International Student Center Youth Hostel (The Center) — Hotel in New York

My friends and I checked out immediately after our first night. We could not stay even one more night due to the lack of privacy in co-ed rooms, inadequate bathrooms/WCs for 10-bed dorms, and poor security for personal belongings.

The mixed-gender 10-bed room on the 3rd floor was excruciatingly hot even with the ceiling fan, so my friend couldnt sleep at all. The 10-bed dorm on the 2nd floor smelled absolutely horrible- worse than any cheap hostel we’ve been to all over the world. The employee Kabir noticed right away then opened a window and sprayed febreeze, but it smelled just as bad that night.

The stench wasn’t caused by guests who happen to have smelly body odor- it was caused by the bathroom floors being practically flooded. Guests who wore their socks into the bathroom rather than shower shoes got soaking wet socks and no way to dry them out. There was only one toilet for each 10-bed room (up to TEN PEOPLE sharing ONE TOILET). The 2 showers were in the same room as the toilet so you couldnt go pee/poop if someone was in the shower. Although I have stayed in co-ed hostels as a woman traveler before, due to the bathroom situation here I felt uncomfortable and waited over an hour until all the men were done. At least there was a mirror in the bedroom so people could brush their hair, put on makeup, etc.

There’s no elevator/lift, so even if you book the nicer rooms on the fourth floor, you have to haul your suitcase up 3 flights of stairs. The upstairs wifi was extremely slow so you’d have to go downstairs to look something up. The personal lockers in the room were very small. You could fit a purse and expensive electronics like laptops and tablet, but suitcases, duffel bags, and large backpacks had to be shoved underneath the bunk bed on the dirty floor.

We arrived in the morning, so we needed to store our luggage until 3pm check-in. They just put our bags in plain sight on the first floor.

A few low-cost upgrades would greatly improve the guest experience. Here are my recommendations: Put bath mats in front of each shower to prevent soaking wet bathroom floors. Purchase a bulk supply of cheap plastic flip-flops so guests can purchase shower shoes to prevent the spread of bacteria (athlete’s foot) and the smell of dirty wet socks. Offer at least one bedroom option for women-only. Hang curtains/privacy screens around each bed. Replace the lockers/cubbies in each room with much larger ones, and/or add some heavy-duty shelving to keep luggage off the floor. Mount some extension cords on the walls so that top bunks can charge their devices, and consider adding individual lamps and fans. For a higher-investment upgrade, add at least 4 more sinks and toilets, and ensure there are private entries to each shower.

I was pleased with the employees, although I suspect they were understaffed. It seems Kabir was the only worker with whom we interacted. He was very courteous, always inquired if we felt comfortable, and tried his absolute best to improve our situation. We asked for a refund (at least partial) for the second night, citing the unsanitary bathroom floor and lack of privacy. Kabir called management to try to advocate for us, but ultimately they denied our reasonable request.

The building is a charming historic brownstone in Upper West Side, only half a block from Central Park and around the corner from the nearest Subway station (86th St stop on blue “C” train & orange “B” train) so it’s very walkable. The building is not labeled as a hostel from the outside, so you ring the doorbell, call the phone number, or use a room key to enter: it’s quite safe from the street.

The 70-year-old nonprofit housed there (Association of the World Travel Exchange) has a wonderful mission, and the space would probably work somewhat well for people who already know each other. However, it’s currently inadequate as a hostel open to the public for vacation...

This is by far the worst hostel I have stayed in, and I can only advise you to look elsewhere. I was booked in for ten nights as I had business in NYC but left after two in order to find somewhere less awful.

To begin this review, the hostel is deeply unsanitary: there were two bathrooms on my floor (four rooms). This is by no means adequate and on my first morning in the hostel I had to get dressed in a laundry closet. The bathrooms are falling apart, with decrepit fixtures and frankly disgusting furniture (see pictures). There was no hot water on my three attempts to shower. The staff make the claim that there is, in fact, hot water, and that there isn't hot water is a charming quirk inherent to the building being a historic brownstone – a poor excuse. Judging by the quantity of detritus in my dorm, they are cleaned infrequently if ever.

Second, the rooms are insecure to the point where I felt unsafe. The dorms do not lock, and so anyone who can make it into the building can access any dorm. The only secure place to store valuables, etc. are small and flimsy key lockers, and even then the hostel does not give out keys willingly: I had to argue with the receptionist to get one. Judging by if ever. Beyond the bunks and lockers, the dorms are furnished only with a few items of bric-a-brac in various states of disrepair (my bunk had a broken CD tower that I guess was meant to be a bedside table) meaning that the top bunks do not have access to amenities such as dedicated plug sockets, reading lights, or shelves. For some reason, there is not Wi-Fi on the upper floors, meaning that if you need to look something up then you have a long climb ahead of you.

While the hostel has tried to make the common areas nice, and have succeeded in part, the reception area doubles as a man-cave of sorts for the staff with their XBox and drum kit, and the kitchen in the basement, though new, is ill-equipped.

As I said, I left over a week early. When I told the member of staff on reception that I was leaving and why, he tried to get into an argument that left me feeling more than a little gaslit. Apparently, the bathrooms pictured aren't an issue because it's an old building, but also the only reason I was leaving was because I had to ask for a locker key – and a guest feeling fearful that someone might walk off with their passport, etc., was not an issue for him. Out of politeness I had taken my sheets downstairs in order to check out as per the hostel's request. Apparently this was the wrong thing to do as he then yelled out as I walked down the street, asking me to climb back up to the top floor to deposit my sheets back in the dorm – truly a masterclass in reading the room.

Since leaving, I have received multiple emails from the hostel management, the last of which was 500+ words and cc'd in Hostelworld (through whom I'd booked). Each of these emails has been defensive to the point of passive-aggression, attempting to exculpate the hostel. Apparently, the hostel has decrepit, non-functioning bathrooms, etc., because it is a "historic 1915 brownstone [which] has a lot of classic charm with a few quirks." And apparently I was the one who was at fault as "many concerns were not voiced until your decision to depart early." Bizarre behaviour.

Do not, under any circumstance, book...

⸻||I stayed at this hostel for a full week and overall had a very good experience ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️||The staff is incredibly kind and helpful, especially the Mexican guy, who was not only friendly but always ready to solve any issues quickly and efficiently 🙌. The German girl really impressed me with her professionalism — great job to her! 👏 The Colombian girls were also super helpful with tips on how to save money on food and mobile data — truly appreciated 💡💰.||I’m also very grateful for the partial refund I received due to the first 3 days being really tough because the air conditioning stopped working, and for two of those days even the fan didn’t work. 🥵 Later on, everything was fixed and the room became perfect again — just in time, since NY was going through a heat alert and it got really uncomfortable.||I stayed in the “Bronx” room, which I later found out (from another guest who got moved) is one of the best-ventilated, cleanest, and coolest rooms in the building. Especially the bathrooms — very clean!. Other guests were complaining about the heat in their rooms, even the ones that had AC. For this reason, I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5.||The location is amazing — right in front of the park 🌳, and the beds are comfortable and clean. I love that they change the sheets after every guest, and they even smell nice 🛏️✨.||💡Tip: Avoid bringing heavy suitcases — there are a lot of stairs!|🔐 Also, bring your own lock or something to easily identify your bag. Another guest almost walked off with mine thinking it was his (we laughed about it later — he was very apologetic, and it all got sorted out 😅).||I truly appreciated the courtesy of being allowed to store my luggage after check-out time for free, although I didn’t use it myself. Normally, I heard they charge about $10 for that, so it was nice to see that gesture toward guests 👍.||The common areas are fantastic, and the kitchen is extremely well-equipped 🍳🫕 — a great plus for anyone wanting to cook.||🔧 Suggestions for improvement:| • The luggage lockers are a bit too small.| • The bunk beds could be more stable — you can feel every movement if someone is on the upper/lower bed, which can wake you up.||All in all, I’d definitely recommend this hostel — just be aware of the heat situation depending on the season. The people, location, and vibe make it a...