Central Park Hostel, New York City (edit listing)

Central park hostel

I have stayed at this hostel twice now both times for 1 month. The hostel has great vibe about it staff are excellent (andre, alan) i would really recommend this hostel, its location is great and its cheap.

Spectacularly bad staff

When in NY I was hospitalised with food poisoning. This hostel behaved so badly, they could not even be bothered to help me with my bag to the ambulance despite being asked twice. When out of the hospital but still very ill they explained that because I had used the sheets from more than one bed (because I was so ill, you get the idea) they were going to charge me for three beds for the week. I could go on with the story but you get the general gist. I've never written a review before but was so upset by their behaviour this time I had to.

Not so bad

Not that expensive for NYC. Location is excellent, near the subway, from Central Park, and minutes' walk from museums. Even if room wasn't renovated (noisy heating, room sometimes chilly/hot, beeping every five minutes), reception always responded quickly.

The hostel was an ideal location. The subway is one hundred feet away, which is great when you're wasted and coming home at 6 or 7 in the morning. Pretty cheap for NY as well. I will be staying there again.

When I came there on Friday, I was told that there were no more beds, even though I had a reservation. So they sent me away at 9.30 p.m. at Friday night in New York -- alone. After telling me that it would be impossible to find other accommodation at that time. Very poor service. Avoid at all costs.

The price per night includes blankets and even linens. They have only one requirement and it is your ID. In order to check in they want to see your foreign passport or student ID. This turned out to be a problem because I was with a friend who was from Texas and didn't have none of these.

Dirty hostel. They stole some money in our cases. The area is not so good as it seems.

My daughter and I stayed four nights at the hostel (June 2006) and had a great time. Tony, one of the workers, was a great help to us and is quite a character. The subway is about two blocks away and is easy to get to. We always felt safe. The bathroom was right across the hall and we never had to wait for a shower. The air conditioning is wonderful and served as "white" noise. We had no trouble sleeping later in the morning as the rooms were dark. Central Park is one block away. As a bonus Jodie Foster was filming "The Brave One" two blocks away. We were able to spend two nights watching the filming. We would highly recommend this hostel to those who are on a budget and just want a shower, bathroom, and a comfortable bed.