Pirate Haus Inn & Hostel, St. Augustine

Best place to stay in St. Augustine!

What an amazing place! Affordable and centrally located to everything interesting in St. Augustine, this is without doubt the best place to stay! Where else are you going to get customized pirate pancakes for breakfast, or have a pirate in the common room? The management is very competent and knowledgeable about the best things to see and best places to eat, and they are super-strict about quiet hours which is wonderful because you can actually get a full night's sleep!

An Excellent Hostel

I have been to a lot of international hostels, and I would put the Pirate Haus in the top 3. My only complaint is they hid the regular tea bags -- deduct 1% from my 100% rating. The hostel is smack dab in the "ancient" tourist area, so if you need groceries and have no car, the Winn-Dixie is about a 30 min walk.

Great way to experience St. Augustine

I've visited my fair share of hostels, and just after a tiring stay in miami, this was a nice change of pace. location is epic with the Castillo, shopping/pub walk, historic district and Flagler college/museum all within very short walk. The B&Bs are further out in the periphery of the historic district and the motels/hotels are out in the boonies. 8 bed bunk room was generously sized, beds are sturdy with clean fabric sheets. Room was air conditioned and ceiling fan provided nice breeze. bathroom was old, with no modern gfci outlets and not well ventilated. Honey badger don't care. guests I was with were a good mix of folks open to conversation. The hostel size is intimate with a mix of private parties/families and independent travelers. They have quiet hours which people seem to be good about, makes sense especially as the local bars are so close and reasonably priced. Morning Pancakes + coffee are a fun way to start the morning and get to know the staff. early check-in -- there is only one northbound greyhound from Miami to st. Aug, arriving at 7am-ish. The desk staff was fine with checking me in and allowed me to pick an available bed, which allowed me to recover some morning z's and shower before hitting the town. Many other hostels would require you to leave your gear and come back later. atmosphere -- all the hostel rules were reasonable/well explained ones, upkeep is efficient and good. Place has plenty of character and not just about extracting tourist bucks.

Great Place

My husband and I were celebrating our 23rd anniversary on the cheap. We normally stay in the cookie cutter hotels, but were looking for a different experience. We definitely found it here. The rooms were clean, inexpensive, and whimsical. Conrad was incredibly helpful and told us all the good places to go. We had an amazing time. Can't wait to come back with our granddaughter.

Pirate Haus Inn & Hostel is a great choice for a stay in St. Augustine. Staff are friendly, the location is perfect, and pancakes with morning cheer written right into them are a wonderful touch!

The Location

The hostel is right in the heart of the historic section of St. Augustine -- down the stairs and out the front door, and you're in the heart of the city. One block down, you're on the main shopping/dining, car-free strip; one block in another direction, you're looking at the bridge that will take you to Anastasia Island; a couple blocks another way, and you're at one of the oldest forts in the country, the Pirate Museum, and more. There's lots to do and see in St. Augustine, and what you can't reach by foot from the hostel, you can certainly reach by bicycle, the bus, or one of the many tour buses/trolleys. Of course, there's also a hansom carriage ride!

Parking can feel a bit challenging at Pirate Haus -- there are a couple of spaces for those staying in private rooms only. Metered parking is available across the street and around the corner, but if you don't mind walking just a few blocks, skip the meters and head into the neighborhood behind the hostel and park on the street. It's easy and seems as safe as any street parking can be. If you're arriving by bike (or have a bike on your car) -- perfect, because St. Augustine is a great city for pedaling around. You can lock your bike outside the hostel (no rack, but a few posts that work just fine), or bring them up to your room -- some people did that while we were at the hostel, so we assume that's fine.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Dorm rooms are fine -- nothing stellar to write about, but nothing negative worthy of note either. Bathrooms are clean and well supplied with the basics like shampoo/soap. There's a bathroom in the hall as well as bathrooms in all but one of the dorm rooms.

Common Spaces

The kitchen is a good size, with room in the fridge and on the shelves to leave your things. People tend to congregate in the kitchen (don't they always?), especially early morning while hostelers eat pancakes that Conrad the owner or other staff has prepared. Having pancakes and coffee included in the overnight fee is great, and the smiley faces and little "good morning" notes on the flapjacks are a darn nice touch! In addition to the kitchen, there's a nice-sized living room, replete with large-screen television, toys, games, books, and a life-sized pirate!

Summary

The desire to make this hostel family-oriented is clear, as evidenced by the types of toys and games in the common room. In fact, the owner seems to have a want to have the place considered less a "hostel" and more an affordable, family B&B. But we're not sure why -- it's a hostel, and a rather nice one with very friendly staff, great location, and wonderful travelers passing through.

Rednecks

If you are not Anglo-Saxon, they refuse to rent you a room. The people who run the place are a bunch of racist rednecks. I did not even get a chance to stay there because they refused to rent me a bed because of my color. I am outraged that they can get away with this racist discrimination (yes, I know I am being repetitive but I am just so angry that this is going in 2011.)

Always a wonderful place to stay!

We have stayed at the Pirate Haus 3 times for 14 days each time and I cannot say enough about this wonderful place. The rooms are clean and the beds are awesome! The staff is always wonderful and Captain Conrad will make sure you have a great time on your vacation. Pirate Pancakes are always a big hit with the guest in the morning. We have met so many wonderful people staying here and love it every time. It is a wonderful location in the heart of downtown St. Augustine and half the price as all the other hotels in the area. It is a wonderful place for kids and adults and you will not be disappointed with your stay. After staying here it is hard to find any hostel in the US that compares to it. We will keep returning, it is a wonderful place!

I definitely recommend it

I stayed at the Pirate Haus for two nights in August 2007 whilst traveling the U.S. on my own. I had a pleasant stay thanks to the good bed, clean linen, nice staff with a cool Egyptian touch and, of course, thanks to the friendly french-speaking captain.