Santa Barbara Tourist Hostel

Worst hostel experience of my life.
The staff were standoffish and incompetent -- I was made to wait over half an hour to check in when I arrived, even though they were checking someone in as I got there and the process took less than two minutes. The bunk beds were unsturdy, and I was terrified that the structure was going to collapse on top of me when someone climbed up to the top bunk. There were curtains instead of doors over the toilet stalls, the shower curtains were thick with mildew, and you had to pay to lock up your valuables -- something absolutely necessary when you're in a room with eleven other people. I stayed for two nights, and when I came back after being out all day for my second night, they had given my bed away and then had the audacity to seem reluctant to give me new sheets, even though the person to whom they had given my bed had taken the sheets right along with them. Overall, it wasn't clean, I didn't feel safe, and I couldn't wait to get out.

Terrible
I stayed at this hostel over the summer. It had only one nice thing about it -- location. But besides that, the staff were rude, the laundry machines and vending machines were broken, you had to pay to use the computers, kitchen was unclean, dorms rooms were disgusting (dark, no ventilation, overcrowded). All of those things would have been ok if it wasn't so overpriced. If my friends and I knew it was going to be such a bad experience we would have just stayed in a hotel.

Great location. blocks from the state street "strip." blocks from the water. one block from amtrak. clean, quiet, and friendly staff. there is wireless available, but only if you have your own computer. you have to pay for internet access at the hostel so i would suggest going over the the city college library just around the corner instead. the kitchen is closed after 12. so the hostel stays pretty quiet.