Capital View Hostel

My husband and I were looking for an affordable option to stay in Washington D.C. so after long and unsucessful research we decided for the Capital View Hostel and didn’t even take the time to look at reviews before we booked. Afterwards I took a look at reviews and saw that quite a few people had complaints. So I was not sure what to expect but didn’t have the nerves to look for an alternative.
But actually I was very happy with the hostel. Will who checked us in and showed us the house was very friendly. There is no no-​shoe rule anymore so you can wear your regular shoes in the house. The warmth of the showers was different, I’ve notice that one of them got only lukewarm whereas another one was much warmer. But that was ok for me as there were several showers to choose from. We didn’t have to wait for a shower getting free at all.
We had a private 2-​bed room with bunk beds (we chose it because the bunk bed option was materially cheaper than a one big bed option and still a private room). The room was clean and we even had a small sofa and a table/​chair.
The kitchen was ok, basic stuff that you need to fry a sausage in a pan, make yourself a salad etc and ok clean. With many young people making themselves food it’s hard to keep it clean all the time but it was cleaned regularly. There is free coffee. Everything else you need you can get easily at Walmart which is just a few minutes walk from the hostel.
The location itself is great. The different smithsonian museums, the Capital, Monument, Lincoln Memorial etc. are all very close. We just took a bus to Georgetown once (also easy — use the «circulator» which is only 1 USD one way), besides that we just walked everywhere.
Check-​out was easy, you just put off the bed sheets and leave which is convenient when you have an early flight.
Overall, you get what you would expect from a hostel. Not really fancy but all the basic stuff you need. Plus friendly staff.

Do not stay here. There are four bathrooms in the entire building, and cleaniness is not the priority. On our recent stay with a groups of high school students, the ownership had miscommunucated our arrival time to the staff, and our rooms were not ready for several hours. Treading water with a small group is one thing, but with 30 tired teenagers is quite another. On our second night, the fire alarm went off twice, but no on site staff member appeared to offer emergency instructions. When the emergency number was called, we were sent straight to voicemail. On our last night, the posted code that would unlock the front door wouldn’t work, leaving us to again figure out another solution. When we spoke with the owner about our concerns, the dismissive attitude was insulting.
The area surrounding the hostel is also very loud at night. This is not the place to stay if you want to feel safe.
Melanie is the one highlight of Capital View Hostel. She is welcoming, delightful and does her best to make you feel at home.
Heed my advice. Stay elsewhere.

Very comfortable hostel to stay at. Very good international clientele. Just refinished the floor and carpets., so brand new floors. Hot water works. Won’t find better hostel/​accommodations in DC.

I was 28 when I stayed here and purely used it for a place to sleep. There were a plethora of amenities including computers, outdoor deck, decent showers, wifi blah blah. I opted for the abbreviated introductory tour since I was arriving late and leaving early.
You aren’t allowed to wear your shoes once inside but they do offer a set of slippers for free. The bed was comfortable and can accommodate 6ft-​ers.

Note: I’m 42 and this is my first time at a hostel. Given my trip fell apart and the place I thought I was staying didn’t pan out and therefore that this was my only option short of spending 200 or more on a hotel in a city I can’t bear, it was a great experience.
The staff is friendly and the location is great. From the outside it looks like a normal brick apartment building. As you walk in, there is a lounge with a large screen TV (House of Cards was playing). Everyone is nice and out of a dozen people I saw the night I stayed, only one guy was odd. Not bad odd, but he did speak English and was oddly uncommunicative.
I shared a room with three girls and because I didn’t arrive till 10PM (a friend had called ahead and paid for my room, sorry I’d had such an abysmal time in DC, a place he has lived on and off both alone and with family), so I didn’t eat or interact much.
Each bunk in the bunk beds (two to a room in mine) is equipped with four outlets. I’ve never seen anything like it in a hotel. If your roommates want to turn off the top light, you can still read in bed or type on your phone/​computer. The mattress was fine. I mean it’s a hostel, but certainly not uncomfortable. The comforter was warm enough and the thread count adequate. You have to strip the bed before you leave and they make a big deal about this, so I’m not sure if they dock you for failing to do so.
Each room as a code, but my roommates didn’t lock the door until late at night. You also have a code to get into the hostel, but I didn’t try it, so I’m not sure how well it works.
I don’t cook in my boyfriend’s spectacular SB condo or my parents’ house in LA, so obviously I didn’t use the kitchen. But there were people drinking soda and beer (they allow alcohol but prohibit «excessive drinking» (by which they mean «drinking games»). I didn’t go up to the roof or shower, but the shower on the 2^nd floor seemed just fine to me.
This hostel is FAR nicer than a Motel 6 or Super 8 or Econolodge. And the girls are really nice, whether from Brazil or Germany or Spain. I speak Spanish, not Portuguese, but most of the kids speak passable to good English.
They make you wear terry cloth slippers, which everyone says keeps this hostel cleaner than most.
I’ve never been to Europe because while (obviously, given my stay in a hostel) I don’t require luxury, I am not a backpacking hostel kinda gal. But if I knew that European hostels were as nice as this, I might have gone before I had enough money to travel in modest hotels.
Definitely eat at Busboys and Poets. As Andrea V noted, the location

I had to come to DC last-​minute in Feb 2014 and was able to book a one night stay here.
The location was easy to find and is walking distance from the Chinatown stop for buses to and from NYC! Check-​in was seamless. I was thrown off by the shoeless policy but the slippers they give you to wear within the hostel were comfy.
Guests and staff were friendly, and room, kitchen, common area and first floor toilets were tidy. Minus one star because it was freezing in my room and the common areas. Rooms on higher floors were not as cold.

Slow internet, when I shower water suddenly turn cold then I was freezing and stood there wait for long time, arranged two girls into guys room which we paid extra to stay with girls, sheets looks like never washed.

I was there for two nights early Jan 2014. It’s very different from other hostels that I gotta take off my shoes indoors. I really like the building, the staff I met are nice not like super friendly but not rude at all. I never used the kitchen or the room with tv, they look ok to me tho. The bathroom at my floor works fine, one bulb wasn’t working, I could tell they did clean from the trashbin and towel. There’s another bathroom I used and preferred on 2^nd floor, looks clean too. My room was spacious and very warm. It was very cold the time I visited, and it was too cold for me to sleep well at other hostels in New York. I got an upper bed and I liked it, it ain’t usual that I’d prefer an upper bed, it has more space than the lower. I also like the head light can be adjusted so it’s not toooo bright for others at night. There’s wifi access in room, some hostels only got that in common area. My favorite about capital view is that there ain’t no keys so I didn’t have to pay key deposit or check out, just strip ur bed and go.

If you like cold showers in winter and rooms that smell like mould/​dead animals then this is the place for you.
The staff were friendly however weren’t overly responsive when I raised the issue of the stench in our room or with the cold shower, and nothing was done as far as I know. Would not recommend this place at all.
The only positive is the location.

PLUS: Location is awesome, walking distance to metro, Union Station, National Mall, Walmart etc. I personally really liked the building itself and the art wall in the back, my room was pretty clean.
MINUS: Kitchen was disgusting. Stove and oven have obviously never been cleaned. The same with awful refrigerator. I had to wash all dishes and a baking sheet before I wanted to use it. Downstairs in living room was incredibly cold and I still smelled pee or something. Bleh. I stayed for three nights and the bathroom I used upstairs wasn’t cleaned even once. I felt like everything was sticky. The light in the bathroom was broken. Last night the dishwasher broke and kitchen was flooded.
STAFF: One guy was ok, the rest was unfriendly.

I spent four nights at this hostel, and I could not be happier about my experience. The staff was polite and accommodating, going out of their way to answer every question and grant every request. The kitchen was clean. The rooms were clean as well. The bathrooms were also good. Finally, the location is stellar! Four blocks from the National Gallery!

location: good
price: fair
all else: awful
we were there a total of two & a half days. the first staff member we dealt with was unbelievably rude. I mean… wow! she was terrible. she showed up about a half hour late to open the place (around 10:30) & was just completely uncool the entire time we interacted. we stored our stuff & came back later & got our room (a private room with two bunks). that’s when we dealt with our second staff member. he was also completely unpersonable &, well… rude. the building itself is nice, but the there is no aesthetic flavor on the inside… none whatsoever. but, no big deal… the price was good & the space worked for us. but it wasn’t really clean enough. like… unclean enough to warrant a bad review & a promise to myself that I won’t be staying there ever again. in addition to the uncleanliness, I guess they’d done some kinda minor construction somewhere & there were like a bunch of two to four foot pieces of wood just randomly plopped down in our closet. I couldn’t help but be a bit miffed by that. the bathrooms sucked pretty badly too. on our way out, we interacted a bit with another gal working. she was super-​cool. very warm & friendly. very helpful. but, still… overall…well…yeah… no bueno.

Easily the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed in. The nightmare began from the moment my girlfriend and I arrived. They charged us a $ 10 late fee for checking in 40 minutes past regular check-​in hours. Once we were situated, they informed us of the house rules which included no shoes and no eating in the residence area. Fine. Nice kitchen and very clean property. Common fridges for food storage. Fine. Went out for drinks and bought some snacks. Woke up, went out for the day and came back to find that our UNOPENED, non-​perishable snacks had been removed from my girlfriend’s purse while we were out and were placed in the kitchen in an area called the WALL OF SHAME. Absolutely unacceptable to remove something from a person’s bag without their knowledge. That’s both theft and an invasion of privacy. Totally agree with the review that called this a Stasi hostel. Showers are ice cold, no possible way to make them warm even using the instructions on the bathroom door. Terrible. Also, we booked a private room with double bed and were shocked to find a room with bunk beds. The window was broken and allowed mosquitoes in and cannot be opened when it gets too hot. Lastly, as we were in our room changing at around 6pm, a staff member knocked and opened the door simultaneously while we were naked. WORST HOSTEL! DO NOT STAY HERE!

I first stayed at this place back in March of 2012 and I had a GREAT time. The hostel is in a nice building, it was clean, the staff was helpful, and appropriate hosteling norms were enforced. I was really looking forward to staying here again.
Things have changed.
I just visited DC again in October of 2013.
–One of the staff members was nice, but the others were rude, unhelpful, and condescending. From conversations I overheard, there is a culture of backstabbing amongst the staff, and management plays into this.
–Not all rooms here are created equal. The room I got was dirty and very plain (the room from the previous trip was well appointed, bright, and clean).
–When I went to bed the first night, I discovered dust, body hair, and chunks of lint all over my bed.
–The bathrooms were DISGUSTING and in my four days there, I do not think that they were cleaned at all. One of the shower curtains was covered in what looked to be either vomit or feces. Others had tons of mold.
–Quiet hours are not enforced.
–There were tons of bugs. I didn’t see bed bugs, but I did see at least four other varieties of insect.
–The entrance is not sufficiently lighted at night
–They do not vet their patrons. One of the nights, I shared a room with a guy who actually lived in DC, but had gotten kicked out of his place (in a leave right now or we’re calling the cops sort of way) and was staying at the hostel for the night. In most hostels I’ve stayed in, locals are not permitted to stay. I was surprised that this happened.
–I saw several men hanging out in their underwear in common spaces of the hostel. it’s one thing when it’s in the bathroom (I still don’t want to see it), but in the kitchen? The hostel needs to set the expectation of wearing pants in common areas. I did not want to see a middle aged man with a bowl cut drinking beer in his dirty purple briefs in the kitchen. Some things simply cannot be unseen.
If I’d have rated this place back in 2012, I would’ve rated it four or five stars. This stay wasn’t very pleasant, though, and the shower curtain thing coupled with seeing not one, but TWO different middle aged men in their underwear in the kitchen earns this place one, solitary star. I’d give it less if I could.

Where to start? I was a bit skeptical of staying in a hostel and sharing with other people, but in the end my boyfriend (who found the place for us) was right. The service was excellent, the personal extremely helpful and friendly and the price more than reasonable.