HI - Los Angeles - Santa Monica Hostel

Excellent Location, Good Facilities
I stayed here for two nights in October 2008. The photos of this place are pretty accurate and the location -- two blocks from the beach and Santa Monica Pier, and a block away from the main shopping/eating street -- cannot be beaten. It is an easy 75-cent ride to the hostel from LAX although downtown LA is difficult to navigate without a car (not the fault of the hostel though -- but I would recommend the tours run by the company next door as they are comprehensive and enjoyable). The hostel was clean and the facilities good -- the free breakfast is pretty decent -- but the staff were slightly unfriendly and curt, with some having limited English. I would stay here again and have recommended it to others on my travels.

Spectacular location, clean and congenial, nice people and atmosphere
Santa Monica is the best area in the city of Los Angeles. The weather is sublime; the beach is across the street; shopping, services, and restaurants make it easy to stay local without ever leaving the area. There is even a farmer's market on Wednesday for local food. Parking is an issue so if you can live without a car do so. The HI LA Santa Monica has doubled in price, I stayed here for a week beginning 13 July 2008, so check the prices before you book. Online prices are cheaper than calling on the phone to make a reservation. There are multiple community areas to lounge about in. There are two TV rooms. One used as the theatre room shows excellent movies operated from the front desk. The dorm rooms are very clean. Some rooms have toilets/sinks/showers in the room which is terrific. I have experienced the showers located down the hall, but recommend the en-suite rooms if possible, everything was clean in both locations. Breakfast is offered each morning. There is ample room to store your groceries if you purchase food to cook. Cooking facilities are very good, with utensils, plates, bowls, and cups, and they are china not plastic. Staff is nice and professional. I met wonderful people traveling. Great place to stay, terrific experience.

Good, except for one thing
Great location, perfect for getting into L.A. or Hollywood by bus or walking distance to Santa Monica pier and the beach (both Venice and Santa Monica). Great facilities and pretty good staff, everything seems quite new and is clean -- the bunk beds are sturdy! The only downside -- not everyone there is a traveler, there can be homeless people (or at least they seem homeless) staying.

Would've Been Great If They Didn't Let Homeless People In Your Room
I was the unlucky person who had to endure a mental patient/homeless woman being let loose in our room. The management and staff were just unconcerned and ignored our misgivings. It took four complaints before they took action. Be wary when booking your stay here.

The best place to stay for ocean and city!
I and my family stayed here one night during our seven-week odyssey Down Under late Spring and Summer 2006. I had initially arranged for us to spend all of the Odyssey time Down Below, but realized that L.A. is definitely a major world city and merited more than just a fly through. So, after spending some significantly big bucks to reset the Air New Zealand flights, we stayed at this exceptional hostel. We found this hostel just as nice as any of the other hostels we'd been in, whether stateside, Western Europe/Scandinavia/Russia, or Northern Asia. It was so nice to walk a few blocks to one terminus of the historic Route 66 and get into the water. It was also an excellent starting point to catch the bus down Santa Monica Boulevard to Hollywood, another delightful site.

You can get to this place easily via public transport from LAX at only 75 cents, it takes about forty minutes. Santa Monica is one of the best parts of LA and the hostel is close to many tourist orientated spots. The hostel itself is fine as far as i'm concerned, it has bathrooms that are cleaned everyday and reasonably large rooms if you are lucky enough to get one facing second street. Whilst some have commented on its expense, take into consideration the cost of running a property of this size in this part of the city. We had a couple of local transients staying in our room who looked a little suspect but you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The transient issue in hostels seems to be an ongoing debate -- when i first visited the U.S. in '96 i don't remember any in the hostels i stayed at. now it's a different story. The best thing about this place is that it is just around the corner from Ye Olde King's Head pub and Hooter's if you're that way inclined.

Stayed here November '06. Very cold atmosphere and night receptionist was rude. However, breakfast was reasonably priced, rooms were clean and nice, and being so close to the beach was great.

Stayed here in July '06. Location is awesome, close to the beach and Third St promenade. My short stay was pretty good. Getting to it from the airport was easy. I found my shared eight-bed dorm to be spacious and it had a window which was good because it was a pretty warm night. Large lockers in the rooms are great but remember to bring a lock. Showers were clean and hot. Late check in time is a pain but they will lock up your bags for you. Don't pay for the internet, go to the SM library. Booking tours can be done from the place next door. Met some good crew. HI staff could have been more outgoing and helpful!

Fantastic location, one block from the beach is just great. Clean hostel which is large and would seem unfriendly but to try and combat this issue, they do a bbq for just six bucks (all you can eat) every night if i remember correctly and then is the time and place to meet people -- just great, made the hostel in my opinion. One thing though that really lets this hostel down is that they have no air conditioners and I was there during the recent heatwave in July '06! I had the top bunk but elected to sleep on the floor it was so hot and another guy did the same. The only thing that lets this hostel down in my opinion.

I stayed here recently while visiting my brother, who lives in downtown L.A. I loved the location and the fact that it was clean and had a sort of "comfy" feel to it. The only complaint I had -- and this doesn't detract from the hostel's rating, because it's not the fault of those who run it --were my roommates. One was fifty with a saggy figure and walked around our room nude, and a few others expressed disgust when we came in at two a.m. -- but you're in a hostel, so expect it! I can't stand hostel-goers who don't understand that if you want complete privacy and quiet, stay in a traditional hotel. But I digress. I never tried the free breakfast, so I can't say much about it, but I found the staff to be helpful, the beds/lockers/bathrooms extremely clean, and I loved the atrium. Most importantly -- if you love Santa Monica's beach the location cannot be beat. As a warning, however: if you intend to spend most of your time in downtown L.A. or Hollywood, don't stay here, the bus ride is too long (for someone like me, anyway).

This hostel was great. It's a great location in Santa Monica (one block from the beach) but pretty bad for Los Angeles which a long bus ride on the Red Metro bus if you want to get into the city (probably the only bad point). The hostel itself was very clean, comfortable and helpful. Get a towel early if you don't have your own cause they run out quickly. Free luggage storage is good. The common areas (lounge and atrium) are comfortable. The bed was clean and comfortable. Large free locker for luggage storage. Secure room (keycard). Close to shops and Third Avenue restaurants and shopping area. Staff were quite helpful. The kitchen looked large, well equipped and clean (but I ate out all the time) It has a great travel centre next door with special rates for hostel guests which is handy. Definitely pay for a (reasonably priced) shuttle from the airport because it's a bit of a hike to Santa Monica.

What is it with USA hostels that they now seem to give beds to homeless people? I was here in june 2004 and there were a few wierd "bagladys" walking around the hallways.

I went to check this out. It was at a great, no awesome, location. But the staff was cold, the rate was expensive (29) and they don't have parking. Parking outside costs 10 bucks extra. For a hostel that's not in the city center, that is steep. Socialization: there were a lot of young people — mostly surfer/beach types. If you like talking to those, you're good.

This is a pretty good youth hostel. Not only were the guests really friendly, it was clean, safe, and accessible to Santa Monica and LA However, the staff are not all that helpful and the prices are high, even for LA.

This hostel is ok. But someone should do something about all the Z-list actors living there. People stay there for years at a time. This ruins the place because they are all bums who ruin your stay. If they weren't there it'd be smashing!!!