Green Tortoise Hostel San Francisco — Hotel in San Francisco

Update: got charged for room I didn’t get to use when service was refused to me last night.

As a US resident who is mid thirties white female traveling solo the experience was So-so. Not because there wasn't a diversity of people to talk to or the amenities wre not good because they were. It's the way the local men treat local women that made it mediocre. I'm a software engineer, mixed race Native American androgyne who has dealt with a lot of discrimination both going through school and in the conservative midwestern town I was born in because of the way people treat me because how I look versus my actual personality. However James the desk clerk when I was here over Christmas seemingly had a problem when I extended my stay to a fifteenth day after doing a late checkout after Christmas. Having decided to extend until the first of Jan I'm in town as a recent college graduate getting set up with own business and working with local comp scientists while I put roots down.

James the male clerk acted 'suspicious' of me telling me I could and then I couldn't leave my backpack at the counter as I took my belongings down to my car and immediately expressed contempt toward me upon checkout when I mentioned male guests I had seen were being allowed to stay past sunset in the common area - because James explicitly told me this was not allowed. A male guest had been talking to me while I was in the common area night before and booked a nother night stay at Green Tortoise while still on property around 12am in front of my eyes while telling me that is what he was doing which is how I knew. James took offense saying something about following rules ? And the rest of the staff are very young women so he is able to pull rank and pigeonhole me which I felt is how he did. I was at an AirBNB for a week , spending my time as I did at green tortoise researching , applying for jobs, cooking eating/doing laundry &c while maintaining my vehicle. I'm from about 10 states away and don't know anybody. Today I made reservation for 2 more days at GT because Ted one of the managers let me keep my things in their storage lockers when I left last week and I need a place to stay until Friday when I will be leaving town. Jing Li was at desk tonight and refused my stay . She said there was note on my account I already stayed two weeks but that was over holiday which has been a week ago since. Like I said I've seen not only their cleaners and volunteers staying long term but also local guests however I got discriminated since I'm a woman over a certain age from out of town? Even though I was friendly and my things are still on the property. Also I left on good terms the week before only James had a problem with me and the girl at the desk tonight saw the altercation between he and myself before so even after I explained Ted told me I could come back and stay and that my things are there she insisted to text James and said I could not stay. Now I will have to come back tomorrow. Don't appreciate the discriminatory treatment by a staff of two older men and a bunch of young girls trained to exclude and demonize older women. Especially since I'm good looking , friendly, clean up after myself and generally a good person. Sucks being new in a town where chauvinism and tiktok mentality is the hive mind. If you're a female under age 25 or a foreign traveller you will enjoy yourself but women of the US , women who may look Native, especially who don't act brainwashed and have careers...

I checked in Friday November 13th. There are a bunch of good stuff I'll review about this hostel. You can't beat the location and price, the hostel is located right on Broadway and Kearny, it is within walking distance to bars, restaurants, it is within walking distance to Chinatown, and I mean; that is a huge avenue of Chinese businesses and stuff, very cool, it is located in a very very safe area. Transportation is very easy to find, I wasn't driving so I didn't have a problem at all moving around. The hostel staff is super nice and very attentive, they answered all my questions and were definitely knowledgeable. WIFI is complimentary, the also have computers available in case that you need to browse the internet. I called the hostel that same Friday and spoke to Fiona, she was very attentive and very nice over the phone and as well as in person, which of course made me feel I was going to the right place since the beginning. Dan, Fiona, Ness?, Ben, (and I can't remember the other girl's name) super super nice people. The building has no elevators, so if you're carrying a lot of luggage keep in mind you gotta go upstairs to get to the lobby. The hostel is (in general) kept very clean and neat, they offer dorms and private rooms. I was in a dorm, a 3 bed bunk, super nice individuals from all over the world. The bed bunks have lockers at the bottom where you can keep your stuff locked, the front desk sells the locks for $5, or you can bring your own. I was in the 3rd floor. Very quite, the beds are very comfortable. The bathroom is shared, in my floor there were 5 bathrooms I think, I had no problem at all with that. They don't offer towels complimentary; you either bring yours or rent them at the front desk for $1. The hostel also has a huge "hang out" area located in the lobby that has tables and chairs, that's where the kitchen is located as well, they have a bunch of cooking pots, cooking utensils, everything that you'd need to prepare your own food, believe me; that was so convenience. There're grocery stores near by, wholefoods, safeway. This lobby area also have a pool table, and of course it is free, for you to get the balls and the poles you'd need to see the front desk because they hold your key while you're playing. This area also have a foosball table, what a fun time! The hostel offers complimentary breakfast in the morning for free, don't expect anything fancy tho, the 3 nights I was there they served bagels, marmalade, butter, cream cheese, fruits, coffee, oatmeal, coffee, eggs; however with the eggs you gotta prepare them yourself. The kitchen area also have those commercial fridges where you can safely keep your food. One of the nights I was there they had live music playing, it was a great experience. There's a bar downstairs and they do something called "beer pong championship" or something like that haha; very nice activity to do and meet new people, I was traveling solo and ended up making very good friends. Overall, would I stay here again? YESSSSSSS, would I recommend the hostel to other people? YESSSSSSSSS, I made a lot of research before booking, and all the reviews I saw about other hostels in SFO were terrible, this hostel had amazing reviews, and now I can tell why, I think it was the greatest choice to stay there. Book with them directly and you'll get the best price. I will definitely stay here next time...

I've been staying here since the 1990s, and always enjoyed it. This time, however, I pulled the sheets off the bed, as is my habit, to check the cleanliness, and was surprised to see hair on both the pillow cases and the sheets. If the sheets were washed, then they didn't do a good job, as that usually removes hair.

Honestly, I don't blame the management; I blame the rude cleaning staff. The hotel hired a group of (chinese?) cleaning people, who will literally knock you out of the way on the stairs, push past you, etc. I took the sheets down to the laundry area where they were all gathered and tried to exchange for new sheets, but not one of them spoke one word of English, and in the end they pointed to the front desk.

Come on, Green Tortoise. Either this crew isn't washing the sheets, or not removing them from the beds. Also, not to be picky, but I didn't enjoy laying in bed and noticing the chandelier/light fixtures were VERY dusty and had cobwebs. You guys need a new cleaning crew. Or at least a monthly "deep clean".

Anyway, as usual, the GT is a basic hostel, with everything that hostels come with. Its isn't quiet, it isn't "romantic", certainly not luxury. But if you're visiting the city for a few days, it's a great place to crash. Oh, and I hope you enjoy climbing steps, cause GT has them in spades lol

One last thing....be prepared to meet some weird "characters" in the dining hall. Most of the people are just ordinary travelers like you, but there is always the one weirdo who bothers everyone.

Case in point: We went down to have breakfast, and everyone is chill, speaking quietly to each other, meeting people and having conversations. Then, some tweaked-out looking, barefoot, scraggly guy comes in, sets up an entire "streaming" station (twitch?), and starts to loudly live-stream a game! Let's ignore the fact that he took up an entire table during the busiest time of the day...dude, read the room. Everyone is having a quiet breakfast and this douche comes in speaking loudly. Oh, one of the workers from the front desk came in and told him to be quiet, so it wasn't just me. And also, who would walk around barefoot in this place? Props to the management for telling him to be quiet, at least. I would've told him to go to his room and do this...