Big Apple Hostel

The Big Apple Hostel is quite a deal for a New York City hostel. It is located right in the middle of Times Square and easily accessible from almost any subway line. This makes it convenient for arrival, departure and visiting all of Manhattan's attractions. Walking along Forty-Fifth Street, you will notice a flag hanging out above the front door, making the hostel quite easy to locate.

The building is a little old, but this is true of almost all the buildings in the surrounding area. There is an elevator to take you up to the higher floors so you can avoid hauling all of your bags up seven or eight flights of stairs. However, sometimes the elevator will not work properly if there are more than three people or lots of luggage. In this case some will need to take the stairs or wait a few moments and catch the elevator on the next trip up.

The first floor is home to the common TV room with pay Internet access and a full kitchen open to use by the guests. The kitchen is recently remodeled (December 2006) and is quite nice. There are also laundry machines located in the basement for the guests to use for a small fee. Out the back of the hostel is a patio area with tables and chairs to enjoy some fresh air.

For those who wish to avoid cooking, there is a wonderful deli right next door to the hostel. They have made-to-order breakfast and lots of hot and cold sandwiches as well as a lunch and dinner buffet. In addition, there are hundreds of other restaurants within walking distance as the hostel is in the middle of Times Square.

The rooms are fairly roomy and cleaned everyday by the hostel so they stay in good order. Each floor is divided into two sections of four rooms, each room consisting of two bunk beds, and each section has two showers with toilets. There were not many people at the hostel during our stay so we only shared our room for one of the three nights. We never waited for the showers either; the facilities seem quite sufficient.

The hostel is a very friendly place filled with all sorts of travelers. There are the young backpackers from all over the world, families, and everything in between. The staff is quite friendly, but be sure to bring your key with you at all times. They are strict about this rule. It is not enough for one traveler in a group to have a key. Each person must have his/her key when entering the hostel. The front desk may ask to see your key if they have not seen you before.

We saw a mouse run across the floor of the kitchen during our stay, which isn't uncommon in buildings in NYC. The hostel did not seem to have a big rodent problem, but we also did not leave any food in the kitchen. All in all, the hostel is very comfortable, centrally located in Manhattan, and clean -- with the exception of the mouse.

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