Venice Beach Hostel

Normally I would give this place 5 stars because of the hospitality shown on my first visit. However, I’m sad to say my second experience has been nothing short of a 1 star rating at best. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to cancel my reservation. Ian, who works there, told me I would not get my deposit back and I would be charged for my first night there because I should have cancelled within 48 hours, not the 24 listed on Hostel World where I booked. Not only that, they had my reservation for 2 people when I was clear it was only 1. Apparently if you book a private suite, it automatically makes it for two people and doubles the charge. Not only am I being double charged and then some, but my favorite place to stay is now a nightmare memory. Ian was extremely rude and unprofessional, even laughing at me and saying he didn’t care. If you want honest, this is NOT the place to stay. Very sad.

Surprised by negative reviews. Good service, private room was spacious and clean. It is a hostel, you get what you pay for.

Made reservations for Sunday to Wednesday. On Saturday I asked if I could add Saturday when I come check-​in past midnight on Sunday, they said that would be fine. Flight got cancelled and had to rebook, contacted them on Saturday late afternoon that I won’t be checking in till Sunday noon now. Upon check-​in they said I had reserved Saturday and I must pay before being able to check-​in. Talked to owner and was talked down to very rudely; he didn’t seem all there mentally, showing a lack of logic and reason. On top of all that you’re charged an additional 16% tax when the description makes it sound like the price already has 14% tax built-​in and any discrepancies will be fixed at check-​in. Instead the price has no tax built-​in and you’re charged an additional 16%. Contacted AirBnB and they agreed with me on the situation and refunded me for Saturday; they tried talking to the owner but they said the owner refused to work with them so AirBnB refunded me for Saturday which meant AirBnb actually lost $ 30 with me booking for this hostel. Sheets had stain, bathroom is a mess, you have to cook your own breakfast and wash the dishes.

I just spent the last 20 mins writing a scathing review. It felt good to get it out of my system but quite frankly, i won’t waste anybody’s time having to read it. This place doesn’t really deserve a review. All I can say is… just don’t stay there. It’s terrible to say the least.

They Stole My Money! Stay away. They used my credit card without authorization, billed $ 142 for a night I never agreed to, I’ve never even stepped foot in the place. Spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to get a refund, but couldn’t reach the management, now calling the bank to do a chargeback. These guys are criminal.

I stayed 3 days there, I think another day wouldn’t be possible.
I’ll make it simple:
_​Bed bugs. My face, back and arms were on fire for several days afterwards…
_​Breakfirst: a real joke
_​Dinner: I don’t know, never been there on time
_​Dirty building/​rooms
_​No elevator for heavy luggage
_​Drunk roommates
_​The guy when I came to take my caution back for the key:
GUY: So I heard you had bed bugs.
ME: Yes indeed. A lot. And turns out that it was only on my bed.
GUY: OK.
And that’s it!
The star is only for the location of that hostel.
Oh by the way, there are fees if you pay by credit card. More than a dollar for each night.

Most of the staff are cool, a few of them have no problems talking about other guests in front of guests, one staff member called simon starred at me on my bed from the balcony, inches away from the window, who knows for how long, but when I made eye contact to let him know I could see him, he kept staring for 10 more seconds. this peepin tom stuff is a serious invasion of privacy and I know in my line of work, if I did that I would be fired on the spot. it made me feel very uncomfortable, even more so after I complained to the owner and nothing was done about it. I had a feeling it wasn’t going anywhere when the owner became rude and pedantic about where his staff member was staring from exactly, as if to imply I was making it up (so this is why I wrote this review). As I said most of the staff are cool but Simon and the owner are the lords of douchetown!

One of the grossest buildings I have ever been in in my entire life. I went here to visit some European friends who stayed here for like $ 30 bucks a night. The beds looked like cots. It was hot, sweaty, no ventilation, cramped quarters, looked so dirty and dingy, not to mention that just outside is drug-​ville.
I would much rather sleep in my car.

This was a bad choice. We have been here in July 2012.
Ok the privates are ok but everything is old.
Smoking everywhere which is a total no go for us!!!
And they charge you for everything. Extra charge for paying with credit card is ridiculous!!! As well as 1 dollar for printing our 1 page. Seriously 1 dollar?
Please search something else!!!

The owner treats his employees like slaves and does everything the cheapest way possible. me thinks… somewhere else. People before Profits.

I would NOT recommend this place.
The owner is a cheap ass, low life who’s all worried about just making more money and not getting robbed. All around you see a lot of threatening posts on walls saying things like you’ll be banned forever if you do this or do that. Plus they charge you for almost everything. And if this place is earning so much charging and hiring guests as staff they should change the couches and fixing the roofs and doors that are as old and rotten as the owner. The staff is okay but there seems to be some tension in the air and you feel uncomfortable with all this «warnings» that make you feel kind of in a prison, along with the decoration.
In few words. Only go here if you want an extremely close place to the beach. But well, eventually you’ll do something without noticing and will be banned from the place forever. There are some other options around, try them better.

Einen Katzensprung vom Venice Beach gelegen. Internet umsonst in jedem Raum. Im Vergleich billig. Aber: Dreckig! Für wenige Nächte ok. (2007)