Kama Central Park — Hotel in New York

I chose the Kama Central Park because I wanted to spend 10 days in NYC by myself and was unwilling to spend $200+ per night at a typical hotel or AirBnB. . . . . . The location is amazing. It is about a 3-minute walk to the B/C trains at 103rd or 110th St. There are lots of bodegas, restaurants, and services (nail salons, laundromats) within a short walk (Columbus Ave, Amsterdam Ave). There is a Lidl grocery store just up the street at Frederick Douglass Ave near 118th/119th. This is walkable, but you could also take the train two stops if you are carrying a lot of groceries. The Lidl has everything I needed: Yogurt, fruit, chocolate, take-away meals like salads with chicken strips. Even a decent and comfortable pair of black trousers for $15 when I ran out of clean clothes, lol. . . . . . I stayed in a 6-bed female-only room. I appreciated the privacy of my own capsule --- being able to climb into bed and close the door and not have to interact with other people. I also appreciated the common area, where I kept some food in the communal fridge and ate breakfast and a late supper (takeaway from Lild or nearby restaurants) most days. . . . . . I had pleasant interactions with travelers from all over the world. I will mention that I am 55 years old and I met many young people of typical "hosteling" age, but also people my age and older. . . . . . The en-suite bathroom attached to my bedroom was always clean. In the hall --- open to all residents, not just my 6-person room --- there were a shower room (3 showers) and a toilet room (2 toilets and a sink). For early morning showers, I used these hall facilities rather than my room's en-suite so as not to wake my room-mates. These hall facilities were not as clean as the en-suite, but they were not frighteningly dirty. . . . . . Each bed was assigned a small locker in the bedroom; I left my valuables in it during the day (mainly a laptop). My small suitcase did not fit inside the locker, so I left it sitting outside the locker. I was a bit anxious about that for two reasons. First, I was slightly worried that someone would steal the suitcase (even though it was empty). Second, I was worried that my room-mates might be irritated that my suitcase was sitting there, possibly in their way, and not stowed somewhere. The latch on my locker did not work very well. It was very difficult to make it latch properly. I had to buy a lock. The website said I could buy or borrow a lock from the front desk, but they did not actually have one, so I had to go out and buy one at a CVS for $5. This was not a problem, but I was a little concerned about leaving my belongings unlocked for the first few hours until I purchased the lock. But nothing was stolen. . . . . . One thing about the room was irritating to me --- because my bunk was on top, I had no place to spread out and organize my belongings when packing my day bag each day. This might sound odd, but it was hard for me to think about my needs each day and pack appropriately because I couldn't see all of my belongings at once. ("Let's see, today I need an umbrella, jacket, hat, grocery bags." On a different day, it might be "I need sunblock, flip flops, and an extra t-shirt in case I get in the water at Rockaway Beach.") If I'd had a bottom bunk, I could have used the bed for this purpose. Instead, I had to spread out my belongings on the floor or on top of the suitcase. This was not as comfortable and just didn't work as well. A table in the room would have been helpful for this purpose, but I suppose a room-mate probably would have stored their belongings on the table if there had been one --- in other words, if the room had a table, it probably would not have been left empty for the purpose of packing one's day-bag. If I stay here again, I will request a bottom bunk. This problem --- lack of space to pack up for each day's adventures --- was minor, but after about 6 days, it was starting to feel more and more irritating. I think maybe 6 days is my limit for living in such a confined space. Other people's tolerance may vary! . . . . . Having said all that, I would gladly...

I chose the Kama Central Park because I wanted to spend 10 days in NYC by myself and was unwilling to spend $200+ per night at a typical hotel or AirBnB. . . . . . The location is amazing. It is about a 3-minute walk to the B/C trains at 103rd or 110th St. There are lots of bodegas, restaurants, and services (nail salons, laundromats) within a short walk (Columbus Ave, Amsterdam Ave). There is a Lidl grocery store just up the street at Frederick Douglass Ave near 118th/119th. This is walkable, but you could also take the train two stops if you are carrying a lot of groceries. The Lidl has everything I needed: Yogurt, fruit, chocolate, take-away meals like salads with chicken strips. Even a decent and comfortable pair of black trousers for $15 when I ran out of clean clothes, lol. . . . . . I stayed in a 6-bed female-only room. I appreciated the privacy of my own capsule --- being able to climb into bed and close the door and not have to interact with other people. I also appreciated the common area, where I kept some food in the communal fridge and ate breakfast and a late supper (takeaway from Lild or nearby restaurants) most days. . . . . . I had pleasant interactions with travelers from all over the world. I will mention that I am 55 years old and I met many young people of typical "hosteling" age, but also people my age and older. . . . . . The en-suite bathroom attached to my bedroom was always clean. In the hall --- open to all residents, not just my 6-person room --- there were a shower room (3 showers) and a toilet room (2 toilets and a sink). For early morning showers, I used these hall facilities rather than my room's en-suite so as not to wake my room-mates. These hall facilities were not as clean as the en-suite, but they were not frighteningly dirty. . . . . . Each bed was assigned a small locker in the bedroom; I left my valuables in it during the day (mainly a laptop). My small suitcase did not fit inside the locker, so I left it sitting outside the locker. I was a bit anxious about that for two reasons. First, I was slightly worried that someone would steal the suitcase (even though it was empty). Second, I was worried that my room-mates might be irritated that my suitcase was sitting there, possibly in their way, and not stowed somewhere. The latch on my locker did not work very well. It was very difficult to make it latch properly. I had to buy a lock. The website said I could buy or borrow a lock from the front desk, but they did not actually have one, so I had to go out and buy one at a CVS for $5. This was not a problem, but I was a little concerned about leaving my belongings unlocked for the first few hours until I purchased the lock. But nothing was stolen. . . . . . One thing about the room was irritating to me --- because my bunk was on top, I had no place to spread out and organize my belongings when packing my day bag each day. This might sound odd, but it was hard for me to think about my needs each day and pack appropriately because I couldn't see all of my belongings at once. ("Let's see, today I need an umbrella, jacket, hat, grocery bags." On a different day, it might be "I need sunblock, flip flops, and an extra t-shirt in case I get in the water at Rockaway Beach.") If I'd had a bottom bunk, I could have used the bed for this purpose. Instead, I had to spread out my belongings on the floor or on top of the suitcase. This was not as comfortable and just didn't work as well. A table in the room would have been helpful for this purpose, but I suppose a room-mate probably would have stored their belongings on the table if there had been one --- in other words, if the room had a table, it probably would not have been left empty for the purpose of packing one's day-bag. If I stay here again, I will request a bottom bunk. This problem --- lack of space to pack up for each day's adventures --- was minor, but after about 6 days, it was starting to feel more and more irritating. I think maybe 6 days is my limit for living in such a confined space. Other people's tolerance may vary! . . . . . Having said all that, I would gladly...

I had an overall good experience staying at the Kama Central Park, during my weekend getaway to NYC. The staff was pretty friendly and helpful, especially since I was a moron who accidently booked a stay at a women's only dorm on Agoda (especially since Agoda didn't really specify that the hostel had Men only dorms, female only dorms and mixed dorms, and when I booked there was only one kind of dorm available) and they were still willing to accommodate me and they did. I got in about 15 minutes before check in and they still booked me in too, which was great. I really got only a couple of negative things to say about my stay and the first was they only give you one towel for your entire stay since they're pretty short on towels, so if you plan on staying there I'd recommend you bring a couple of towels of your own. The other thing is the showers aren't all the same quality. I wouldn't recommend showering in the one person bathroom especially if you get dorm 506 like I did because the water in that shower is cold. The men's shower on that floor however is better (apart from that one always running) because the water isn't cold but not really hot either, it's just ok. I liked the little console in the bed, and that let's you turn on the airflow, change the light color, dim the lights, etc. as long as you got your card. I'll also admit, I got a little worried for leaving my luggage in the bed because the doors to the bed pod, because the bed doors don't lock, but if you keep your belongings in the bed with the doors shut and out of plain view then you shouldn't worry about anybody stealing your belongings. I had a great time in NYC, but if you stay there then you might want to remember to bring a couple of towels and shower in the shower rooms, not the bathroom...