HI San Francisco City Center Hostel Hostel

Eclectic mix of cultural and religious themes throughout the lobby areas as well as inside of Ivy’s Place the “pub” just off of the lobby. Clean, fun, and very reasonably priced.

The staff was super nice, and the location is great.

Great place good location friendly staff. Free Wi-Fi and breakfast would stay again could do with few shelf’s in the room (we had a private room)

Thanks so much for an awesome stay! The hostel is super beautiful and quirky, with clean rooms and friendly, helpful staff. I came along with a group, some of us sharing dorms between ourselves and some with private rooms. We all had a great time. The bar is cute too and I especially loved my morning cream cheese bagel.

This hostel is an attraction on its own — the common areas are beautifully decorated with local art, each room representing one of San Francisco's bohemian neighbourhoods. They also have a bar serving local beer for affordable price, which is a great place to meet with other travellers in the hostel. Will definitely come back!

L loved the hostel cleanest, quirkiest and friendly staff, however the location was in the tenderloin district. I felt safe in the the hostel but getting there was like being in a war zone. The area is riddled with drug addicts and mentally ill people, all homeless. I didn't think I would ever get the smell of urine out of my nose. I feel for the homeless I am not heartless but they were very scary.

I would start with saying. This is not a typical hotel that you usually see, instead, it is a hostel. However I must say that it was an awesome place and I would rather choose this setting than a hotel. If you love to mingle and enjoy making new friends, then its place for you. If you love staying in a bar, watch a movie, in short staying outside your room then this is a place for you. They have a kitchen, so you can make your own food if you would like to. They will give you utensils, you can use it and then clean and put it back. Coffee is available near desk 24*7. Bar opens in evening and stays available late night. Breakfast available 7 to 11 in morning (serves bread, omelet, pan cakes, juice, coffee, banana). Front desk is really helpful and can provide every help you need. Including help with airport shuttle. They will also let you store luggage for a day free of cost. Now, why 1 star less (I want to give 4.5 but can't do) — You will not get any toiletries except towels. Rooms are small and mostly without any ventilation (unless you open windows). For our own safety they require us to carry kind of a badge at all times. The locality didn't feel safe (even though nothing happened to us)

Exceptionally clean and well maintained. Front staff are friendly and helpful. The only negative is the neighborhood is ok. I would definitely stay here again.

Managed to obtain a refund before staying here. The hostel itself looks great! I was just worried about the location as outside there were plenty of homeless people roaming the streets. Some of them were taking illegal substances which wasn't great to witness outside a family friendly hostel. I can't say much about the hostel apart from the staff were very friendly and accommodating. However, the location let's this place down.

Clean rooms, comfortable beds, great atmosphere, free activities. The Chinatown walking tour with Anthony was great!

The hostel is in the middle of a sketch area (don't walk through Ellis St. To get to union square like I did), but the atmosphere is wonderfully eclectic and cozy. It's an older building, so you won't have the fancy amenities, but it's also quite affordable compared to hotels or air bnb in the area.

Great hostel, fe quality breakfast, comfortable rooms, good atmosphere and very well located! I recommend :)

HI City Center: The staff was friendly, helpful and resourceful, the atmosphere was relaxed, the kitchen was amazingly big. City Center is in an area with local character. The room has lockers, but you have to bring your own lock or buy theirs for $4. Shout-out to Anthony for making the BEST cup of coffee at 1 am when I needed it. Πολλά φιλιά Αντώνη!

This is one of three HI hostels in SF. City Center is by far the best. It has the air of a boutique hotel. The lobby is comfortable and inviting. The bar/cafe area has a cozy, hardwood ambiance that you won't find in a hotel. We stayed in which surprisingly had an incredible view. (I was in town visiting family, who lamented that their Big Fancy Hotel had a view of the adjacent building, about 10 feet out of the window, and not much else — ha, ha! ) We enjoyed the old school elevator, making me nostalgic for a time I never actually lived in, but admire nonetheless. The room was clean, quiet, and relaxing. We dug it, and will surely be back. Breakfast was an unexpected treat — eggs and pancakes for a buck? DEAL.

It was my first time in hostel and I loved it! They have really friendly workers and all the services were great! I would love to visit this place if I visit SF later!

The rooms and the staff were fine!

Seriously clean and cozy. Cool wall decor. Nice staff. 10/10 can’t complain. I stayed here on emergency and it was perfect!

Lovely hostel in downtown which has all these fun esoteric, spiritual details in the lobby and features fun events like palm reading etc. The building retains its original features and is kept at a neat standard. Parking is a problem if you want to leave your car during the day without incurring expensive fees from either on-street metered parking or valet parking. The district itself (Tenderloin) is somewhat dodgy and requires a vigilant eye when walking there during the evening hours. The staff in general are very nice and helpful with a few exceptions.

The hostel was very nice. Clean room and very kind staffs. One of the staff helped me to plan out my day in San Francisco and also let me know about a bike rental partnership they have with one of the vendors and that saved me a bit of money. Overall, if you want to stay close to downtown San Francisco, this is a nice place to be.

Beautiful decoration but rooms to share and impossible to invite externals.

Travelling on your own or a group, by far the best hostel in San Francisco. It's central location makes it the ideal place. A $10 cab ride gets you to the majority of the city. A 10 minute walk from the BART station. The rooms have everything that you need, clean quality bedding, fresh towel every day, shower with good pressure and hot water, a bath, sink and toilet, all cleaned every day. Excellent Wi-Fi all over the hostel, good communal areas and bar. Open kitchen and fridges to use when you you wish. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Couldn't ask for anything more from a hostel.

Very clean rooms and good service.

Everything about this hostel is very good. Decent price, clean and tidy rooms, very good breakfast and great atmosphere to study and work in mezannine floor. They do room service everyday and replace the towels, bedsheets and blankets once in three days. Staff is very helpful, so just ask them if you are not sure of anything in and around this place. I stayed here for 10days and enjoyed every single day. Only thing that's not a very serious issue is, it's located in Ellis street where lots of homeless people are there. So it's better to take uber or some other taxi service if you're going somewhere or returning to hostel at nights!

Great place with very helpful and friendly staff. Free breakfast every morning and heaps of activities for guests. The rooms are quite nice and if your lucky you'll have a street view so you can see the world passing you by while you come to the realisation that your staying in a hostel and not the 5 star hotel that the business man walking passed you is.

Very cozy with that homey feel. People are so nice, enjoyed the bagels and their $1 pancakes. Very hip place and loved the kitchen, the only thing I will complain about would be the mattress, it was really hard and woke up every morning with back and neck pain, also the heater needs some tweaking because even at 9 it wouldn't heat up at all. Shout out to the deli/mini mart next door, some real good and real cheap deli sandwiches. The area was decent, excellent walking distance to the majority of places, just avoid heading down Ellis st past the chicken and waffles place next door. The staff was on point, Jazmine thank you for making my last minute booking possible, and great bar. Will definitely be back, hopefully they get better softer beds.

Nice place, the staff is helpful and friendly. The zone around the hostel is not the nicest, unfortunately the streets around here are quite dirty. It was heartbreaking for me to see so many homeless people. Coming here I got to see the shocking reality of innequallity in the US, and I got to appreciate my good fortune for having food and shelter on my daily life. Humbling experience!

Nice boutique hotel located near downtown San Francisco. The staff is really kind and always willing to help you with tourist atractions, food recommendations and making your way safe to all the places (as the surroundings are full of homeless people). We stayed in a five people dorm and everything was on point. Good buffet breakfast and coffee/tea all day long.

Very cozy, the best hostel we have been to in San Francisco. The breakfast was very good.

The hostel had a great vibe and ambiance. The rooms were very clean and neat. Love the kitchen and dining area. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Would stay there again!

Very well. They allow you for 15 days at a stretch to stay in this hostel. Have got a big kitchen. Staff is absolutely welcoming. Enough space at reception and on first floor if you wish to work on your laptop or carry out a casual meeting with anyone. Recommended.

I like the vibe and people here. Everyone is nice enough. I stayed in room 4 and the door was a little hard to close which was a bit louder than it should have been. Especially considering the shared nature of the rooms. Aside from that, everything was excellent. Very grateful for the time spent here and connections made.

The hostel is relatively well located. But the area is ugly. Much indigent, which does nothing. But it's ugly. The simple rooms … have only one bed and already. But in general. A good option to get to know San Francisco.

Very good and cheap, very cosmopolitan. You get to breakfast. Only there is no receptionist who speaks Spanish and they also do not help you if you need to check in. A little selfish of her part.

Even though it is not placed in the best neighborhood, it is a great hostel! Free breakfast with option to pancakes and eggs for $1. We stayed in a double private room with full bathroom and it was great. Super comfy bed. They also have a convenient private parking (not free) placed a couple of doors next to the hostel. The hostel uses identification cards for their hosts and locks their main door during nights, so even the neighborhood is a "don't go zone", you still feel safe inside (plus it is quite and chill inside). Very close to main atracctions such as Union Square (walking distance) and public transportation.

Hostel is Awesome! Everything we needed and great activities. Our room consisted of 2 bunk beds and a bathroom/shower/tub. Cleaned daily. The breakfast is great: eggs and pancakes for $1, otherwise bagels, fruit, toast, oatmeal, coffee and juice are free. We rented bikes while visiting and were able to store them at the hostel over night! (For free) Check out is at 11a and our departure from the city wasn't until 9:30pm, the Hostel allowed us to store our luggage while we continued exploring the city after check out. (For free) Evening activities and some dinners provided by donation. (Vegetarian friendly! ) 24/7 desk staff is also a great perk! Only downfall, no outside alcohol in the building, but there is a bar in the lobby, with a happy hour.

Good atmosphere and very good decoration, the prices are very elevedados, but chords with the standard of living of the city. It is located in a "dangerous" area of the city by the amount of homeless.

My home for 9 months when I was studying abroad and now 2 years later I came back and found it as beautiful, comfortable and homely as always. As far as location, it's perfectly situated in the middle of the city, you can go by foot almost everywhere from there, also the hostal offers a lot of fun activities in and out of it. But what makes this hostal AMAZING is the people that work in it, they are a family to me always so warm and nice. I miss them a lot! Hopefully I can come back soon and I will be staying here for sure!

The place is safe and very clean, the area is well, the only bad thing could not consume a beer that buys outside, you must buy from them.

Stayed here for 2 nights and it was such an amazing experience! We did the walking tour of Chinatown with Anthony and I was completely enthralled by all of his knowledge. There was also a horror movie night, complete with snacks and party favors. The entire staff was incredibly friendly and helpful when it came to obscure, non-traditional sites to visit. The rooms were very clean and the decor is beyond awesome. The little bar downstairs is a wonderful spot to start off the night too. I even came away with some new friends. 100% would recommend staying here!

Very cool! Relaxed people!

A mega-cosy ambiance. Extremely nice staff, chill and relaxed atmosphere. Four-bed rooms with bunk beds are common here (with their own shower bath), but no problem, you can close contacts well. Sufficient breakfast, at an additional cost of $1, you can also get pancakes or scrambled eggs every morning from 8:30 am.
Very central location. If you are on foot, you can reach all the sights in a reasonable distance.
Otherwise, good connection to bus or s — and subway. Cable-car-station can be reached in about 10-15 minutes (market-street = turning point).

The hostel is very good. We stay in private room with private bathroom. There are many activities organized by the hostel to do. Breakfast is missing something sweet to eat. For a dollar you can have 4 pancakes. The kitchen is huge, you can make it all there. The neighborhood frightens a little at night but when it perishes nothing happens.

Super nicely decorated. Double room spacious and clean. Staff a bit too cool but totally nice.
For 1 dollar there is fresh scrambled eggs and for another good pancakes. In the evening, the hotel's Bar invites you to happy hour.
Unfortunately, the area is so bad that every exit of the hotel requires great organizational effort. Poverty, open drug trafficking, procreational Crime are shaping the environment day and night. Therefore no 5 but only 2 stars.
All you have to use in dishes must be washed alive.

Per:
The hostel is clean.
Has a great décor
Offers common evenings.
Continental breakfast is included pancakes or eggs only 1Dollar extra charge.
Wi-Fi is included and fast enough.
Contra: The location is in the middle of the Tenderloin, during the day very unpleasant in the evening it can also be dangerous, walking there should be no valuables such as camera, mobile phone etc. Show. Lots of homeless people and junkies. Next to the hostel is a liquor shop, which unfortunately does not help either.
It is forbidden to bring alcoholic beverages, food and non-alcoholic beverages in the rooms is also prohibited.
The smell of the old house is unfortunately also not really comfortable
The location is central but no relevant traffic is reachable without a 10 minute walk, which is simply not fun in the area, the sights and beautiful districts have to be done with Uber etc. Visit.
Conclusion:
All in all, the hostel itself is "for San Francisco ratios" far too expensive. A private room for €110 per night is able with the restrictions just usury.

Stayed here during my previous visit with a group. The staff is awesome and polite. The location is very convenient although a little sketchy part of town but u forget all of that as u enter this building the decor is very hip and has a cozy feeling to it. Price was good as well.

Great hostel! Clean, nice staff. I liked it very much. Happy again. A bit expensive though, so is the stop in San Francisco…

Really nice hostel with a good breakfast on offer. Location is a bit iffy at night. It is perhaps best to avoid going out after dark since the streets are surrounded by homeless people who are quite aggressive in asking for money.

Secure, young.
In the morning, be happy, join the main room and take the homemade scrambled cakes and eggs (and in front of you), add some maple syrup with a good hot coffee, spread out in one of the sofas and enjoy…

Much nicer than I expected from the reviews. Clean, simple — no frills, but amazing deal for the low price. Free, good Wi-Fi and breakfast provided. The lobby and hangout areas are a chill, artsy, hippie kind of vibe and everyone is very respectful and nice.

Some said the location is sketchy. There are homeless people around. As long as you aren't wondering around after 8 it's not an issue. They always have some fun group event like a pub crawl or game night planned. Breakfast is good; bagels, toast, pancakes, eggs, coffee, juice, etc. The rooms are clean and the atmo atmosphere is welcoming. This is my first US hostel and it's been a great experience. Do not book through a third party! They are not accurate in their pricing.

Location is sketchy but Uber is a good solution to this. Safe and cozy.

Hostel rooms and facilities are in a good state, staff was friendly and very helpful. Unfortunately the surrounding area is not the best.

Price is kind of excesive for a hostel. Breakfast is amazing for $1 you get 4 pancakes! People is very friendly. Beds are not the best, kind of soft.

Great hostel. Location is in the sketch part of town. Make sure to walk on van ness and not hyde.

Well run and great staff. Clean and comfortable.

Hostel in the city center. Around $ 35 per night. The rooms are clean, also common rooms and a very good Wi — Fi connection. The breakfast is included but for $ 1 extra to buy an omelette or 4 pancakes!
Very happy.

Great Hostel. Rooms of 4 with bathroom. Really nice Lobby and even a Bar. Complimentary breakfast is good, coffee all day and a nice kitchen. Just the neighborhood is a bit shady. Take an uber if you return late.

This is I came to San Francisco for the first site, it is very suitable for young people, a hotel, the price here is very fair. At night the small bar atmosphere is very good.

Cool old hotel that has been adapted to suit the hostel. I loved the old elevator! The location is not as awesome as some but it is close to everything! We walked everywhere (just not late at night). That being said the hostel was great, the staff were friendly, and the free bagels for breakfast were awesome! Would def stay here again.

Hi — SF City Center was the cheapest option for lodging in San Francisco, prices for hotels and Airbnb were excessive. Best value: 50 euros per room night for four, with free breakfast and Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. The neighborhood isn't the best despite being in the Centre, especially in the evenings, but the structure is great and has everything you need. Staff and clientele almost exclusively juvenile. Totally recommended, maybe less to girls because of the neighborhood, if they want to do late at night.

I spent a few days in SF this past week and needed a place that was economical and conveniently located. I found that and more at the Ellis St. Hostel. The staff is warm and friendly, the kitchen was amazing with commercial gas ranges available for use by guests, large glass fronted refrigerators for storing personal foodstuffs, and a nice little bar area for drinks and/or hanging out. A continental breakfast is free along with some of the best coffee I've had and for a fee of $1 you can order eggs and for another dollar — pancakes. Where else can you get an awesome breakfast for $2 bucks or less? This was my first experience with hostelling and I shared a small room with three other women. There were two bunk beds and four lockers (bring your own lock — but I didn't feel I needed to lock up) and I slept on a bottom bunk. Believe it or not, that is one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept on! All in all, an amazing experience, with people staying here from all over the world. I'm now a hostelling fan for sure.

It is a beautiful hotel and very cheap, to one side of the mall in san francisco. The breakfast is free or you pay a dollar for a couple of… scrambled eggs are desyuna very well. Congratulations.