Hostelling International Downtown

Fast check-​in, polite front desk, amazing/​central location close to Union Square, clean room and sheets. Took one star off for absurdly tiny (private) room but hey, I guess that’s why you pay $ 45 per person when the hotel next door costs over four times as much!
Would stay again.

I’ve stayed in lots of hostels so I know what I’m getting into… So I was totally surprised by how clean and well-​run this one was! We stayed here for New Years because it was the only room left in the 3 hostels we checked out in SF… Ended up being a private room w/​a private bath and it was awesome! Super spacious (for a hostel), comfy beds (for a hostel), fun colors in our room, funny little signs posted around the joint, can’t beat the location, super friendly/​accommodating staff, I mean I’ve stayed in some pretty sh*tty places… So I can’t say enough about this place. Didn’t try the breakfast. We were never awake. Only possible complaint might be the noise outside but you’re in SF… there’s earplugs at the counter – use them.

Overall an average experience. What you’d expect from a hostel I suppose (not like the movie). Definitely worth staying here to save money. Worst thing I’d have to say is all the junk emails I receive from them nonstop now.
Simple check in & out. Reserved beforehand online since I came here for a popular half marathon so everything gets booked/​raised prices. I only stayed one night so I didn’t really get to explore. Didn’t visit kitchen unfortunately. No fridges! They have one in basement? But for my purposes I needed breakfast at 5am before my race as well as other guests so they said only one worker at that time may not be able to retrieve our food in a timely manner. Free continental breakfast that I didn’t get to try either.
For the room I stayed in, male & female with 6 bunks. Each had a locker underneath but bring your own lock! It was clean enough for me.

Great price. Great location. Friendly staff. Quirky décor. All around a nice experience at the downtown hostel. They only thing to be aware of is there is no air conditioning, so beware of noisy traffic at night!

Small kitchen especially in the mornings when everyone’s eating there otherwise it’s a cool hostel.

This place is good for those that just want to sleep and then go out. I stayed here for half marathon and the check out is at 11a. It should be noon since check in is at 3p like most of the hotels in San Francisco. The staff is friendly but they don’t allow late check out by that I mean 30 mins or an hour. The staff at front desk said if not checked out by 11a then they will just take your stuff out of the room which I think is ridiculous. Anyway, it’s a good place to shit shower and go. So that’s why I gave it a 3 star only.

Big Hostel! I was in desperate need to have my own room, and obviously you pay extra for this service but I was disappointed with my room. I was thinking en-suite…Nope still had to go down the corridor to use the shower. Even my friends who shared a room, were like ‘this is nothing special’ and their room was better.
Good basic breakfast. Met a guy their who lived in the same area I come from back home who now lives in Canada! I mean what are the odds!
The staff were friendly and very knowagable when I asked them what to do in the area.
I wouldn’t go back, but it served its purpose in the short time ewe were their.

A good hostel in a good location. It was expensove that was the downside ($ 52 for one night) but what do you expect in San Francisco! The rooms were great and the people were too, there were a lot of people of all ages and backgrounds. We made two friends Hans from Germany and Cheng from Del Mar. The free breakfast was good but it goes very quick. The staff was okay too.
Good place to stay if you’re in town for a night or two.

I stayed here for 10 days this may. The front desk personnel is outstanding. I stayed in the make door with four beds with a bathroom for 3 dollars more is worth the extra money. The free breakfast they have everyday on the third floor is filling, bagels, oatmeal, coffee, tea, and fruit. I will definitely stay here again

I was scared to stay at a hostel, this being the first trip alone, but it was great. No bugs (not a single ant even) which was my main concern. Clean, well kept. Affordable. 24 staff which I like. A lot of people my age (mid 20s). Friendly. The only thing that sucked was the kitchen closes at 10 or 11 at night. I always get hungry for a midnight snack so don’t count on using the kitchen if you’re a late eater like me. (You can’t get to the fridge to get your own food). But it was a fair trade because had a really great stay. Wifi worked in my room, was slow sometimes but not too bad.

At first glance, most people would think that this hostel was going to be a dump due to the fact that it’s located right outside of the Tenderloin district, but to my surprise as well as my traveling companion, this was an excellent hostel!
The location was perfect as it it was close to public transportation (BART stop, subway, trolleys, etc.). This was centrally located to walking tours, city center, cable cars, and great restaurants.
The hostel was also in very good condition with clean bathrooms, showers, and the kitchen was perfect. Our room had bunkbeds that were very comfortable, and each bunk had two lockers under them for storage. We also had a sink and a bathroom with a shower and toilet. The kitchen was in great shape and very open and inviting. They served bagels, spreads, and fruit for free, and they had plenty of room in the fridge for you to keep your own items there as well. Cleaning up was the responsibility of all, which made for a very clean kitchen.
Overall, I would definitely stay here again!

One of the nicer hostels I have stayed in! Lots of space. Numerous activities. Free pizza on Mondays. Dorm rooms have comfy beds, but the hostelers are a bit less mature in SF. Switched to a private room after two rough nights with obnoxious women. Dojo at the frint desk is amazing! Kind and helpful!

One of the best hostels I’ve stayed in. I think some of the reviews on here don’t really know what to expect from a hostel.
This place exceeded my expectations. The staff were super helpful and friendly, and the place was clean and welcoming. The room was comfortable and spacious, and I must point out extremely good value for the location! I am confident we picked the best hostel in the area.
I would make this 5* if they made some improvements;
Add wifi to more areas
Update some features to modernise, especially the lift which is really old and slow.
The breakfast at their sister hostel at Fisherman’s Wharf is far better, with more choice, I would like to see the same standard here.
All in all this hostel is great value, great location, welcoming and comfortable — what more do you want?

I was visiting San Francisco over the weekend and didn’t want to spend all my hard-​earned money on accommodation. HI Downtown appeared as a good deal with a bed in a 4-​bed female dorm for $ 43 a night and an extremely central location. Can’t beat that.
The location was indeed amazing: a short walk from the Powell BART station (which takes you to SFO in about 45 minutes), the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf and plenty of great places to eat/​shop at. The location of this hostel also made it kind of noisy — the windows of my room opened up near Mason St and you could hear people going out of bars, etc, until 3 or 4am sometimes. Definitely bring earplugs, I was glad I did!
Other than that, it’s an hostel and a perfectly clean one. Classic 4-​bed dorm with 2 bunk beds (each bed has its own light, plugs and USB plugs — really appreciated this because sometimes top bunks don’t have access to a plug!). I am not sure that they clean the comforters often (or… ever…) as you do not have to bring those down when you check out (only your towels and sheets). The bathrooms were clean which I found amazing considering that there’s only 2 per floor (2 showers + 2 toilets) and A LOT of people staying on each floor.
The elevator is a nightmare though — can only take 1 floor request when you get on it, makes weird noises and bumps, etc… Only take it when you arrive/​leave with your (heavy) luggage and stick to the stairs for the rest of your stay!
They offer free breakfast and walking tour/​activities which I didn’t take advantage of but it must be a good starting point if you come alone to this hostel and want to meet other tourists! :)
All in all, the 4-​bed female dorm was extremely good value for money for such a central location and clean environment.

Staying here for 4 nights in a dorm style room well I check out the city a bit. Great central location– you can’t really beat the price. This is the first time I’ve stayed in a hostel and it’s been a pretty good experience. There was a homeless lady in my room the first night which was weird but she was friendly and quiet and just wanted a good place to sleep– not that big of a deal. Otherwise, the hostel is clean, comfortable but definitely not quiet. It’s a good thing I was insanely tired or else sleeping would’ve been a bit difficult. But like I said– the price is unbeatable for this location.

Loved this place! My first hostel experience. It was clean, kitchen was big and spacious w free breakfast, people were friendly and it felt safe. I would def stay here again

«Rates will fluctuate depending on the date you are arriving»
Hosteling international
Ok I m not a big fan of hostels but had to stay here because of urgency.
While trying to book the room on the phone I could feel the unpleasantly professional behavior of the employees, it was confirmed when I came to check in, when the guy expressed a fake concern. It’s like they don’t give a shit if you are having a bad time. Anyway I wasn’t asking either but please don’t be fucking fake.
Movin on… This place is quite expensive even after considering that it is located in downtown.
Like a school housing this place has, common kitchen, lounges, theatre, small computer room, common shower rooms etc.
One things I liked was that this place provides opportunity to interact with other hostelers (from different nationalities) in common rooms.
The place looks nice as its, carpeted
Although it feels like the place needs some good space utilization. For an instance there is a decent space for kitchen and lounges but shower room and toilet are feels like public ‘plastic box’ urinals. I mean come on…
With the pictures of the hostels hanging on their walls, it feels like they are trying to endorse.
Oh yeah they do provide breakfast in the morning which I think goes like this bagels, jam, butter, oat meal, oranges, coffee, served by a Spanish speaking lady who gave me a weird look when I mixed butter in oat meal.
One last thing, this woman, who seems to be the manager of the hostel, is clearly having a problem while walking because of her high heels but is still walking anyway… Persistence I guess.

This place was really awesome!
I’ve only stayed in hostels in Europe and Morocco and I haven’t heard that great of things when it comes to hosteling in America. I know SF has a bunch and attracts obviously a lot of travelers but with the SF hotels being so high, my friend and I (who are only from San Diego) just decided to book a hostel instead.
It wasn’t the cheapest hostel around but $ 100 for a private room, let alone VERY clean room — it was a nice surprise! It had it’s own sink and desk, a bunk (double bed on bottom, twin on top), the restroom and shower was 2 feet away in the hallway.
I would definitely stay here again.
The only con could be the neighborhood. Gets sketchy at night. I mean, the homeless people are everywhere all day long & it’s scary at night! We left our car parked there over night and luckily it was fine but we thought we’d get a ticket or it would be bent outta shape.
As for the parking, the hostel recommends a nearby place for around $ 20 a night. We really lucked out and found a spot Saturday at noon and we stayed there for 24 hours for free! Gotta just read all the signs!
Kind of a hipster, fun, lobby with a nice staff, really comfy common area on the 2^nd floor & just super super clean!

Seriously one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed in (and I’ve stayed in many). Great location (near BART, Muni, Union Square, a bajillion shops and restaurants), great price considering the location and how high SF lodging prices are, comfy rooms, clean bathrooms (and a good amount of them, plus I loved the sink toilets!), decent breakfast, free coffee/​tea all day, lots of activities during the week, cool tv/​movie room, really kind employees and fellow travelers.
I assume the people who give a place like this negative reviews are the kind who don’t normally stay in hostels, hence a previous reviewer’s confusion that it’s not a motel or hotel (duh, it’s a hostel, that it’s in the title!) and that it’s in a busy location. If you want quiet while you’re in SF, you might have chosen the wrong city to travel to, not the wrong hostel.

When it comes to hostels, I don’t really expect much but I was beyond impressed with this particular one. The price was great, considering that it’s in Union Square. It’s walking distance to (mostly) everything, including a stop for our hop on hop off bus (5 minute walk). As for the room itself, it was wonderful. The room was clean, the bed and pillows were comfortable and the space was the right size for us. The bathroom was good but mind you, the sink is not in the bathroom. We rented an ensuite because shared bathrooms gives me nightmares.
As for the noise level, it’ll depend on the person. I slept well. My bf on the other hand couldn’t sleep the first night. I think the secret is to tire yourself out because the second night and after, my bf slept better. Our room was on Mason Street so we heard bums, the sirens, drunkards, the cars etc. If you are sensitive to noise, they do offer ear plugs which are located near the elevator
As for security, it’s pretty safe. They lock the front doors at 11ish pm or so and every time you walk in, they require you to show your hostel id (which is given to you upon check in).
They also offer continental breakfast of bagels, fruits and coffee/​tea. I personally loved it because it was a great snack to bring with us while we were having our adventure in San Francisco. They also have computers and printers to use (not free) and password protected wi-​fi. That’s the great thing about hostels. They offer these amenities for a very good price. If you are feeling adventurous and/​or want to meet people at the hostel, they do offer activities such as pub crawls, movie nights, etc. I can’t say anything about that because we didn’t sign up for these activities.
Would I return? Definitely. If you decide to book a room there, I would book it through the phone oppose to doing it online. We got a cheaper price via phone.