Orange Village Hostel — Hotel in San Francisco

Bonjour everyone ThePandaPhotographer here and wanted to just inform you about this hostel called the Orange Village Hostel. Coming from California from Vancouver to find some work and handle some government business, I stay at other hostels and they were ok and had some problems.

The one feature I'd love about the hostel was the TV, years ago there was no TV now there is, and there is always K-pop on the TV "I'm pleased about that." The room that I'd stay in was #321 was a bit small but then again, due to COVID-19 but I was in the room by myself the entire time. Now, this is my thirds time staying here.

About 9 years ago, my Wife Yuuki and I stay here and at that time we didn't like it when we first came to San Francisco. I'm a French native and American, (dual citizen) and Yuuki is from Japan but we worked here and play in the states but back to the present, About 8 days before I said here for 3 days and it was good. I wasn't able to sleep the first two nights, well due to the homeless activates outside. Yes, there is a Homeless present in the neighborhood but I ran into a few problems. "I was raised in japan so, hospitality services is so different from another part of the world. There is a security deposit for room stays so please remind yourself.

Due to COVID the lounge area that we do not see in my photos was not accessible but Kitchen was open and everything was available for us to cook inside without buying takeout all the time. "Good idea" but it was 4 people at a time in the kitchen. Laundry was cheap and the cheapest out of all the hostels I did stay in San Francisco since I been here. $2.25 - 2.50 to wash and to dry it's $0.25 "amazing"

Some people thought I was moving in because I have a custom wagon to transport all my camera gear. "Haha," I thought that was funny, never hear someone moving into a hostel" The only time I raise an eyebrow was the fridge and how guest places their belongings and there isn't a place to put anything inside. I was forced to eat out half the time or eat once a day. There was no space in the fridge for my groceries. It's not the staff's fault here, but the guest needs to be open-minded about others in the hostel.

The front door is always locked and you will be let in with a ring after confirming your stay. Most of the staff have a good idea who has check-in, so if you do not say hello to the other staff, they will not remember you. Be nice and say hello to them so they can remember if you do decide to step out.

Showers are on each floor and I'd three showers and four toilets and an elevator. I would stay here again but I am not sure, I want to visit as many places as I can and the Last 11 months, I have done so. This is a hostel I would...

TL;DR: If I could live here, I would.

Best hostel I’ve ever stayed at! Let’s start from the beginning: the location is one BART ride and a six-minute walk from SFO—just $11.15 from the airport. I arrived late at night and, knowing SF, didn’t want to walk, so I grabbed an Uber. Even then it was about $40. The hostel is easy to spot with orange around the building (like the name), so I had no trouble finding it.

Security is solid—you need a key card to get in, and if you’re checking in, staff will let you through. Upon arrival, they gave me a key card, linens, and even a hand towel (thoughtful touch).

I stayed in the 4-bed female dorm as a solo traveler and felt completely safe the whole time. The showers were great: multiple on the floor, each with its own lock and private toilet. I took a hot shower, relaxed, and went to bed in a clean, well-kept bed with a warm blanket (a lifesaver since I get cold easily). Each bed also has an outlet and a little night light.

In the morning, I woke up to free breakfast—waffles, bananas, cereal, etc. Simple but filling, and you can’t go wrong with that. There’s also a full kitchen and fridge if you want to cook your own meals, plus filtered water you can refill. They even have lockers (don’t forget to bring your own lock 😉), coin laundry with detergent for sale, and posted activities. I did the self-guided ghost tour and loved it. Honestly, I felt like I was back in Europe hosteling and traveling—the inside really has that vibe.

Another bonus: the location isn’t just convenient to the airport—it’s walkable to a lot of things. Trader Joe’s, Union Square, and Chinatown are all nearby, and other spots like Fisherman’s Wharf or Haight Street are easy to get to on public transit.

This hostel has thought of everything. A lot of the negative reviews here could be avoided by just reading the clearly posted policies and signs. The hostel is able to keep prices so low because it’s designed specifically for international and out-of-state travelers. If they didn’t set those limits, the space could easily shift away from being a true hostel and lose the safe, traveler-friendly vibe they’ve built. In a city like SF, where homelessness is a real issue, this policy helps keep the hostel sustainable and welcoming for guests.

Pro tip: SF can be noisy at night, so bring earplugs or headphones—or grab a free pair from the front desk.

Overall, this place is awesome. You won’t beat this price with this level of amenities, security,...

Let's start with the bad: 1- Staff is rude and cold, you can tell they hate their job. 2- For a hostel, they have very strict and absurd rules: I arrived at the hostel at 1:30 PM after a flight from SFO and the girl at the counter told me that check-in is at 3:00 PM, so I have to wait in the lobby for 90 minutes just to get my room. Not a problem, I decided to lay on one of the couches in the lobby to rest a little bit. However, the clerk said "Hey! you cannot lay on the couch!". Excuse me? this is a hostel, not a 5-star hotel and I already paid for their services. Moreover, there was no sign that said guests are not allowed to lay on the couch. What am I supposed to do, wander around the city with a bunch of homeless and drug addicts for 90 minutes? 3- There are signs all over the kitchen saying that guests must wash their own dishes, yet very few guests did this. But none of the staff enforced it and they're strict that I lay on the couch? go figure. 4- The logistics of the rooms are just weird: the sink is outside the bathroom, there is no mirror in the bathroom, and the sink has no soap. So, what's the point of having a sink if we cannot wash our hands? water alone won't clean our hands. 5- Beds don't have curtains for privacy: out of all the hostels I've been in Mexico, Colombia, Ukraine, and Spain, at least have of them had curtains between bunks for privacy. But here, you get nothing. I expected more for $40 a night.

You could say that you get what you pay for. But no, there are far better hostels in third world countries for just $6 a night with far better treatment and services. For $40 a night, I was expecting something decent, but not something as trashy as this.

Again, at the many hostels I've been, guests are considerate and have common sense. However, here one of my roommates decided it was a good idea to rinse his feet... in the sink! seriously? that's what showers are for. I don't know from what culture was he from, but that was downright nasty.

The only perk of this hostel is the location, it's just three blocks from the BART station which is very convenient. If it weren't for that generous Algerian woman who served me food, this hostel experience would have been completely terrible. At least I have some hope that there are good people out there. All in all, do yourself a favor and pay the extra money to go to another...