Wanderers Inn West

The area is frightening. One of the staff told me to exit the 116th stop on the "A" when coming home at night verses the 110th stop. What the hell was HE thinking? Aside from that, it's cheap and fairly clean but only if you're in one of the eight bed dorms. With the larger dorms, there's no place for everyone to put the things (luggage, shopping bags, etc.) because they are cramped to the MAX (can they FIT any more beds in these rooms?! Jeez.). The housekeepers have NO WAY to vacuum the floors. It truly becomes a fire hazard in my opinion. And there's a severe bed bug problem - one girl awoke with bites up her entire arm! The staff can be cold and curt and the manager (!) especially can have a bad attitude - I saw him behave unfairly to another guest. The staff and manager are Brazilian and I guess you'll have a better rapport with them if you are as well. They serve "breakfast" but's it's stale so what's the point? The "orange juice" is Tang so what's the point? The coffee is undrinkable so what's the point? Pizza night is plain cheese pizza and it's just bad. Movie night is OK if you're in for the night and the popcorn is cool. The upside is that it's cheap and in New York I guess you get what you pay for. I would not recommend the place at all. Very poor.

The area is not bad although it won't seem that way when you first arrive. The price is very good but the rooms are overfilled with too many bunk beds for the space. The staff are much more accommodating if you're Brazilian, as the management and reception staff are as well. Then it's smiles, smiles, and smiles. For everyone else, eh? They like taking your money, though. There are no elevators and we got the fourth floor. And the staff will not help you with your bags even if you're a female. If you were on a hostel experience looking to meet people this would be a good place for that because it's a small place. I would only stay here again in a pinch.

The neighborhood isn't really safe for a white woman alone in the night, but if you are a group of 2 or 3, it's good. The hostel itself if very good for $23 per night and the staff and the others travelers can help you with anything if you know how to ask kindly!! Everything is clean and the breakfast free. The subway is very near and it's not a problem at all to come back late in the night, but stay all the same together. The Cotton Club it just 15 minutes from Morningside, and it's a legendary place of live jazz !

All I can say is that the location is not bad at all. It's close to the subway, not far from Central Park, and it's a nice clean hostel. It's worth all 5 stars in my opinion.

Although the neighborhood seems dangerous, the location is not dark, not dangerous. I liked it there, a lot, the reception answered my questions. They have cheap prices per night, including free breakfast, and free pizza party on wednesday!! The kitchen is not so big, but I could meet and talk to friends from abroad there!! I won't understand if you don't choose this hostel to enjoy your NYC trip!!

Their description says, "adjacent to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, Morning Side Park as well as Columbia University." This is simply not true. The feel of the neighborhood is different from Columbia's feel. That being said, however, Harlem gets more touristy every year and I feel fine walking in this area as a white female. If you walk further north and east into the area of 125th St, there are a lot of interesting attractions, such as the outstanding Studio Museum of Harlem, and the Apollo Theater.

This hostel is nice inside. The rooms are clean and they have a good breakfast in the mornings. They have free pizza and try to make everyone feel welcome. The outside is scary at night and is not in a safe neighborhood, especially if you walk a couple blocks north more into Harlem. If this hostel was not poorly located it would worth five stars.

I thought this was a brilliant hostel. Okay, so it's in a bit of a dodgy area, but we never felt in danger. The staff are really helpful. Any place you can get free pizza, and muffins for breakfast, is worth a look, especially at $23 a night in New York!

The location wasn't so great. I had to take the subway to get anywhere. It's in kind of a dodgy area; I wouldn't want to walk around there alone. The hostel has a friendly atmosphere, though, and the free breakfast and the popcorn nights were good. The rooms were cramped with twelve people plus luggage, but it was pretty good.

The hostel is not bad. The kitchen is well equipped, and the staff is kind and willing to help you, but the location is not very good. To be honest, it's a little scary, although they say that Harlem should be safe. As a solo female traveler I didn't feel comfortable going out at night. You are the only white person walking around and sometimes the only woman as well. I should recommend--although the hostel is clean and nice--a place more downtown.

I stayed 20th of April to 27th of April 2004. Saying this hostel is laying in the upper west side is a lie. It is in Harlem but that doesn't really matter. It's located two blocks east of Morningside Park and three blocks north of Central Park. The hostel is clean (no bugs at the time I was there), there's lots of hot water and the staff will try to help you as best they can. They provide towels, linen and a free breakfast but don't wait 'till late to get out of bed- there won't be any breakfast left. There was no heating in the rooms at the time I was there so it could get rather cold at night. Sleeping up to 12 people in one room, you might want to keep the window open to get some air. Since they had turned the heat off that wasn't possible. There is no air conditiong in the rooms so I guess it can get warm during the summertime. Overall I enjoyed my stay and I could stay at this hostel again. Its good value for your money.