This hostel is similiar to the ones I've stayed at in Seattle and NY. Very dorm like, with some rooms having their own bathrooms (one room for shower, another for toilet; sink is outside). The free breakfast isn't as good as the one in Seattle but it stayed the hunger for a while (coffee was good though). There was a room for others to use their wifi and a corner with internet PCs that accept credit cards or bills. A bit overpriced so I suggest walking down to the Santa Monica Library just a few blocks away. Oh, and the hostel is two blocks from the beach, so anybody who thinks this place is overpriced for a hostel, they're right. But, seriously, you're sleeping in a clean room including a bathroom, with breakfast and a stroll to the beach for $37. Lighten up, people.

The hostel is good value for money in a great location. I stayed in a room with a TV and queen-sized bed with my son. The room was clean and neat. Breakfast was included in the price. However, the hostel reception staff were a bit cool and bored, and our room was very noisy (it directly fronted a ventilator shaft which rumbled all night long). Make sure when you book that you ask for a quiet room. Otherwise, take your earplugs!

I stayed here on 2 separate weekends in November. I will preface this that I am not a foreigner but I have stayed in hostels in the US and Europe before. I've had a myriad of experiences and try stay at hostels that have some sort of standardization with how they're run. My first weekend was uneventful - meaning no serious problems - except that it was freezing in the hostel rooms at night and I needed at least 2 extra blankets. I stayed in an all-female dorm room with an enclosed bathroom. The second trip that room didn't have bottom bunks available so I was given a different room. It wasn't nearly as nice but the same configuration and same price. There were 3 ladies from Ireland on an around the world trip travelling together and they were nice. We spoke for a bit and because I had been at a conference all day and had checked in after 10pm I was ready for bed. I was preparing to turn in when this older woman entered the room with all her belongings in a plastic bag lined shopping cart. The ones you'd go to the supermarket with or transport laundry. So I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt because I was really tired but I immediately thought - WTF! She was removing things and moving around the room for an hour with no indication that she would settle down. Also she was asking me a lot of personal questions and when I told her I was ready for bed and didn't want to talk she became very belligerent. She would not let me turn off the lights. I went to the front desk and explained to the attendant that I thought they had allowed a homeless/marginalized person to check in - I mean what 'traveller' shows up with their things in a garbage bag after 1130pm! They said they would ask the woman to leave and went to the room. I didn't ask for the woman to be kicked out - I simply requested a new room for myself. 10 minutes later the guy says she could stay. I went back to the room and all hell broke loose with her - racial epithets, rantings and all. Oh - and she threatened to slice my throat for good measure. I had to switch rooms at 1230am and spent an uncomfortable night in a mixed gender room with no enclosed bath. I felt bad for the the three women who had gone out and had left their belongings laying around as well but thought maybe she would be nicer to them. In the morning I went back to the front desk to file a complaint and here's where the added insult to injury occurred. The desk staff was just unresponsive "well what did she do" and "we allow locals to stay" Well, duh! I live in the same state but 400+ miles away, but crazy is crazy. I finally got a manager and was speaking to her but could tell she was just going to blow me off - but the the other 3 women came down to complain as well and we all shared equal groans at the experience and delight that we had 'survived'. They told the manager that the woman had kept them up all night talking to herself and moving around the room. And STILL the management was being difficult. We all said in unison how we did not feel SAFE with her and I think some dim bulb of humanity or common sense must have finally been released and they asked the woman to leave. BUT WHY DID THEY LET HER CHECK IN AT ALL!!! Ok - I'm all for being understanding but I could tell the woman was 90 cents short of a dollar from the get-go!! This is where I start to wonder if they choose making a few extra dollars over the safety and comfort for their guests. There was NO good judgement used in the decision to let that woman check into a hostel where she was sharing a room with other people. She should have stayed in a room by herself. They should have immediately addressed my concerns with an appropriate response. They made the situation worse! I was cranky and exhausted and I could tell the staff had an attitude about the entire incident towards me for 'bothering' them. Had I booked my travel as a package and spent an extra $150 I could've gotten a nice air/hotel deal, but I'm a musician and was trying to be economical. Compared to the first trip at the hostel in the end it just wasn't worth it. The hostel may have an open policy but they are required to provide a minimum amount of safety and I don't think it was unreasonable for me to expect that. I still have not been reimbursed for the price difference [rooms w/o baths cost less] or offered a free night for my inconvenience. No one has apologized either. If the woman had acted on her violent threats they would have been liable.

The location of this place is great-on the block between the sea and third st promenade, the main shopping area. There is also a convenient car park over the road, which I was never charged for overnight. The hostel was clean and had a good kitchen, but it just lacked that hostel feel of friendliness and internationality. Rooms were very hot in summer and 4 times I had to trek from the top floor down to the front desk to replace my key card, which liked to stop working. At no time did the grumpy desk staff apologise for this! I would stay here again, for the location, but isn't great when travelling alone.