Hostelling International San Francisco Review

Good hostel - great location - very close to union and Powell

This has been the first stop on my trip across America and I'm glad I booked this hostel. It's clean, the staff are friendly and it's in a great location! The beds are comfy and I love that each bed has its own personal light/plugs/USB points. The shower room is kinda small but there's shelving and a seat thingy to store bits and piece on so they don't get wet! The breakfast each morning is good too. Nice, simple and easy! Absolutely recommend this hostel to anyone!

Super Hostel! Well equipped, clean and good breakfast. From the airport it is super easy to reach with the BART. (No change!) Downtown SF is a bit scary because of the many homeless people, but you can do everything from here.

Nice location, clean and comfy beds, but rooms and nice staff. Book early!

Nice clean rooms, pleasant staff and free breakfast as a bonus. Kitchen is fully equipped for any kind of cooking.

My first hostel experience. Nice clean hostel. Very good breakfast. Very helpful staff.

Nice, cozy and quirky. Really nice and welcoming personnel. Quite clean overall :)

Excellent place the truth, they have many events and accessible for single and accompanied travelers, very clean and extensive varieties of bagels for breakfast

Great hostel in the heart of San Francisco. Comfortable beds. Rooms are rather stuffy though with little air flow.

Very nice hostel in downtown sfo. Walkable distance to bart and many other places. Super friendly staff. Good break fast and work areas. Had a nice time.

I wasnt there but i was researching into it and i fell in love with it

It was busy as it possibly could be during our stay, especially at the front desk, but the staff are never anything other than cheerful and as helpful as possible. The rooms we had are all very clean and exactly as described. While I'm not the biggest fan of staying downtown because of parking expenses and the plethora of nearby pan-handlers, I would easily stay here anytime I come back to SF.

Whenever I head to San Francisco, I usually stay here because it's affordable and in a prime location. I like the female bunk rooms with ensuite bathroom that sleep four. Common spaces and kitchen are great and they have a range of activities you can participate in. Staff is very helpful!

Very good place to sleep in San Francisco, the breakfast and the location is amazing. The cleaning people are super friendly. VERY RECOMMENDED.

Great Location and comfy beds - limited breakfast options though! Big recommend if travelling on a budget.

My room was a strange setup. It was 4 beds crammed into this tiny space and included a toilet and shower in a separate bathroom, and a sink on the outside of the bathroom amongst the beds which was awkward and, whenever the water was turned on, bothersome to people trying to sleep. It looked like it used to be a janitor s closet. There were no sinks outside my dorm to compensate for this.To add to that the footlockers for us to store our stuff were slide-outs at the base of the bunks making it impossible not to disturb my bottom bunk mate whenever I wanted reach them. Even for only costing 40 bucks it was uncomfortable and I won t be going back.

Clean, efficient, friendly, secure, and knowledgeable about the city and how to get about the place. Everything you'd want from a hostel. Also, free breakfast.
Old single pane windows mean that loud nightlife can be easily heard - can make for troubled sleep. But ear plugs are provided.

In my room there was a painting that said "for travelers, not for turists". I think that sums it up. I would go back 1 million times!

A very nice hostel, clean and well-maintained in a historic building, good free breakfast, fun atmosphere. Central location and access to public transport is unbeatable. Definitely an excellent value. It is really in the thick of the Union Square hotels and parking garages so there is street noise at all hours; some of the other SF hostels have a more tucked-in-the-neighborhood feel. Nevertheless, highly recommended.

San Fran is an expensive city so whilst this is pricey for a hostel, it s a good budget option. Security is very good, rooms are clean and beds are well kitted out with charging plugs etc. Good size locker fits medium size suitcase. Well located - especially for car rentals.

Interesting building. Looks nearly empty though above ground floor retail. Anyone know if this building is actually occupied?

HI San Francisco is the ideal hostel for any visit to SFO. The location is great - walkable to shopping, transit, and site seeing. Hostels are always clean, staff is friendly, and wifi has always been reliable. Breakfast is served free of charge every morning and the staff often has free tickets to local events. Definitely recommend.

We spent almost two weeks in this hostel and it really exceeded our expectations. The staff were super friendly and helpful, they speak lots of languages. There are plenty of free events that they organise from sightseeing tours (run by locals) to movie nights, cooking classes, parties with free food and drinks. Great place for exploring San Francisco!

Great location, clean hostel, nice staff, delicious breakfast and great actions to get to know the city! Highly Recommended! I would prefer every hotel to 4 stars. Think of a padlock, otherwise it has everything from free water and coffee to an earplug dispenser

price is ok but the room and the entire hotel do smell quite bad

Located close to the BART stations and in downtown, easily accessible. Cozy place to hangout, especially with a group of friends. Very friendly staff.

In the room ... the cockroach comes out .... I do not include the tax on the invoice and calculate it again in a week and it is very hard when I settle the company. Breakfast is not good at this price, but I will not go back again ... I can not clean the carpet and the coffee in the cup ... It was the worst hotel ...

Hostel well located and with very good facilities. Quite reasonable breakfast too. Being in the center, the noise from the street may bother you a bit if you have a very sensitive sleep.

Good facilities, nice staff and decent breakfast provided. Good for the price paid in San Fran

This is a hostel, not The Fairmont. If your just looking for a place to stay economically where the staff is friendly, place is clean(but old) in the heart of downtown SF, shuttle service to SF airport, this will do.

Great hostel. Many bathrooms are shared but always clean. It favors the presence of wifi and the excellent location.

Lovely place to stay. The rooms have modern and contemporary taste. I loved staying here.

Free breakfast and wifi. You'll get to meet people from tourists to students. I only stayed at rooms with private bathrooms in them so i can only speak for it and that the bathrooms are clean. There are lockers under the bed for every guest, just have to bring your own lock. You can also leave your stuff in their care even after you check out.

Great Location. Comfortable bed. Bad shower room, little water.

I highly recommend the Hostel International here in San Francisco. It is close to everything, clean, wonderful staff. This was s really nice for the price you cannot beat it.

Great hostel. Staff are really nice and helpful. Has good amenities. And is in a great location. Beds are not really made for people of my height (190cm). But I would stay again!

Standard HI hostel. Beautiful, large community area with books, art, comfortable couches, bean bags, etc.
The front desk is super accommodative of the guests. The location is closer to tenderloin district and is a few blocks away from Public transportation. Car park spots are available on the road, there's a garage right opposite the hostel and they also recommend a cheaper garage option one block away.
The breakfast room is smaller than other HI hostels I've stayed in but there's a nice view of the streets and they keep restocking breakfast items.
The beds are comfortable and the bathrooms are large and clean.

Highly recommend!

Very pleasantly surprised how clean and professional this place is . Lovely atmosphere. Amazing free breakfast. Very safe location and central. Staff super friendly and informative about everything you need to know in San Francisco

Great position friendly staff big rooms excellent accommodation

The HI SF Downtown Hostel is centrally located, so it's really easy to get to most places throughout the city. Staff are very friendly and helpful, and the free breakfast is a nice way to start off the day. The rooms are clean and the beds are comfortable. I would definitely stay here again when I return to San Francisco.

Rooms are small, it's very noisy and ridiculously expensive for what you're getting

Very clean. Breakfast is all carbs. Don't expect anything you would really want. Some staff are amazing. Some are super rude. Good for a hostel.

Great vibe. Casual atmosphere. Really enjoyed our stay here.

Super cool atmosphere with lots of awesome (and clean) common spaces. People from all different backgrounds stay here and it is such an awesome experience. EVERY staff member and guest here is kind and polite.

Hate the unheated bathrooms, old building, many homeless people around the only good thing was the location

Very nice for a hostel. Price is very affordable. My only complaint is the windows are thin so you can hear everything outside, which stays quite noisy until 3am. Nothing the hostel can really do about that though.

Excellent service and the complimentary breakfast sets you up perfectly for the day. Rooms are clean and quiet.

I stayed for about a week in May 2015, it is clean and it offers a reasonably nice breakfast. They also have outings as well as knowledgeable front office people with maps ready to give you directions whenever needed. They have a sufficient number of showers and bathrooms and they're all private.

My biggest problem with the hostel were the lockers in the room I was in (I don't know if it's the same for every room.) They are not the standard locker-room type lockers that you see in most hostels but slide-out metal crates kept under the bed with welded thick metal cords criss-crossing perpendicularly leaving roughly two-inch by two-inch squares for anyone to fully see the contents and stick their fingers through if desired. Worse, due to poor design on the latch a standard combination lock will allow the crate to open approximately one inch making it relatively easily to slide out things like laptops. I was travelling with an expensive laptop and it made me uncomfortable whenever I went out with it in the crate (I kept it in a backpack in the crate to conceal it more) but fortunately nothing was ever stolen. Although their website claims that they offer "secure lockers", I think it is fair to say that that is a misrepresentation.

I also did not like that they didn't offer coffee outside of breakfast hours in the kitchen/dining area on the third floor (although they offered it for free on the ground floor entrance), many people on their laptops or chatting at the tables would like to pour themselves some coffee without needing to go out to Starbucks or walk down to the first floor to get some.

If you're not travelling with valuables that you can't keep on your person, this hostel is fine. Myself, although I have not stayed at the Orange Village Hostel a block-and-a-half away, room photos on their website indicate that they have the standard locker-room type lockers. On my next trip to SF I will probably stay there instead, so I can lock up my stuff when I go out and not worry so much about it getting stolen.

Cold in a room!! Do not stay in roon 6. Is worser hostel in my life. Staff is rud.

Its a place fo HOME LESS POEPLE.
PEOPLE STOLE MY FOOD-with my Name on it.

Dirty, very very old. Do not stay here.

Room was kept in good order. Staff is extemely helpful, courteous and polite. The kitchen is a life safer and has a great water filtration system. Hot shower, clean beds, great city view. This place is great for meeting people both in the common and eating areas.

* I will admit that I was given my own room with 4 bunks for the price of 1 bed, so this was a pleasant surprise. Very convenient location to Underground."

All and all I must say that every experience you have is manifested by your perceptions.

5 stars , based on value, expereince.

Very good hostel, unfortunately a bit pricey for a long term traveler.

All you want in a hostel. Kind and helpful staff, funky decor, cosmopolitan and young crowd, and EXCELLENT location. They got all kind of activities going on all of the time, plenty of opportunities to make friends/travel buddies. Highly recommended.

Clean, not bad, smoke only on the street, it is better to buy a lock on a box in advance.
I also advise you not to walk down the street there very much.

Bathrooma could use some cleaning. Elevator wasn't working so I had to carry luggage up many stairs. The person at the front desk helped with one of my bags though which was much appreciated. Overall it was an above avg hostel compared to othere I've stayed at, and I would consider straying again.

Amazing place with friendly crew members. Location is great and the price is very affordable ! Awesome option !

I've been to a lot of hostels, and this is by far, the best I've ever stayed in. Berlin was a close second.

Fantastic new age hostel with great affordable options that are very useful when planning a trip to the Union square area of downtown San Francisco

It's one of the cheapest places you'll find in San Fran. Beds were comfortable. Slowest check in process I've seen anywhere in the world, and I've stayed at a lot of HI places. Staff were friendly and helpful though. Breakfast was bagels. Sometimes the lift just didn't work, so if accessibility is a concern, this place may not be the best. Cheaper to use the Uber/Lyft bikes than the establishment they recommend.

Convenient location, self-service kitchen available

Advantage: Good location
Disadvantages: Hostels are not cheap at all.
Shower is too narrow and there are only two on the floor.
If more than two people come here in San Francisco, I would rather go to a hotel.
And although the room is on the outdoor side, it is very noisy.

Great location, easy to get to. Comfortable hostel with nice breakfast as well.

Super clean and friendly environment. Would stay here again!

Hello, we encountered some unflattering concerns about the condition of the room.
Indeed, the corridors smell of urine (or endive), the doors are not straight, the dust above the curtains is thicker than the mattresses, vomit (yes yes) was found in the bathtub, the water coming from the tap is of questionable color, the frames are not straight, the mirror enlarges me, I pick up free wifi better than that of the hotel, by night a bird broke in while the window was closed and died by planting his beak in the electrical outlet: hello security. The carpet is so dark that it looks like Snoop Dog smoked it, there are more people there than in San Francisco as a whole, the box spring has fewer bars than the Alcatraz cells, the shower exposed to the street does not help my single status, the closet remained closed with our coats inside, we had to dismantle the handle, the tastes and the colors are not discussed but the decor is still questionable (it is 'is loud), madmen shout in the street between two bites, their persistent shots are rather worrying, we had to barricade the door to sleep serenely if at least we could have slept ... Indeed the opposite 8-storey parking-type screws do not give the street a heavy sleep. Speaking of lead, the common atmosphere was sealed by the Djiboutians in the next room, isolated by cardboard partitions. Speaking of cardboard, your bagels have the taste and have not really cardboard with my friends. The bananas stick like a fondue to the UHU, the water in the fountain is certainly lighter but also warmer than that in the bathroom ... In short, the next time I will go to King George.

Regards,

A victim of your service.

This was my first experience staying in a hostel, but being in the military and experiencing dorm style accommodations I knew what to expect. This is a very professionally operated, clean hostel with excellent amenities in one of the best locations in San Francisco.

Staff was very nice and helpful, the rooms were old and dated but very clean. The showers were hot and breakfast bagels were delicious. Parking is available at Mason garage across the street, and every shop, restaurant and convenience you can think of is one or two blocks away walking and easy to get to. Public transportation (bus, subway, streetcar) are all within one block walking.

The beds were comfortable, and my only issue was the rooms were not air conditioned and there were no fans. In August, it was really humid and warm in the rooms. Other than that, I had no issues. At night, you will hear the sounds of vagrants and people in the streets, but that is the sound of San Francisco at night.

I will definitely stay here again in the future on my travels to San Francisco. The price is excellent, and the location is perfect for travelers looking to be in the center of San Francisco.

Good location and convenient transportation. The service staff is friendly.

The beds look like a military barracks, very uncomfortable. The carpet had stains on all sides and the room had a strange smell. The acceptable location, near the subway and supermarkets. The Hilton is opposite. The only bad thing is that much without a roof, something typical of San Francisco from what I saw. The best breakfast, very good bagles.

Clean, warm and welcome. Next time we are going to stay here as well.

Good location, breakfast is simple bagu and fruit, if not a member of the hostel group will be charged a considerable fee

A significant hostel, it's run similarly to a hotel, but with bunk mates. Each room locks by key card and features underbunk lockers. In order to get past the lobby you must have a key card so everyone you see is part of the hostel family which is reassuring.

The hostel is located right in the heart of downtown for an amazing price. I wasn't expecting much when I arrived but was pleasantly surprised. The front staff were friendly and helpful and very knowledgeable about the city. Don't expect much from breakfast though.

The location is amazing; the hostel is safe for solo travelers; the staff is helpful and friendly; there is complementary tea&coffee at all times at the reception; the wi-fi was excellent and there is an elevator so you do not have to carry your suitcases up the stairs. Breakfast is fairly basic - bread, bagel, cream cheese, jam, peanut butter, banana, apple, quick porridge. But it is good enough to get you going.
On the downside: The hostel has carpet flooring everywhere and I think this makes the general smell in the corridors and the rooms heavy and quite bad at times; hence I left the windows open all through the day. The windows are not double glazed so you can hear all the noise from outside and since you are downtown prepare for some noise.

For anyone looking for a place to "land" is perfect. Well located, cool environment, free wifii, collective but clean bathrooms and breakfast that caters well. A good and economical option.

Good place to stay overnight if you are traveling with sturgeon groups. not far to many different restaurants and shopping malls but the hostel itself is located in a slightly true scary neighborhood

Everyone was really sweet and accommodating. It's very safe and the staff was super helpful. My only complaint was the noise outside at night, but that's downtown SF for you, so just make sure to bring some earplugs. This experience was my first hostel and I was so impressed with this chain that I plan on using them for all future hostel stay.

Excellent hostel within walking distance of Union Square and the bart stop.

A super good location, rooms with bathroom very correct, a very satisfying breakfast, and pleasant common areas. An address of choice for SF!

Great atmosphere! Clean rooms and bathrooms, and very good staff. You can get all information that you need with them