HI-San Francisco Downtown (Union Square) Reviews

Great location and great staff! I really enjoyed my stay. I ended up changing to a private room because I wasn't feeling well and it was clean and very spacious. It was at the end of the hall so not very noisy, except outside drunks. :) Also, the windows opened, which I love!

We booked the private ensuite and the toilet was weirdly designed with the sink located at the end of the bed instead of inside the toilet. The windows in the toilet were also not covered with blinds and I could easily see the rooms in the opposite building and vice versa. The outside was also quite noisy so free earplugs helped. Breakfast was bagels and a couple of spreads, and some raw bananas. Excellent location though, just a stone's throw from Union Square and Powell BART station.

A very nice hostel, though a bit pricy, looking at the size of a room, I'm used to cheaper prices for a hostel of that size, then again the location probably has its role in it too. Apart from that great place with everything you could need

This hostel has an excellent central location which is easily accessible via public transport from the area, as well as being central to San Francisco's main attractions. The staff were lovely and helpful, the facilities were clean, the complimentary breakfast was great and free activities such as movies night made for great value for money.

The location is very good. The hostel allocated me to a room with two other Chinese girls which is very sweet. Free Wifi and free breakfast. The shared bathroom and restroom are clean.

The hostel is located right near Powell Station, a lot of food places and the shopping district is on the other side of Macy's. We staying in a room with our own bathroom and it was clean when we arrived. Housekeeping comes in the take your garbage away each day but your linens will remain the same until you check out. To borrow a hairdryer, you pay a $5 deposit. A great stay.

Great location. Good pub crawl. What you need in a hostel, clean & great location.

Good location, easy to find and good for shops and transport. Good to have free bagels for breaky. Stayed in a 4 bed female dorm. Good to have sink in the room. All linens and a towel are provided free. There are lockers in the room. You need your own lock. These are not big, think thin day pack. Storage room downstairs is good and secure. Free wifi and lounge areas on each floor to hang out and be online. They have toilets with a recycle water function - check them out. Hot showers

I think it will be a good choice although the entire hostel building is a kind of old. One of bad things I experienced is the number of plugs in the room. There were only two plugs in 4 beds room. it was bad, but everything else was alright.

very good breakfast!

For the most part hostel staff was friendly and helpful. There was one employee who was rude and reluctant to give us her attention a couple times, but it did not ruin the trip. The weekly activities were great, the pub crawl in particular. My only issue here was that many scheduled events were cancelled without notice. We'd show up the morning of an activity only to find it had been cancelled.

Bad experience! I will never live there again!

They said they provide free wifi to the Internet, but most of the day you are not able to get connected. Their excuse is due to the structure of the building wifi signal is weak. However, this should not be the case. This hostel simply did not make improvement on technology facilities. I would not recommend this hostel to my friends.

We enjoyed ourselves. Thanks!

I change from a shared room to private room only to be charged nearly three time the amount to still have to share a bathroom and what made it the most annoying was the fact that the mattress on the double bed was appalling. It had a servere dip on one side of the mattress which made it almost impossible to sleep on. The worst money I have ever spent and it has ensured I will look elsewhere when I travel to San Francisco next time. I only returned due to a positive experience in 2009.

Both myself and my best friend really enjoyed our stay. The room was clean an the bedding an pillows incredibly soft and comfortable. The hot water was acceptable granted the size of the hostel but the water pressure was great. My only issue was the warmth. It got quite chilly on the 4th floor and there is no heating or vents in the rooms.

Perhaps more choice at breakfast?

The room was comfortable but it was so noisy and I didn't get much sleep over the two nights. Breakfast was simple but good- bagels, toast, fruit and cream cheese. Overall good value for money but I wouldn't recommend if someone was looking for a good nights rest. Staff were mostly very process driven and unhelpful- we were given a map and that's about that.

Good hostel for a couple of nights. Nice room/space for taking your computer and working a bit. Breakfast was boring.

Saff need to be more friendly and pro-active rather than just sitting there and ignoring customers even when they are standing right at the counter.