International Student Center

I stayed here quite a long time ago (July '95). Very good souvenir. A great place to meet people (from Germany, France, NZ, Australia, Great-Britain). Excellent atmosphere. A bit dusty. Two dorms (guys and girls) with metallic beds with a bathroom for each one. Hardly $12 at the time. No possibility to make a reservation. No need YH card.

I recently stayed at the International Student Center and it was great. The facility was quite clean, the staff were very friendly, and the neighborhood is phenominal. It is only a subway ride a few stops to downtown. It has a great common room area in the downstairs area with heaps of couches, a huge television, full kitchen, a nice garden out back too. We had so much fun on our trip here, and met so many great people. We stayed at other hostels and this one by far was the best. It's clean, warm, and very cozy. We will definitely re-visit this hostel!

This place actually put me off staying at hostels for a while. I stayed here in April 2004. The showers were so filthy I felt like I needed a shower after my shower. It was so full of hair it clogged the pipes and I was up to my shins in disgusting water. The staff were unfriendly. You had to keep your bags locked in reception in a massive pile and you had no access to them while the office was closed. Stay somewhere else.

I stayed there last summer, and by no means was it the worst place I've ever stayed. They accommodated me at the last minute and had sufficient socializing and cooking spaces. My complaints? The old building left it pretty hot in there; possibly I was more uncomfortable as the only female in a room of 12 men. But was this place horrible? No.

I couldn't sleep at all at this place. This creepy guy kept coming into my room and asking me if I wanted to go with him to the basement. The kids next door smoked crack all night and some shady guy on the staff stole my shoes and socks. I was left barefoot walking around Manhattan for six days. I hated it.

I had a great time here. The staff and guests were friendly, the beds were fine, and the fact that you cannot always access the luggage area ensures that your bags are always in a safe place when you're out visiting the city.

Although this isn't the worst hostel I've stayed at, it remains one of the worst. Most of the hostels and hotels were completely booked. This was probably the cheapest hostel, but I came to regret it dearly. The building is very old and poorly maintained and insulated. In the winter, the dorm rooms are therefore very chilly. I stayed over New Year's Eve when there was a flu outbreak, and you can imagine how agonizing it was. The windows wouldn't properly close, making things worse. The kitchen and common area are in the basement and are kind of dirty. An old man that works for them, and who's quite rude, I might add, sleeps there. Needless to say, he closes the area to all guests in the evenings. The reception closes early in the evening, so if you leave any luggage there, you can't access it until the next day in the morning. I'd advise everyone to look for accommodations elsewhere. Don't be deceived by the low price, it isn't worth it.

This is the worse place I have ever stayed at. The whole leaving your luggage downstairs and not being able to access during most of the day is a real pain. Especially when it rains and you get soaked, you can't even get changed. The bathrooms are so disgusting. There is so much hair (from the head and other regions) clogging the drains that the bathtub fills up and takes ages to drain. If you shower after someone else, expect to also bathe your feet in the previous persons water. Find somewhere else, this place is disgusting. We checked out as soon as somewhere else became available!!

When I called to reserve a bed, the person was rushed and a little rude. When I got there, it was about the same welcome. You are only allowd one bag in your room, which was fine, but I had an early train the next morning and the office that locks up your things dosn't open until 8am. They sounded "inconvienced" that I had to lug my bag up 5 floors, so I could have it the next morning. The people staying there were friendly, and there's a good lounge to socialize. I would just look elsewhene before staying here again...