I booked it and liked what i saw on pictures, however the reality was a bit different. I cannot say anything bad about people working there, as they were friendly and trying to help with all informations you need to know in L.A. (and there are many...) However, i was dissapointed by the rooms, beds, bathroom, as those were not really clean and i went to quite a few on my tour aroun States. What is also strange, is the smell, not just from cigarettes, but something else also you would not like to smell at home....it is really shame....is relatively close to Hollywood Blvd. and was safe when i was there.

This Hostel is really nothing special at all, place was dirty in general (beds, bathrooms etc). I would never consider staying here again, I found it hard to sleep due to the noise from the patio area down below, where people use to smoke at all hours, and the smell in the room from this, is really not that pleasant. Like I say, the staff are helpful and really nice people, and the location is not too bad, next to a bus stop that takes you straight into hollywood, but these good things are no where near enough to excuse the bad things.

I booked this hostel for a cheap stay in LA back in July. I saw the reviews for the nearby Banana Bungalow and decided I didnt want to stay there, this however looked smarter and better recieved....

Imagine my alarm when I got an email three days before my stay saying that "The Orbit had Moved around the corner" THE ORBIT AND BANANA BUNGALOW ARE THE SAME PLACE. Alarm bells sounded louded when noone at the airport had ever heard of the orbit... to me it sounds like a deliberate diversion from the poor reviews the other property had..
Anyway that issue out of the way....

I contacted "Orbit" two days before my stay about the advertised Ariport Pick up - Absolutley no reply. So you have to take a Supershuttle or Prime Time from LAX - its about $16 per head.

The private room I booked was ok - clean enough. the Patio door did not lock so it would be possible to walk straight into the room from next door via the adjoining balcony.

The room had shower/bath a good size TV and was actually a family room with a Bunk Bed Adjacent to the Double some of the staff were very informative, some indifferent.

The breakfast was a loaf of bread and a choice of three cereals with an urn of Coffee... The kitchin did appear a though you could use it for your own meals.

Unlike the other reviews, I had absolutely no cockroach experiences, and the bed was comfy enough.

The Location is ok, close to the regular 217 Metro Bus which is direct to the hollywood walk of fame or south the get to the beverley hills area.

This place should not call itself a Hotel and Hostel - we got a private room and there was nothing hotel-like about it. Dirty rooms, stained sheets and carpets, weird smell throughout and cockroaches in the bedroom. We didn't eat the free breakfast as we didn't trust it so I can't say what that was like. All-in-all, great location on Melrose and extremely cheap, but frankly not worth the anxiety that I might wake up with one of the cockroaches crawling all over me.