HI-San Diego, Point Loma Hostel

When we planned our trip to San Diego, we wanted to stay somewhere that was reasonably priced, close to the attractions and close the ocean. The HI-​San Diego Point Loma Hostel looked really good to us and fit all of our criteria. We had a nice private room that overlooked the front street. The bathrooms were always clean. Free pancake breakfast is served in the morning or you can cook your own breakfast. Everyone seemed to wake up at the same time — between 6am-​7am– so the kitchen can get a little busy with guests making their food AND a staff person preparing pancakes. If you want to buy a few groceries, Trader Joe’s and Ralph’s are really close by. Stumpy’s Market is even closer; it’s a block down the street located in a strip mall. If you have car, you’ll have to find parking out on the street as there is no parking lot. Parking is free, but often times it was challenging finding an available parking spot. One of my favorite things about the Point Loma Hostel is that it was only 8 minutes away from the ocean! We really enjoyed our stay at the hostel and we loved San Diego. When we return in the future, we will stay here again.

Relatively inexpensive for a bed in a shared room ($ 28). This hostel has a welcoming staff. I was able to book my bed over the phone the night before. The space is super nice, large kitchen with supplied for cooking, free hot tea, flat screen tv, fast wifi, free towel to use, nice outdoor porch area and surfboard to borrow.
On top of that, they have a free pancake breakfast (they also had fresh mangoes when I was there) and dinner for a suggested donation of $ 5!

¹⁰⁄₁₀ would NOT recommend. Had an okay experience at this place until it was time to checkout in the morning. When we first arrived, at around probably 3pm one of the staff members brought me and my very shy friend to our room. We were the first two out of four people who would be staying in the four beds to arrive. We were told we would be sleeping in beds 3 and 2, a lower bed on one bunk and a higher bed on a seperate bunk bed. I was confused because I have been to a TON of hostels before and I was never assigned a bed. It was first come first serve. I asked if the whole room was booked to be slept in and the staff member said yes. My friend told me she preferred the top bunk because she wanted to be a bit seperated from the rest of the people in the room, and that she would really prefer if I could share the rest of the bunk with her. After discussing it with her, we decided since she was keeping the assigned top bunk, it didnt make a difference if I slept in the other bottom bunk. we were assigned one top and one bottom bunk. so we switched the assigned bottom bunk for the other bottom bunk… on two completely identical beds… that were completely untouched. we figured this didnt make any difference to anyone at all.
We went to bed and the fourth person staying in our room came in at 6am the following morning. she slept in the unoccupied bed (obviously). fast forward to about 10 minutes before our checkout. me and my friend were packing our stuff up, almost ready to leave, when a staff member came into our room (female, short hair, tattoos). she told us checkout was soon and that it had «came to her attention» that we had switched beds. she told us that «that was really rude» and that if we were to ever stay in a hostel again we need to never do that. her tone was that of a bratty preteen who was telling off her younger brother. fearing that they would charge some bogus fee to our credit card, i said «okay» with a straight face. the girl whos bed we slept in was there the whole time and inturrepted the staff member saying it wasnt a problem at all, yet she continued to scold us with an attitude. we went downstairs to checkout and another staff member asked us if we had been spoken to about the bed situation. we said yes and checked out. no smile from her, not a hint of friendliness, completely stern like we literally had gotten in a fistfight with another room member last night or something.
me and my friend are still completely shocked and confused. i have always had amazing experiences at hostels and always found the staff friendly. this one was different. there is no way i would ever give my money to this insanely petty place ever again. hope the staff enjoys their power trip.

I’ve stayed at this hostel perhaps 10 times over the last 6 years, when in town for some reason. It is the best hostel I’ve experienced (out of perhaps 30). The facilities are simple, but clean and functional, and comfortable. I find it easy to get work done on my computer (free WIFI), and pleasant to sit in the garden patio or in the front yard garden patio. The staff are unfailingly courteous and looking to be helpful. The coffee is good, and the breakfast is tasty! It is a wonderful kitchen to cook in, and storage is good and organized. The TV room is comfortable with a big screen TV. I’ve found other travelers to be courteous… not really a «party bunch», so I always find I sleep well. They go to some lengths to keep the facility clean, and security in this nice neighborhood is not an issue. I’ve never found parking to be an issue, always available within a block. The staff are not transients, and they recognize returners. Staying here is a highlight of my trips to SD.

I would have given this four stars but I don’t feel they have the best interest of travelers in mind.
Traveling along the CA coast this summer we stayed for two nights in this fantastic hostel. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay another day and everyone had to leave because a large corporate group had booked the entire hostel for a meeting. It doesn’t seem right to let the whole place out when there are hundreds of travelers looking for a great and affordable option such as this to stay in July.
The rooms and beds were great, clean, comfortable and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful with local tips and discount tickets to sea world and the zoo.
The worst thing… Very hard to have a conversation outside on the patio or get any sleep with a screaming jet plane taking off over your head every five minutes. The best thing… Great location. So close to the beach and everything you need. Free parking too!

I can’t wait to visit here again. What a great first-​experience in a hostel. Cheap. Great quality. Fantastic service. Fun. Different. Close by the beach, shopping, and activities. Awesome way to meet people from all Over the world. Loved that breakfast is prepared for you. And dinner is made offered for $ 5 or donation. Staff was friendly and even offered suggestions on things to do in the SD. Love it, loved it. Loved it.

Comfortable, friendly, HI hostel in a really convenient part of San Diego (close to everything cool). For a smaller hostel, they have a lot of social activities on site, but also organize cool things in San Diego throughout the week. I loved the DIY free pancakes for breakfast, which was almost impossible to fuck up (they provide the hot griddle and mixed batter; you just need to pour and flip).

I am a hostel hunter and I’m pretty sure this is the best hostel I have ever stayed in North America .
Niiiiiiiiice staff. Helpful and friendly. In addition, handsome and with psychology degree (laugh)
Clean room and comfortable bed! Beds in hostel are usually… strange, but the beds here are neither too soft nor too hard.
Outlets on every bed and in every locker! Can’t be better!
Clean bathroom.
Great location
Quiet at night! No bars downstairs (yesterday I was in hi hostel San Diego downtown and just like sleeping on the street)
Will come back!

Being a first timer, I really loved this hostel. It is SUPER clean, and the people that were in my room were pretty quiet and respectful. Another plus is that they have very comfortable beds (tempur-​pedic mattresses). But do bring ear plugs & an eye mask incase you want to have uninterrupted sleep. I didn’t get a chance to take part in any activities since I was there basically just to sleep, but they have yoga a few days a week, and other activities. It was a great first experience & definitely set the bar high!

Comfortable beds, great kitchen. A bit loud due to aircraft overhead, but that is not a big deal. Fantastic staff!

This place has nice common areas including a giant 50 inch tv, hammock, big kitchen with a fridge, oven you can use, a bucket full of spices, bed is clean. Their quiet hours is 10:30 pm to 8 am. On the second floor there is 1 individual bathroom with no shower and one women’s bathroom/​shower; On the first floor there is 1 individual bathroom with bathroom and one men’s bathroom/​shower.
The good: Stellar Internet speed, think 35 Mbps, 50(!) if no one else is using; not a party house; very clean; dishes are done by staff (they do want you to clean the pots); exceptionally large TV (50 Inch) equipped with netflix; free pancakes, coffee, decaf, granola, yogurt for breakfast. This hostel is under a flight path but they don’t fly very late at night and we fall asleep without trouble
The bad: No one has mentioned this on Unilocal,but they have installed these stingy toilet paper holders. they keep the roll of TP from rotating a full cycle, so if you pull you only get one sheet, ONE SHEET, of toilet paper, and they’re not of good quality either so it’s not like you could use just one. DAILY ANNOYANCE. These holders are *designed* to limit the rotation, so it is their business decision and probably won’t change any time soon. minus 2 stars.

Great location, friendly staff, but for some reason this hostel is full of creeper old men during the winter.

One of the nicest hostels I have been in, all the staff is friendly the kitchen is bomb and the place actually feels like someone cares how it looks, it’s clean, big and just freaking awesome a long walk or a quick drove to the beach, nice comfy beds and a staff that is working round the clock 10 stars if I could!

Loved loved loved this hostel
Excellent place
Only hostel to offer pan cakes for breakfast
Doesn’t get better and homelier than this
Super duper awesome!

Our Girl Scout troop stayed here a few months ago and learned all about hosteling and diverse cultures. The girls had a great time with the staff. After the «lesson» we made a pasta dinner for the guests and staff. It was a full house and we had to make dinner twice because people wanted seconds. My girls loved it.
They sat at different tables and met people from all over the world, very friendly.
The hostel itself is very clean and welcoming. I admit that I had reservations about hosteling prior to this evening, but now I’m sold on it.

Cute hostel. The kitchen and common area are bright, clean, and full of resources to help you plan activities, etc. The hostel provides free pancake bfast every morning and dinners with donation on some nights. Bathroom is clean and surprisingly nice and sleek. Rooms are clean. My only complaint is that we’re here in July and the rooms are devoid of AC except for two tiny fans by the beds. Needless to say, it’s stifling. There’s a lovely courtyard outside with a Ping pong table, comfy chairs/​a hammock, and upbeat music playing all day. Helpful staff. Overall, a great place for a good price.

Stayed here about once a year for the last 10 years. From my experience and reading Unilocal reviews its the cleanest, quietest and nicest hostel in diego. PL hostel caters to couples and people in their 30s-​40s. The staff is professional. This location does not get partiers like PB and OB hostels. The only other hostel Ive stayed at in SD was HI downtown gaslamp. If you don’t have a car Point Loma is out of the way. Not sure about bus service. If you do it’s the only hostel in town with decent free parking. HI Gaslamp is central to transportation like busses. The airport is between PL and downtown.
PL is a 30 minute walk to OB.
If youre new to hosteling, realize that they are NOT motels. They are reasonably priced for one person. For two or more a motel might be a better deal. A cheap mid week non summer non central non beach SD motel is $ 60/​night. Prices climb on weekends, summer and during high demand. All hostels in SD have no parking lot and street parking is often not free after a certain time. Read the signs and watch for meters.
In a dorm room (every room not private and expensive) there will be 4 – 8 (or more) people in a hotel sized room with a bathroom down the hall. Some people go to sleep late and some wake up early. Wear a sleep mask and earplugs if you want to sleep soundly. Have a headlamp to read. If the overhead light is when I go to sleep I turn it off. Keep your voice down and don’t slam the door after 9 at night or you’ll be yelled at.
Hostels offer a kitchen, place to keep your food and usually a free breakfast. Some have events, amenities and socializing, others don’t.
There are two types of hostels-​HI, formerly American/​International youth hostels (now open to all ages), and independents. In general HI are more professionally run, nicer and cleaner then independents. Independents can be nice or can be horrid crowded dumps. They are not regulated like HI are. In the old days some hostels would close between about 9 am-​5 pm and not allow check ins after 10 pm. Check the schedule in advance.
The independents allow booze and partying on site. That means no sleep.
Hostel employees are usually travelers that trade long term lodging for work. Some are nice-​many are not.
HI hostels do not discriminate against Americans or locals or older ages. Independent hostels do. HI give discounts to HI members who buy a card. Most independents don’t. Prices are higher in summer in san diego and during huge events like comic con. To Ellie W and others: Read the Unilocal and hostel dot com reviews carefully before going to any hostel. Try to tour the hostel and see the room before paying. Read the «not recommended» reviews at the bottom.

Though I admittedly don’t have much to compare it to, this hostel was excellent. The rooms don’t look like dorm rooms, but rather small hotel rooms. The pictures of the rooms are exactly what you get. We stayed in one of the private 4 person rooms with the double bed bunked. It was perfect for four people.
The facilities were clean and nice. Nothing to complain about there.
Staff was great, always ready to talk about San Diego and provide any information we needed.
Probably the best part about this hostel was the location. We spent quite a bit of time at the beach, which is about 3 minutes drive away. you could quite easily walk, though we never did.
Over all loved it, totally recommended.

This review is for those in l.a. going down to s.d.anytime and want a cool place to crash. Thats exactly what i did.
I love this place! its away from all the noise (on the street level anyway) and i felt relaxed and comfortable the minute i walked in. There is NOTHING BAD i can say about this hostel.Nothing. ok then planes but thats it! I will be going back down on my motocycle again soon and can’t wait to explore more of San Diego! such a cool city compared to Lala land! and i’m a native!
Oh and the staff? awesome girls and guy! (i only saw 1 guy) You people rock!

Big points on the location. This Hostel International is close to the freeway, some hulking cliffs overlooking the ocean, as well as the entirety of Ocean Beach, which I just want wrap up in my arms and hug, if you could hug a portion of a city.
Additional big points on the friendliness of the staff. The dude who did our orientation was very nice and exuded clear pride at working in such a unique setting. Plus, he had a monitor lizard in a glass cage for viewing purposes in the hostel’s common area. The way to my heart has always been animals, even though I could get that lizard to do very little but sleep in my presence during my stay.
The welcoming nature of the staff really shows in the community aspects of the hostel. Tacked up on the walls everywhere, there are lots of reading materials and fliers for things to do in the city, from the obvious tourist traps to the more particular (I looked at yoga classes, mostly). There are cheap communal dinner nights as well as free pancake breakfasts. There’s also a nice fire pit in the courtyard area with a sandy but comfy hammock to chill on nearby. I partook of the hammock but not in the communal meals. I’m shy. I even asked my traveling companion to make me a pancake and bring it to our room. I’m a real social butterfly.
In the «I’m not here to make friends» spirit, we chose this hostel for the cost as well as how clean the rooms appeared. Our private one was fine — a bit on the small side, but totally manageable given how often we were out. The bed started to hurt after several hours, but I usually ended our nights in San Diego in a sake-​glazed stupor so it didn’t matter. We had to strip the bed of the sheets, pillowcases, and duvet cover at the end of our visit, which I’ve never had to do before. But it’s a hostel — it makes some sense.
The only big room-​related problem we ran into was that the key to our room would get stuck in the lock, which made actually getting into the room an iffy prospect on a couple occasions. The HI staff was good about sending a person to attend to the issue immediately, although they seemed baffled as to how to fix the lock, too. Had we stuck around longer, that might have become annoying. But for a budget-​conscious couple, I think we got a very sweet deal for our San Diego lodging. I’m not sure where Point Loma and the OB begin or end, but I miss it all.