HI San Diego Downtown Hostel — Hotel in San Diego

I stayed in an All-Gender 6-Bed Dorm. The room was pretty spacious, and there was plenty of space to store my personal belongings. I really appreciate that there was a table and some chairs in the room, which I found to be useful. You get allocated a tall locker, which offers plenty of space for you to securely store your belongings. However, there are a few things I don't like about the room. First, there is no power outlet and lamp that you can use on the bunk bed. This is actually the first hostel I've stayed at that does not have a power outlet near the bunk bed. Also, I slept on the top bunk bed, and there was a big gap between the bed and the wall. I accidentally dropped my wallet from the top bunk bed to under the bed through the gap, and I'm so grateful to have a kind roommate who helped me retrieve the wallet :( Another thing I don't like about the room is that the ceiling is quite high and there is no cover above the top bunk bed, so if someone turns on the lights at night and you're sleeping on the top bunk bed, you're basically guaranteed to have lights wake you up. There are three individual bathrooms on the floor, shared among 20 rooms of guests. While the bathrooms are spacious and clean, I was worried that there would be many people using the bathrooms at the same time. Luckily, it didn't happen while I was staying there. The hostel offers free breakfast, but I didn't get to have it due to time constraint, so I can't comment on the quality of the breakfast. I appreciate that the hostel is in a downtown location, around 78 min walk to the closest bus stops. It is also quite close to a bunch of hotels, which are WAY more expensive. If you enjoy nightlife and eateries, there are tons of bars and restaurants just down the street and around the block. The museums are also very close to the hostel, within comfortable walking distance. Finally, the staff are friendly and helpful. I would recommend this hostel to anyone who is visiting San Diego and wants to enjoy downtown San Diego without breaking their...

This is a really unsocial one, especially after staying at the one in LA/Santa Monica. First, the rooms are on the second and third floors. Just reception on the first. And you must wait for an elevator, no stairs from 1 to 2. The common rooms just don’t add up to any sort of social situations. Despite having many little couches ‘n seats scattered around the hallways, it’s all isolated and feels isolating too. The best common room is actually the kitchen. Overall, there’s just no hostel vibe. No conversation, not even with receptionists. It’s just a motel. But then again, I guess that’s what you get in downtown.. a totally different world from the beach hostels!

when I stayed, I was given a room that smelled like smoke, on the second floor. I was told that there’s a tobacco shop underneath it. Then I was told, all of the second floor smells like that. As it turned out, that particular room just smells really bad. I walked around, and found the smoke smell coming from the atrium, which is the designated place to smoke.. perhaps it jumps into the window units AC units..? It also doesn’t help that it’s an old building, that just gets stuffy. Thankfully, I was given another room, much better.

I also discovered the 6(or 8?)bed is faaaaar more spacious than the 4(or 6?) bed. No point of paying more for the smaller one.

the rooms are nice, with electricity, light, and even a bathroom (in addition to public ones). The kitchen in general however is amazing! (the downtown Ralph’s sucks tho..). The same kitchen as in LA.

street parking is awful for cars. I got lucky with a motorcycle parking. And they ticket frequently.

and get ready for some people watching, if you get the right room. Otherwise, car noise.

just strange to be called a hostel but feel like a road-side motel.. go to SameSun in Ocean Beach. If you must stay in downtown, I prefer...

👍👍 I and my wife stayed here for three nights, Friday to Monday. We wanted to find a safe, clean, and affordable hostel in downtown San Diego and Hi San Diego met each of those expectations. Compared to staying at a franchise hotel, you'll save a lot of money and have an unbeatable location right in the middle of downtown Gaslamp District San Diego. Short walk to Little Italy or the Midway Museum along the pier. Bus stops are also very near and we used day passes to get around. Side note, bus transit in San Diego is safe and reliable. We booked a private room which comes with a bunk bed (twin), window ac, private sink, mirror, and table with two chairs, small drawer under the sink, and coat hooks. It's a very simple small room but if you are spending your day out in the city, it's all you need. Keep in mind, this hostel doesn't have private bathrooms even with private rooms. I read someone's complaint about that but that was their mistake for not reading the hostel information clearly. The private bathrooms are clean and come with showers. If you want, simply pack shower flip flops and you will be fine, the water gets hot and cold easily. Interior to the hostel is packed with local art work and there were readily available game rooms (pool table), communal areas, kitchen with fridge and freezer, disposable plates and bowls, spoons and forks, dining room, vending machines, and terrarium room. We had a quiet room as it was inside the building, but if you get a room on the outside near the street you might need ear plugs which were provided. Staff was helpful when we needed fresh towels or needed questions answered. Hope this review helps those interested in a low maintenance stay in an affordable hostel near multiple sites in San Diego. If we ever return to San Diego, we would likely come back to Hi Downtown...