HI Boston Hostel — Hotel in Boston

This was a nice hostel, with nice facilities that could use some customer service work and a little extra cleaning. I arrived around 8-9pm on 10/02/21; tired from my flight. Security is well set up as you need a key card, or someone needs to "buzz" you in, to get into the bldg. Then a staff member needs to buzz you into the dorm and other common areas. You are provided a key card that gets you into the room after check in.

This hostel is located in Boston’s China Town which may be a bit of an adjustment at first, especially when you arrive at night and are unfamiliar with the area. However, once you have had a chance to walk around, you will love it and the food! But as with ANY PLACE, always keep your guard when walking around, especially alone. When I walked around at night, and early morning, there were always others walking around as well so I never felt terribly uncomfortable. Plus the hostel location is also great as it is near other parts of Boston worth visiting (walking-distance).

When I arrived, there were (2) two team members that "greeted" me at check-in. However, Ashley I believe her name was, was sadly unkind and made me feel unwelcomed. Even asking simple questions made me feel as if I inconvenienced her, and other staff as well. The only “saving grace” were a few staff that was nice enough to provide me with suggestions on where to eat and where I could find a good place to eat. I wish I would have remembered THEIR names! Unfortunately, the less than pleasant staff’s name is the one that seems to resonate with me most.

The hostel has a very chic vibe compared to some other hostels I have stayed at. Less welcoming than some other hostels I have stayed at, but had some VERY nice travelers staying there as well. But that is what I love about hostels, the sense of community with the other travelers. Having such terrible, unwelcoming staff, however, can overshadow that. Fortunately, the one nice staff and the handful of great travelers I met did not overshadow that.

I stayed in an all female dorm with (4) four beds. It was very nice with large lockers to fit large bag or backpack. They provide you with linens, a pillow and a towel. GREAT personal cubby hole by your bunk with charging station and lamp; hooks to hang your stuff and a nice view from the window. The only thing it was missing was a privacy curtain. I had to make-shift my own. The bathrooms are shared but segregated to singular toilet with shower and there are PLENTY OF THEM! They have bathmats, paper towels and bodywash/shampoo in each. They also have blow-dryers which is a nice bonus. I didn’t use much of the common areas but they were nice. The kitchen needs some TLC as the current travelers were a little messy and I could never find paper towels and hand soap.

Overall, facilities are nice and female dorms are nice. Location is great if visiting Boston for the first time, a drive from the Airport and a quick Lyft or walk to the Amtrak station. If only the staff were a little nicer I would stay here when I return. Unfortunately, I think I will stay in a...

My experience was not that great due to my roomate and AC and room location. I was given a room next to a restroom, next to main street, and with an unfortunate roommate situation.

I booked this room because I was in Boston only for a night and I wanted an economical accommodation in a city where it is almost impossible to find a room in downtown for less than $300/night. The walls are thin and you can hear everything that goes around you. I was able to hear people use the restroom to an high detail. If it was just water noises, that is a different story. There is no ventilation fan in restrooms to help with drowning out these aforementioned noises. People were street racing/doing donuts right outside my window and it was extremely bothersome as it lasted for a good hour in the late night. The situation with the cars outside is outside of the hotel's responsibility, but I guess you should be aware of this possible occurrence if you get placed in a room similar to mine. However, the walls should be more sound insulated to prevent noise travel. I also felt that it was quite hot in the room, there was no way to change the temperature.

What was most bothersome and I found most unacceptable was the roommate that I was assigned. He unfortunately had some psychiatric issues (I know this because he kept whispering "I should have taken my meds"). He seemed to have sort of screaming tic where he would start mumbling and then progress into full blown screaming. He would then get up, check through his items, organize them, and then run outside to the restroom right next to our room in an attempt to not disturb us, but remember the walls are thin, so we heard his continued screaming noises very clearly. This odd cycle happened literally every 20 minutes. It was quite frustrating as I only got about 2 hours of sleep. When I asked him if he needed any help, he became very defensive and said that "[he] was normal" and that "[he] has been here all week and [I] have only been here for two minutes and so [I] don't know anything."

My question is that if he has truly been here all week, who is monitoring the guests in such an environment where strangers are living close together? How has this not been noticed and appropriate measures been taken? I paid $100 for a bed for one night in a shared room. That is an outrageous price for hostelling, no matter where you are in the world. Although the facilities were very visually appealing and restrooms were clean, this roommate situation requires more attention. I am sure that I am edge case for this property, as clearly many people were satisfied with their stays given the many positive reviews. I don't think I will be back to this place nor will I take a risk on hostelling for a long while—I prefer to have my sleep undisturbed.

P.S. Make sure to bring a lock to lock your goods. They do not warn you to do so on the website prior to booking as far as I can remember. I had to shell out another $6 for a stay with an already...

UPDATE: Despite the GM/Owner who replied below stating they would take care of this, would message ME on booking.com and left their email… well you guessed it they never did or replied back to the additional email I sent them. This was clearly a tactic to save face for their complete My bank has reversed the charges and I will continue with my complaint with booking.com about the way this place handled this booking and transaction. Literally the weirdest interaction I’ve ever had with a business.

*update 2: looks like they removed their reply to my review. Seriously what a strange place. Glad I screenshotted its

I want to say that I did not stay at this place but this is my customer service experience.

I booked this place for the private room, July 2024 for a July 2025 reservation, non refundable rate. When booking rooms, I always look for places that offer breakfast for convenience and cost factors. Last week, early May 2025, I was sent a message on booking.com saying breakfast will no longer be included.

I replied back asking if then the price would be discounted or if I could cancel my reservation since when I booked, this amenity was included. They offered to discount the rate by $3 per night or I could cancel free of charge. Their words. Free. Of. Charge. All I had to do, according to Emily, was submit the form from booking.com for reimbursement. I did. It was approved by Angela. Not an hour later, I get another message saying, hey we cancelled the room but you booked non-refundable, so we aren’t giving you your refund back.

So I do exactly what they said, told I will get a refund, told to cancel and I do just that- then they get to keep my money plus rebook the room?!

Insanity.

I called not even kidding like 7 times over the course of a week. Either no one answers the phone and the two times they did, they can’t help. I emailed directly, messaged on booking.com, and no reply. Manager never there, manager never calls back, never hear anything. Thank god for credit card disputes. It’s so weird to make to make this so complex especially when I have it all in writing. Now they have to pay the fee to my bank company when the charge gets reversed and a complaint is in with booking.com where the customer service agent said since they backed out of the refund after approving it, they will either be delisted for a short period of time or pay a fee to them separately.

Why not just stick to your word? If they wouldn’t have offered the cancellation free of charge, I would have just kept the room. But the fact they offered it, approved it, then walked it back with zero communication from anyone besides the sweet girl who answered the phone just seems so dramatic...