I am back often as I have fam here and hoped to find a cool place to stay. I am pretty tolerant, but dirty sheets gross me out, no top sheet and found a woman's hair pin in the bed along with a wet spot. I was so creeped out sleeping under the bedspread that who knows how many others have used since the last wash. Could hear snoring in the next room and some kind of critter in the walls or on the roof. Worst night of sleepless hell and I really needed a hot shower. No soap, I stood on the toilet and found an old used bar of Irish Spring and just made do trying not to rub up against the mildew on the shower curtain. $67 for this room when I could have had a good nights sleep using Hotwire for $47. Oh and sketchy hood, miracle the car was still there.

I arrived here as my first stop for a four months visit to Tampa, and was welcomed by a warm and friendly staff, and a very relaxed atmosphere. I only stayed here for a few nights, but it was a great, very nice start of my stay in Tampa!

As I didn't have anything in these first days, the offered me a ride to the supermarket, and helped me find an apartment, very helpful indeed!!

All in all, great and laid down place to stay!

This is one of the best hostels I have stayed at. A very homely feel, with the special musical/chill vibe and great staff who really make you feel welcome and do everything they can to make your time comfertable. As a single female I would happliy reccomend this place to others, and suggest that if you are ever in Tampa - this is the place you should stay! I stayed in a dorm which was spacious enough and not in any way crowded, and the couples/private rooms are very well set up. There is always a new addition happening at the hostel- the place is alive and evovling!! :)

Gram's place is one of the most unique places I've ever stayed- it just has this incredible hippy vibe to it and it is so rock 'n roll it hurts. Most of the guests were actually old hippies and the owner and his mate are very friendly if a tad unusual and a bit pervy at times (encouraging me to talk my pretty Swiss friend into getting into the hot tub and they say they have a 'European' attitude to nudity in the pool- if I was a girl I'd feel very uncomfortable about getting my clothes off in front of them!). Nonetheless the quirky vibe of the place warrants a stay here and they are good hearted people at the end of the day. They had a sometimes annoying habit of calling me 'English' for my entire stay- I don't even know if they remembered my real name but whatever, it's all good!

Facilities- I stayed in the dorm that looks like a train carriage (apparently). The beds are tiny and chances are you will be sharing with bugs- bedbugs, roaches, spiders etc, especially if you are on the bottom bunk which is actually on the floor. Bathrooms are ok I guess- they have outdoor showers too and the other rooms seemed really nice too with lots of random musical instruments lying around that you can have a go at. Certainly not a 5* hotel but you won't care really. They have a jacuzzi tub (if you can pursuade Bruce to fork out for the electicity to turn it on!) and they have beers available, sometimes they have live bands playing. The kitchen is adequate.

Negatives- you may feel uncomfortable if you are a young, attractive single girl, not that the owners are untrustworthy in any way but you may have reservations about walking around in a bikini for example. The place isn't the cleanest- you probably will be bitten by something during your stay and, though they advertise a jacuzzi, they never turn it on unless you ask them very nicely and are a group of about 4 or more people. The area is very sketchy- it is practially the ghetto and it is not safe to walk anywhere nearby on your own. It is miles away from the happening area of town but Bruce knows a taxi driver who will take you there for a reasonable price and pick you up.

To summaries- great vibe, great atmosphere that is 95% of the appeal of staying here- the other 5% being the good company and fun, easy going owners because the rooms aren't really up to much and they certainly aren't cheap. Stay here for a unique experience, meet cool people, watch a band then get the hell out of Tampa because it is a dump with absolutely nothing else to do when it isn't Gasparilla fest.