Hostelling International

for what is, it’s okay. cheap, decent, whatever. most of the people here are pretty cool. it’s safe and comfortable. the area has been cleaned up quite a bit too. Great location.

I could not have been more pleased! What a great fun place to stay, especially for extroverts who are not shy! A fun group played improv games in the lobby late into the night on my one night stay, charades and pictionary and tons of silly loud fun :) loved it. friendly staff, a clean warm bed, hot shower, beautiful view on the lake to sit and drink coffee in the sunrise. Cant beat that for the price! Oh also walking distance to some night life if thats your bag…

Location, atmosphere, cleanliness including the restrooms all earn high marks – one of the nicest hostels I’ve stayed in.
One major drawback for me — woke up with 5 distinct bites that are definitely too big to be mosquito bites. Nurse said they were probably bed bug bites. I understand this is a risk at hostels, but I’ve slept in plenty of them and this was definitely a first.

Clean! Relaxing location on the water! Free healthy breakfast goodies!
I have not stayed in a swankier hostel! Now naturally, don’t expect the Ritz when checking into a place at around the $ 25 – 30 mark. But this place was very surprising. Beds come pre-​made with good blankets. Towels on tap. Coded 24 hour access.
Did I mention this place is ON THE WATER? These people know how to run a hostel.
Kristofer’s Recommendation of the Day:
Towels on tap in the bathroom! At least the small ones.

I’ve stayed here many times over the years when visiting Austin and it’s always been ok.
They have done extensive remodeling of the commons area in recent years which looks a lot better than it used to. None yet in the restroom facilities which was a bit of a disappointment as it had plentiful mold and the shower area floods like a swamp. Friendly and accommodating staff welcome you. Their prices are cheap and you can meet a lot of interesting fellow travelers.

My girlfriend and I stayed there and we had a really great time. Paul B was very helpful. He had great suggestion on what to do in Austin. And an impeccable beard. Thank you so much for the hospitality. We will definitely be back when we’re back in the states.

I immediately fell in love with this hostel from the moment I arrived. Was only planning on staying 3 days, but ended up extending to a week, it was just that good!
Location is a little bit far away from where all the action happens, but the peacefulness of being right by the river was unbeatable, and busses are only a short walk away.
I really wish I could give this 5 stars, and I definitely would have, had it not been for one incident which I felt was handled horribly by the staff member working at the time. One guest of the hostel had a little «accident» on the floor in one of the dorms while he was drunk or high or both! The girl only thing the girl working did was laugh and yell that she wasn’t cleaning it up, and then proceeded to kick the guy out on the street with all his bags. The guy didn’t even know where he was and the staff member had zero care about his welfare. And then to top it all off, while she was refusing to make an effort to clean it, or do anything about it, she let another GUEST of the hostel clean it up!
Just a horrible night which was handled absolutely disgustingly by the staff member.
But yeah, other than that, a 10 out of 10 hostel!

My sweetie and I got a private room for two nights. It was clean. There was a quiet fan plus air conditioning, which was perfect for the summer humidity and heat. The bathroom was very clean and looked like it was cleaned every day. The room is by the front entrance, but the door insulated the noise relatively well. In the morning, there was pancake breakfast and pastries. Perry, one of the front desk staff, was super friendly and helpful at making recommendations for where we could eat when we got in from our flight at around 8:30 pm. We felt like we were staying at a hotel more than a hostel!

Price: very inexpensive
Cleanliness: it’s a hostel. The bedrooms are immaculate, the bathrooms decent, the kitchen hit or miss given the time of day. But overall, very clean and tidy.
Location: right on the lake. It’s not right downtown, so for those planning to frequent the nightlife, you may be a bit annoyed by the two mile walk/​bus/​taxi into town. But I enjoyed the fact that it is out of the way.
Highlights: hammock, kayaking, and trails are all right in the backyard. Towels and linens are provided and free. Chalkboard updated daily with things to do and see. Friendly staff. Bike rentals, free breakfast, board games, wifi.
Could be better: a few of the guests perhaps should have been turned away, to be in accordance with the rules stated on the website.
Overall, great experience. Most people seem to prefer this hostel over the ones downtown, especially if you are looking for a more relaxing trip.

As always with my experience with Hostelling International properties, a great place.
I just spent a week here, a conference/​vacation combination, and had a fantastic time despite the fact they had construction going on while i was there. It was just one day (Saturday), wasn’t disruptive, and I got 10% off my total stay (with promises of a free dinner if construction impacted my cooking plans, which it didn’t).
I did find it a bit out of the way at first, seeing as I had to go downtown to the convention center each day – though if you’re just in Austin for fun, it shouldn’t be any problem at all. Once I was more comfortable with the area and with the bus schedule, I found it easy to both take transit and walk to any place I wanted to go.
The hostel was clean and relatively quiet (it’s a hostel, after all!). Nobody was partying, and the guys I did see «enjoying themselves» last night were out on the patio, away from the sleeping areas. Situated on the shore of Lady Bird Lake, it has a great view of the lake and the city, and the city-​owned dock/​park adjacent to the property had daily canoe, kayak, paddleboat, and paddleboard concessionaires operating out of it – really convenient for hostelgoers!
I can’t recommend the on-​site bike rental (though certainly no fault of the hostel itself), and my room (3) oscillated between freezing cold and burning hot at nearly regular intervals throughout the night. But minor complaints in light of a great place, with friendly, helpful staff and awesome fellow guests!
I can’t wait to return to Austin, especially to see the bats (who eluded me this time), and when I do, I’ll be staying here. Thanks for an awesome stay, y’all!
NOTE: I just saw a claim of bedbugs dating to last fall. There was absolutely none that I saw. I am paranoid about bringing them home and I am fastidious in checking for them and their scat. I found no evidence to back up this reviewer’s claim, and I have the best proof of all: no bites. Just thought I should mention it!

My friend and I stayed here a couple nights in early April, and we really enjoyed it. There was some remodeling going on, and because of that we received a small discount. We chuckled at the schedule posted outside the only bathroom (the other was being spruced up) — girls for an hour, boys for an hour, girls for an hour, etc! Somehow, it worked. The remodeling didn’t affect our visit, other than a few workers and a bit of construction dust.
The hostel is in a totally peaceful place, right on the lake, but is also convenient to downtown, clubs, the Congress bridge for bat viewing, etc. We like to walk, so walking to downtown was fine (maybe a couple miles?), but the buses are very cheap and cabs are reasonable. Once downtown, there’s a bus that goes directly to the airport, too. Cheap, and a big plus for us. There’s a parking area at the hostel for those that drive.
The large common space has a wall of windows overlooking the deck, green space and lake. The dorm rooms and common area were clean, as were sheets, blankets. We fixed a snack in the kitchen before we went out to the clubs; it has the basic necessities, but probably could use a few more items. Wi-​fi is available.
The staff were friendly and knowledgeable — they were able to answer every question we had and gave good suggestions. The other guests were nice and fun to meet, with a few, uh, interesting characters thrown in the mix. The only real complaint we had is the price we were quoted while making the reservation isn’t the price we ended up paying. Not acceptable.
We had a hilarious adventure getting to the hostel with a friend who was dropping us off, when silly Siri took us up in the hills thru pretty neighborhoods and expensive homes, down the hills, around and around, ending up at 2200 Lakeshore ROAD, which is also on the lake, but about 20 minutes from town. We wondered the entire ride how this could be considered close to downtown, and what the folks in the fancy houses thought about having a hostel nearby! We finally figured it out, and had a great stay at the hostel and a wonderfully fun visit to Austin.
(review submitted by granddaughter and friend — from MT — who stayed at the hostel and wrote this on my computer while visiting me after Austin.)

When you’re a girl that’s kind of down and out in Austin, Texas, having lacked in the «plan ahead» category, this place is a heaven-​send at 11:30 PM. The greatest thing about hostels is that they are open ²⁴⁄₇ and you never have to worry about it being too late. Granted, most hotels are open late as well but they have a tendency to be an ass about you arriving a little late.
For $ 37, this hostel is definitely on the pricy side. I would suggest that they think about lowering it to the $ 30 range because there are hotels for $ 40 around and hostels should usually be at least 25% to 50% cheaper than a motel.
I stayed a couple of nights so I got to see the usual day routines and noticed that the rooms and beds were cleaned impeccably, but not the bathrooms… Hair and dirt that had been there the day before remained the day after. Eeww! One of the hand soap dispensers had run out and the other was on its last drops but for some reason it wasn’t refilled. By the next day I felt like I was beating the other dispenser in an effort to get just a little soap out. So why the inconsistency? I mean, if you’re gonna clean the rooms so well, why not the bathrooms?! God knows they usually need cleaning more!
Like most hostels I’ve gone to, pancakes are free in the morning! It’s always nice to have a free hot breakfast that keeps you full until late afternoon, especially when you’re on a budget.
Only HUGE downside to my stay here was, and I’m not surprised: BEDBUGS. I’m not a 100% sure but when you wake up with bites all over yourself, it’s usually the logical conclusion. Of course, it could be some other kind of insect but I kind of doubt it since it didn’t seem like there were ants or spiders crawling around. I never got a chance to ask any of the other girls if they shared my red bump experience but I’m going to assume I’m not alone. Despite this one clear downside, I highly suggest Hostelling International!

I was visiting Austin for partying with a friend. It is cheap, and so nice. We where drinking beer outside in the sunset, in the pier on the lake. It was relaxing. As a negative point, it is necessary to take car or a cab to go to 6^th st. But as it is usual in HI Hostels, we met more people that joined us for party. Not good place for couples or families. Just students and backpackers.

Pros:
–I was able to make a reservation on short notice.
–They have privet rooms.
–It’s very clean.
–It’s in an okay location in relation to the city, and is set in a beautiful location on the river.
–The afternoon/​night staff was nice/​friendly.
–Free pancakes in the morning.
–Piano and monolopy in the common areas.
Cons:
–My boyfriend and I made iced tea and almond pancakes around 11:30pm, and put them in the corner of the fridge that our stuff was in (that was labeled). Then at 8am they were gone, either eaten or thrown out :(
–The morning staff are distant, and not very friendly or helpful.
–The printer is broken…
–The temperature is regulated poorly. The dorms were cold at night, then in the morning they were stuffy and smelly. The common area was FREEZING in the morning, especially after being in the hot dorm.
–It’s a bit more expensive than other hostels I’ve been to, closer to $ 30/​night.
Extra comment:
–I don’t know if it’s just because of the time that I’m traveling (mid April) but the hostel has a strange mix of people… Lots of older people and people who aren’t traveling.
Overall this was not a bad place to stay. In my experience it will not give you a «hosteling» experience. But it is a cheaper option in Austin and in a decent location.

Love, love, love this place!
No shower tokens, no curfew and a super-​sweet staff. My private room was immaculate, and the location is just about perfect. (Read: a short five-​dollar cab ride to downtown.)
The shower curtain and bath mat need to be thrown out, but other than that, this place rawks!

This hostel is pretty flippin’ awesome. I reserved a spot less than 48 hours in advanced, but it was no problem at all. You can’t book online on such short notice, but you can call and they’ll reserve for you. You can actually call at any time, because there’s someone sitting at the front desk ²⁴⁄₇. Talk about convenient.
They provide sheets, lockers, towels, wi-​fi. They are located ~2 miles away from downtown and S. Congress St. area. They are located in a very serene area, right off the lake with some biking trails right in the backyard. The really nice thing about this hostel is that it’s located close enough to all the fun night life, but not smack dab in the middle of it (it’s a pro for some, and a con for others). I would suggest hailing a cab to downtown, because there are a lot of homeless people begging for money along the bridge.
The guy at the front desk was super nice. He gave me the phone numbers for several cabs, but in the end, it was a cab driver with connections to the hostel that came for the job. Apparently, Saturday nights are difficult in terms of getting a cab.
My only complaint about this place is the shower. I felt like privacy was low, but no matter.
Of course, the best part about this hostel was the people I met– both Texans and international folks. I enjoyed my experience and will definitely return if I’m in the area.

This was my first hostel experience and it was definitely positive. What I really appreciated about this place is that it feels like the people who run it have stayed in hostels before – they’ve thought through everything you might need, from free towels to basic kitchen utensils and supplies to help finding your way around town.
Staff were friendly and helpful, hostelers were diverse and generally chill/​considerate (mostly people in their 20s, but there was one middle-​age woman). I bought ear plugs and didn’t hear a thing in the female dorm (8 bunks) after conking out around 11 (several girls came in late).
Pretty location and convenient as well. Even though east of I-​35 can be shady, I felt safe here (traveling as a single woman). Can’t beat the price at a total of less than $ 30 for the dorms (around $ 70 for private rooms).

I absolutely LOVED this hostel. After staying at several other hostels around the US, this was my second favorite.
Most of the staff was very friendly (there was one girl with a major attitude problem), lots of parking, right on the water, nice patio area, and even a TV room upstairs. I loved the people I met there and the experiences and memories made. The kitchen area is tiny compared to most hostels, but there’s so many good restaurants in Austin, it’s hard to want to cook anything anyway.
Great location, right off of the freeway but far enough from the freeway that you don’t hear freeway noise. Also, just a short jaunt down to Sixth Street where all the night life is… very short and cheap cab ride.
I would highly recommend staying here while you are enjoying the great city of Austin!

Two major factors influence this review… first, this was my first stay in a hostel so I can’t compare it to other hostels (yet), and second, I’m a «middle» aged and traveling with my 12 year old daughter.
Location was great… on the lake (great place to walk or sit outside) and just a short drive to downtown Austin. Love the private parking lot.
Although we had a private room, it wasn’t completely private being that we had to walk through a bunk room to get to it. Staying in this room gives you access to a small kitchen (which didn’t end up doing us any good because it was pretty much empty of supplies) and a regular apartment-​style bathroom that you share with the four bunkers (definitely a benefit).
Cleanliness was average… could have been better, could have been worse.
I was disappointed that the guests weren’t as social as I had hoped… people were either engrossed in their computers or plugged into their iPods.
I can’t think of one of my «middle-​aged» friends who could handle some of the quirks we encountered during our stay here… like the incessant questions asked by an elderly tooth-​challenged gentleman about how to work his iPad, or the guy cradling the house kitten and lamenting the loss of the girl he never had from the bar last night, or the nocturnal guests drinking beer on the back patio (outside our window) or mingling in the kitchen (outside our door), or the blindfolded man (with unbuttoned pants) snoring on the communal couch until noon. I didn’t have a problem with any of this because my writer’s spirit thrives on stimulating experiences (no matter how quirky). I would definitely say if you are middle aged, you either need to be tolerant or quirky in order to handle a stay at this place. My 12 year old daughter was neither of these.

We stayed here during SxSW ’09. It’s a pretty nice hostel. It has a big grassy area and docks leading up to a lake. It’s quite pretty. There is also a private parking lot in front. There’s a communal kitchen with free bread, which comes in handy for your drunk, late-​night munchies, oh and breakfast.
There are some smaller rooms for 4 or 6 people, but there is also a large dormitory room with many, many beds. Luckily, I was in a 6 person room, which was fine. They have lockers you should definitely use because my friends had an iphone charger and a sweatshirt stolen here. I think it’s pretty safe if you just put away your stuff though. It’s a hassle, but it’s worth it.
The bathrooms are okay. There are numerous stalls and sinks, but the showers are in just a big room with curtains sort of stringed across. Definitely bring shower sandals, and try to lose your sense of modesty. To use the furthermost shower head, you actually have to cut across the showers which may possibly be in use… uhh, awkward! I think they should fix this!
The staff are super friendly. It’s clean. There are «lockout» hours in the rooms so they can clean them, but they aren’t too strict about it. The bathrooms close during this time too, which is awful! If you wake up too late, you might not get to shower (this happened to my friends).
There’s also a nice communal living room with comfy couches and a few older computers. There is free wifi, so bring your laptop as computers are a commodity and usually in use. There is also the sweetest cat that lives here! You’ll love the kitty, such a chiller.
My only problem with the hostel is that it’s kinda far away from downtown. There is a bus, but it takes about 15 minutes to walk to the bus stop and it doesn’t come very often. It’s about a 45 minute trip into downtown from leaving the hostel, but only if you know the bus schedule; otherwise might take considerably over an hour to get there. My suggestion is rent a bike while you’re staying in Austin. The city is mostly flat.