Slab City Hostel — Hotel in Calipatria

Stayed for one night here during a trip to LA. We found the place on Airbnb and were completely unsure what to expect.

Hosts Matt and Whitehorse were fantastic. They were so helpful, friendly and polite. We were the only visitors there at the time but spent time with the other long term residents (and pets!) at the hostel and loved talking to them, sharing stories and memories and having a fantastic time. We were made to feel welcome from the minute we arrived to the moment we left.

Whilst staying there we visited other parts of Slab City with the other residents and met different people from different camps, as well as common socialising areas, such as the Redrum bar.

There was a choice of accommodation available and I chose the RV. It was comfortable and had lovely fresh clean sheets. It was also a nice temperature despite the desert sun.

There’s toilet facilities, a shower (albeit cold), laundry, kitchen. There’s also WiFi although we had phone signal (and barely used our phones), power to charge devices as well as space for us to park our car within the gated community.

If you are visiting Slab City I’d definitely recommend staying the night - and this is a great place to do it. Staying here and interacting with the community gave us an experience we wouldn’t have got had we just driven through and looked at a few things. Remember to be respectful to your hosts and the local residents of Slab City and don’t forget to bring your...

I had some serious reservations of even staying here then I arrived and met our host Matt. Matt is a super cool guy who was very welcoming and went out of his way to make sure we were welcome and gave a tour and after setting in, spent the early afternoon spending time talking with our host and correcting some misconceptions on my end with actual facts, we ventured around the area and had a great time checking out the sights.

It's obviously not a Hampton end and most everything within slab city is repurposed. The Slab City Hostel is no different and if you're looking for a truly "off the grid" experience, I highly recommend it. The area I secure and at no time did I feel unsafe or in danger. everyone I ran across was welcoming and cool. Thanks again Matt for your hospitality. I had a great time talking with you about all the different subjects and your education about 'the slabs'. Matt took us over to the "range" to watch some live music later in the evening and I felt that was far above and beyond. Thank you sir!

I'll definitely be back in the winter time when...

I had a great time during my 3 night stay at Slab City Hostel. Whitehorse is such a friendly, kind & fun guy.

This is Slab City, so nothing will be "typical" about your stay. But Whitehorse has built a spacious & safe space with an outdoor hot water shower, kitchen (stove/oven/fridge/freezer), 2 porta-potties(smelly but overall clean) & a chill hangout/common area with couches, Bluetooth speakers & power outlets. His prices are fair & his property is completely fenced in & feels very safe.

Next time I'm in Slab City I will def stay at...