HI New York City Hostel — Hotel in New York

This stay had everything to be good, but it wasn’t. Let's start at the beginning: I had to pay my stay in advance (a month and a half before the booking), for that, I needed to exchang emails and call six times until someone answered the call, for finally guarantee it. Then, when I arrived, after 11PM (I had told them in advance), they couldn't find my booking... apparently someone had already checked in, but it wasn't me. They eventually found the booking and gave me the card to access the room. When I arrived, there was a jumper on the bed and the locker was occupied. I went to reception to be allocated another room, and the receptionist said they were overbooked (you should never say that in the presence of customers!!!) and the system was slow. That the system was slow would be acceptable, that they were overbooking and had given the room to someone else by mistake would not. It was after 11PM, I was really tired, I just wanted to go to bed and somehow I was afraid I wouldn't have a place to sleep, even though I had paid for everything a month and a half before. The girl passed the problem on to a colleague at reception, who abruptly gave me another card and gave me the receipt. I told them that I should be compensated for everything that had happened; if it had been the other way round, they would have demanded everything from me. Another girl of the reception said that this was a hostel and that I literally couldn't expect to be looked after like in a hotel, they also told me that I was being rude for demanding something, considering their mistakes and they even laughed in my face of this situation. None of the four people on reception apologised to me for what was happening. I went to my room, everything was fine, I could rest. Or I thought I could rest... On the second night, at 1.30am, the same staff who had been unpleasant to me on my arrival came to the bed I had been allocated with the torch on his mobile phone and said "I think you might be in the wrong bed". I woke up startled. I showed them the receipt, they asked me for taking it with them, I said no, they said they'd take a photo, but I didn't notice they’ve done it. They left the room. However, I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night… it totally freaked me out. The next night (my third night), another girl from reception who I'd never seen before turned up at the same time (1.30am) with the same questions. I thought that, the staff from the nights before, decided to make fun with here and made her going to my room for bullying me. I asked one of the girls in the dormitory, an American, if this was normal in this country? I came from another country and from another culture, these behaviours seemed horrible to me... but that could just be me. She told me that none of this was okay and no, it wasn't normal. On the fourth night, before going up to the room, I went to the reception I asked if I was going to be disturbed again… they said I wouldn’t. On the fifth and sixth night, there were no problems. However, this was probably the worst experience I’ve ever had with staff. Perhaps, like the girl from the reception from the first night said: this is a hostel, you can't expect five-star service! I disagree, people choose hostels, not because they're cheaper, but for the experience itself, which would otherwise be impossible to have in hotels. Good manners and friendliness is something that is transversal to public service in general; if you don't like the job, change. Now, don't you dare bully customers for demanding efficiency...

Thought I'd leave a detailed review as it was hard to find info about this place when I was booking.

It's a surprisingly good hostel given the limited choice in NYC. It seems to be one of only two reputable hostels (the other being The Local, Brooklyn). It’s an enormous place which has a huge kitchen, movie room, courtyard, separate lounge, pool table and cafeteria. I was worried it would be difficult to meet people, but they have loads of weekly events (every day except Wednesdays) including walking tours, a pub crawl and socials.

As it's a mega hostel it does lack charm and any obvious door policy. So, there's not much of an atmosphere and there were a few odd characters about. Most people are minding their own business but I still managed to meet plenty of solo travellers (the pool table seemed to be the best spot for this!).

I stayed for a few nights in an 8-bed dorm. The beds were really loud/creaky (not great for light sleepers) and there weren't any curtains. Later I moved to a 4-bed dorm which had privacy curtains but the beds still creaked a lot. Beds came with a blanket, towel and two pillows. Beds were fine and comfortable but after storing some clothes beneath the bottom bunk I realised the floor hadn't been cleaned for a while as they were covered in dust. There's loads of showers (including all gender bathrooms) on each floor. The hot water often cut out in the morning, so I had to hop to another bathroom to find a hot shower a couple of times. There's soap in all of the showers.

Location is great. 103 St subway is a couple of minutes walk away and you can get to Times Square in 15 minutes. Downtown is 25 minutes away (quickest to change at 96th to one of the express lines). Really close to Central Park and Morningside Park. Also not far from Upper West Side (72nd St) which is a great area. There's a bodega right opposite the building which has everything you might need if arriving late.

The cafeteria has loads of choice but is pretty expensive to say it's in a hostel. The actual prices charged seemed to be a lot higher than the price on the menu. I was charged over $10 for some of the ~$6 sandwich options (after tax, before tip), so I stopped eating there as it was cheaper just to go to nearby delis and cafes. Luckily there's tonnes nearby including some NY staples such as Tom's Diner and Absolute Bagels. I didn't use the kitchen downstairs but it was massive and looked as if it was fully stocked.

I booked direct and paid for a ‚HI Membership‘ which gave me a discount, which made it cheaper than a non-refundable rate. I booked my final night through Hostelworld for to be able to access the hostel group chat, but wasn’t really necessary as it was social enough. After checking out they charged $5 per day to hold any bags which seems unfair after paying to stay.

All in all, ideal if you're looking for a budget stay in NYC. Even though it's your typical enormous hostel, the fact that they run so many events was great and the volunteers were all...

I stayed at the Hi hostel for 5 nights. I had an easy check in no problems and nice enough staff. I arrived a little early so had a coffee in the little cafe downstairs. The hostel itself is very clean and has lots of room for people to relax downstairs. I loved the free water refills saved me money every day which is always good in NY! ||Arrival to Hostel||I flew into Newark then got the free air train from the airport to NJ transit train took about 10 mins. I then got the train from the NJ station into Penn station ( 16 dollars one way) which is a short journey also. For the subway google maps will be your best friend! Just type in penn station to hi hostel new york and it gives you the stop, the subway and the station to get off at its incredible and so easy to use I especially love how it will show you how many stops so you wont get lost it is so easy to use 😀 I bought the unlimited 7 day metro card 34 dollars from a machine in the subway. You can also tap your card now so you have options. The metro card worked for me and its a nice keepsake since they are going to be gone soon from NY. I found so many people along the way particularly in Newark airport who helped me with ticket machines, directions etc all happy to help... ||The room|I stayed in a 4 bed female dorm. It was clean, the locker was good it fit my medium sized suitcase, clean linen and blankets also a towel which was handy. The fan in the room is a little loud but I just got used to it. I had no issues sleeping. Plenty of charging outlets over the bed and a little light so handy. ||Bathrooms and showers ||I had 2 separate wash rooms on my floor. Inside each was about 5 showers and 5 toilets. They had sinks, hairdryer, mirrors etc all spotless. One bathroom had no hot water at all but thankfully I tried the other which always had hot water so I just used that one and it was fine. I never had to wait for a shower always plenty free when needed. ||The area||The area around the hostel was fine just be careful coming back late at night like anywhere else. I had zero problems using the subway you see some crazy things but just carry on and you should be fine . The walk from the subway station to the hostel was literally 3 mins. Plenty of restaurants around the hostel including a mc donalds and a dunkin right across the road. The hostel itself feels very safe always security at night and you need to use your room card to enter and then again to enter through another door into the main area so I always felt safe as a solo female guest.||All in all I thought it was great value for money especially coming over christmas and new years. No extra fees at all and I would have no issue staying again in fact I came home and booked with Hi hostel in Boston which looks equally as nice and offers great value. ||Tip - I used the city pass 5 attractions which I found great value for less than 140 dollars ||Take the free staten island ferry to see the city lights...