Pay attention to the street numbers and get off the bus when you get to 103rd.

— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
March 2006