Property entrance

Reviews of HI San Diego Downtown - Hostel

1.5 out of 5
HI San Diego Downtown - Hostel
521 Market Street, San Diego, CA

Reviews

8.4

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 221 out of 455 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 147 out of 455 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 52 out of 455 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 16 out of 455 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 19 out of 455 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

9.0/10

Staff & service

8.6/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Janet

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
First time staying at a hostel. I tried my best to not make noise since I came in late and left early. Other than that it was nice and as expected.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Monica on 29 Apr 2024
We are honored to be your first hostel experience and we hope you consider staying in hostels for future travels.

8/10 Good

CELSO

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Monica on 23 Apr 2024
Thank you for staying with us. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for improvement.

8/10 Good

Lynne

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This stay was very reasonably priced. The room was comfortable, and I felt safe in the building. I loved the location for being in walking distance to the convention center and so many nice restaurants and shops. I loved the art and the convenience of the kitchen, too. The only drawback is that it is an exceptionally noisy neighborhood. Since my small ears reject ear plugs, I was subjected to the music and general ruckus of the street below until well after 2 AM, no matter the day of the week.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monica on 17 Apr 2024
Thank you for your kind words and for staying with us. We understand that our neighborhood is pretty noisy at night. It looks like we were fully booked for that room type on your arrival date and were not able to place you in a quieter part of the hostel. If you let the front desk know, we would have gladly moved you to another room for the remainder of your stay. Please keep that in mind if you consider staying with us again.

6/10 Okay

Roger

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everything was nice except the music. There was music going until 4 in the morning. The night staff was really hospitable especially since I checked in late.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from HI SDDT on 16 Apr 2024
Thank you for staying with us. We're sorry about the music. It should auto turn off during quiet hours. Did you bring this up to the staff so they could turn it off? We will definitely look into the schedule to see if something is not correct.

2/10 Terrible

Amresh

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Rubbish
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Monica on 14 Apr 2024
We're sorry our hostel did not meet your expectations. Please let us know how we can improve and make future stays more enjoyable. Thank you

10/10 Excellent

Malik

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

dyonatta

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from monica on 29 Apr 2024
Thank you for staying with us and we hope you enjoyed your stay

10/10 Excellent

Jie

Business traveller, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very good accomodation with very comfortable bed. Bed uses memory foam mattresses. There is bagel breakfast with peanut butter and cream cheese.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Monica on 26 Feb 2024
Thank you for staying with us and we're glad you enjoyed your stay with us

8/10 Good

Simon, brooklyn

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
great location. only issue is the noise from outside the neighborhood.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Monica on 22 Feb 2024
Thank you for staying with us. We do understand that it can get very loud in the Gaslamp district. We offer ear plugs to help. We hope you had a great stay otherwise!

6/10 Okay

Jed

Didn’t realize this was a shared living space. It was advertised with hotels in Downtown San Diego. The stay was ok bc I had a lot of things on my itinerary but probably wouldn’t stay again.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Monica on 18 Feb 2024
Thank you for staying with us and sorry you did not realize we are a hostel. We did send out a confirmation message that states that we are a hostel and would have gladly cancelled your reservation free of charge if you wanted to. We also had rooms available with private bathrooms if that was a concern, you just needed to let us know at the front desk and we would have gladly helped.

10/10 Excellent

Dawn, Kansas City

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Im grateful for the staff who are very nice and helpful and the area has access to downtown and so much to do
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024
Response from monica on 6 Feb 2024
Thank you for your kind words about our staff and hope you enjoyed your stay

2/10 Terrible

bridget

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Monica on 10 Jan 2024
Thank you for your feedback, however, the name on this review does not match the name of the guest that stayed with us.

10/10 Excellent

Liza

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Monica on 8 Jan 2024
Thank you for the stellar review

8/10 Good

Hieu

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Monica on 8 Jan 2024
Thank you for staying with us and we appreciate your review

10/10 Excellent

Irvin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Pretty good place for a quick weekend stay. If you leave early for early flight give them ahead of time to checkout. Other wise pretty cool
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023
Response from Monica on 19 Nov 2023
Thank you for staying with us and for your kind words. We hope you come back again.

10/10 Excellent

Lara

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location to be walkable distance from most things. Staff were great and felt very safe with the security of the building. Our private room was great, nice to have a sink outside of the bathroom. Breakfast area was nice and kept very tidy.
Response from Monica on 13 Nov 2023
Thank you for your kind comments and we're so happy you enjoyed staying at our hostel.

8/10 Good

Zuzeth

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Really convenient location! I was in town for a concert near Petco Park and it was less than a 10 minute walk. Used public transportation to get around, and it was super easy. Due to location, it gets noisy at night but it wasn’t an issue for me. Would recommend if you’re staying for a quick trip.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023
Response from monica on 13 Nov 2023
Thank you for staying with us and we hope you enjoyed the concert you attended. Please come back and stay with us again

10/10 Excellent

Ali

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from Front Desk on 4 Sept 2023
Thank you for your kind review and we hope you stay with us again in!

10/10 Excellent

Pamela

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Monica on 14 Aug 2023
Thank you for staying with us and we're happy you enjoyed your stay

8/10 Good

Daphine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Noisy environment at night
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023
Response from Monica on 8 Aug 2023
Thank you for staying with us and for your review. We are located in the middle of the Gaslamp district surrounded by bars and restaurants that do get lively at night. We try our best to put people in quieter rooms upon request and offer free ear plugs at the front desk.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from front desk on 17 July 2023
Thank you

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023
Response from Monica on 6 June 2023
thank you for staying with us

10/10 Excellent

Jose

Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Monica on 6 June 2023
Thank you for your wonderful rating of our hostel

6/10 Okay

Maureen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Extremely noisy from nearby restaurants until 2am.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023
Response from HI Staff on 15 May 2023
Thank you for your review, I do apologize for the noise but there's nothing we can do since we are located in the Gaslamp Quarter which has a very busy nightlife.

10/10 Excellent

Susan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in May 2023
Response from Monica on 14 May 2023
Thank you for staying with us and we're happy you enjoyed your time

2/10 Terrible

Hui Li

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Had the private room. Very ran down room with a strong sewer smell. Urine stains on the toilet. Blow dryer did not work. 0 sound proofing and there was a guy coughing violently the entire night outside and can hear everything.
Stayed 4 nights in May 2023
Response from Monica on 10 May 2023
We're sorry the hostel was not up to your standards. Did you bring up any of these concerns with the front desk so we could try to put you in a different room? We always try to assist guests while in house to make their stay better.

10/10 Excellent

nancy

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
First time staying at a hostel and I really liked it! It was quaint, decorated really cute and artsy, friendly staff, it was clean as any hotel I’ve stayed. And the price for being in the heart of the Gaslamp district was amazing. I’d stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from Monica on 20 Apr 2023
Thank you so much for your kind words and we are so honored to be your first hostel experience! We hope you continue to explore the world of hostelling and hope you come back to stay with us again.

10/10 Excellent

William

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from front desk on 4 Apr 2023
thank you for staying with us

8/10 Good

Maria C

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Front Desk on 27 Mar 2023
Thank you for staying with us

8/10 Good

Diana

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location, parking was affordable, in Gaslamp near food/bars. Great looking room! Had everything we needed, very clean. Had issues with cards to room deactivating for unknown reason and only one working.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Monica on 19 Mar 2023
Thank you for staying with us and your kind comments. We're sorry about the key and hope the staff was able to provide you new ones without problem.

10/10 Excellent

Jessica Pinheiro

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Friendly professional people woeking here. Definitely I will come back and let other people know this priceless spot in the heart of SD. I care less for Gas’s Lamp.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Front desk on 14 Mar 2023
Thank you for staying with us and we're happy you enjoyed your time in San Diego

10/10 Excellent

ENA

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent location! Awesome staff!
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023
Response from Monica on 9 Feb 2023
We're so happy you enjoyed our hostel and staff, it means a lot to us. We hope you stay with us again in the future

8/10 Good

Swayambita

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2023
Response from Monica on 6 Mar 2023
Thank you for staying with us

10/10 Excellent

Richard

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

Andrea

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
i like the location but the area is expected to be crazy but there were people yelling outside through the night
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022
Response from monica on 5 Dec 2022
Thank you for your review. We are in the middle of the Gaslamp district so it does get a bit crazy outside. We're happy you enjoyed your stay.

6/10 Okay

Lei

Stayed 5 nights in Nov 2022
Response from Monica on 3 Dec 2022
Thank you for staying with us. Let us know how we can improve :)

10/10 Excellent

João

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2022

8/10 Good

Ethan

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location. Minimal amenities, but we don't need much. Bring your own laptop, as no radio or TV in room.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2022
Response from Monica on 31 Oct 2022
Thank you for your review and we're happy you enjoyed your stay. We are a hostel so we only have TVs in our communal spaces to encourage guests to come together and meet people from all over the world

10/10 Excellent

Brad

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Fun
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022
Response from Monica on 25 Oct 2022
We're happy you enjoyed your stay with us.

10/10 Excellent

john

Business traveller
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We are older and really enjoyed a room with a bathroom. We consider HI our #1 address to stay for meetings in the SD Convention Center.
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2022
Response from Monica on 25 Oct 2022
Thank you for your lovely review. We enjoyed having you and hope to see you again in the future

8/10 Good

Isabel

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We stayed here one night and our room was very clean, and quiet. Only a couple blocks away from petco park. If you’re coming to San Diego and won’t really be in your room, I recommend staying here. Beats all the other prices around.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Response from Monica on 24 Sept 2022
Thank you for your positive review. We hope you consider staying with us again

10/10 Excellent

Jamie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great stay !
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Response from Judith on 20 Sept 2022
Glad you enjoyed your stay!

10/10 Excellent

Douglas

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Pierre

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Location was excellent to downtown activities.
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2022
Response from Judith on 20 Sept 2022
Glad you enjoyed your stay!

8/10 Good

Adetayo

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022
Response from Judith on 11 Aug 2022
Thank you for the review!

10/10 Excellent

Jesus Edgar Tavitas Trevi

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Judith on 26 July 2022
We are so glad you enjoyed your stay!

4/10 Poor

Persis

Business traveller
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Extremely unprofessional
Receptionist was extremely unprofessional, rude, condescending, and refused to provide the website name so that we could see updated photos of rooms. I felt like I was speaking with a stubborn child. Probably one of the worst experiences we've had, especially for paying ComicCon rates; over $350/night for a private room
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

8/10 Good

Masashi

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities
Near downtown good point
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Judi on 19 July 2022
Thank you!

4/10 Poor

Austin

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2022

4/10 Poor

Emily Mae

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff were super nice, but unfortunately that did not make up for the state of the property, which was pretty dirty. Floors in the room were sticky, washrooms had no fan and smelled of mildew, and overall was pretty nasty. Also the elevator was broken. Unfortunately I can't recommend this place...
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Monica on 13 July 2022
Thank you for your honest review. Our elevator has since been repaired. All of our bathrooms have fans but we will have our maintenance check to see that they are all in proper working order. Housekeeping cleans all dorms every day but we will make sure they are thoroughly cleaning all the floors.