ThePassportPrincess

Stayed: August 2015 for 4 Nights
Room: 6 Bed Female Dorm with Ensuite Bathroom
Overall Rating: 9/10

Everyone has to experience Hollywood at least once in their lifetime right!?
I knew I wanted to check out Hollywood Boulevard and do the Hollywood Sign when I was in the city of Los Angeles so I chose this Hostel as it was really central and had great reviews!

I read online that this hostel in Hollywood had won the ‘Most Popular Hostel Award’ from LA- Hostelworld.com for 2015 and also the 2014 ‘Certificate of Excellence’ on Trip Advisor so it really is quite a popular hostel for people staying in LA. USA Hostel’s also have hostel’s in San Diego (Downtown & Ocean Beach) as well as San Francisco but I haven’t stayed in them before.

My experience:
When I arrived in California I took a Shuttle from LAX airport to get to the hostel which took about 50 minutes. (Less without traffic but when does that ever happen in LA) Check in didn’t start until 2pm which is usually the norm but I think I arrived in the afternoon so I checked in right away. All rooms have a swipe card so it’s pretty safe, plus you have to show your swipe card before you’re even let past reception into the building so no random people can walk in.

I stayed in a room with 5 other girls and we had our own bathroom which was great. It had a toilet, sink & mirror and shower/bath combo. The only annoy thing was having to wait in the morning if a girl was taking too long (I admit on hair washing day I was that girl) Otherwise there is 2 other common bathrooms in the hostel you can go and use.

There are also rooms you can book out for yourself if you have the extra cash. They’re a bit small but you get your own space and they have either one twin bunk bed or one double bed along with cable TV, a mini fridge, air conditioning and a private bathroom.

I enjoyed staying in my room, the Hostel provided me with a fresh duvet & sheets when I arrived so I knew my bed was all clean. I was on a lower bunk next to the window and had my own little shelf, reading light and power outlet to charge my phone. The lockers they have also have power outlets in them so you can go out for the day and leave your electronics charging if you need to which was handy. You just have to provide your own lock.

All the room rates included breakfast (With make-your-own-pancakes), free WI-FI, laundry soap and free storage of your things on the day that you check out.

What I really enjoyed about this hostel was all the activities that they had available. In the reception area they had boards where you could write down your name on anything you wanted to do for that week. They also had Comedy nights upstairs in the ‘lounge’ area, Family dinners, BBQ nights and Pub crawls.
I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t join in on more stuff!
They do things on certain nights so maybe that’s why I missed out on some stuff. If you wanted to see Magic Mountain they have a free shuttle that goes there at 9.30am on certain days and provide you with discounted tickets from reception.
They also do a Runyon Canon Hike in the morning which is free and something I wish I did! I think it must have been too hot for me so I never did end up seeing the Hollywood Sign 😦
Check out this link on their website and you’ll find a monthly list of all the stuff they have planned so you can always book your trip based around those days.
I did sign up for one of the free Beach Shuttles to Venice Beach but unfortunately I was one of the last people to sign up so I missed out as the van was full. A few others and myself ended up getting an Uber instead and splitting the fare 4 ways.

There’s actually quite alot to see in LA, you can read what I did here for my 5 days in the Sun 🙂
As this Hostel was right off Hollywood Boulevard I walked down the Hollywood walk of fame pretty much every day. It’s super close to the Chinese Theatre, Madame Tussaud’s and food places so I ate a lot of Pizza! Haha.

Pros:

• En-suite Bathroom in the Dorm Rooms
• Option of Private Room
• So many activities to choose from
• Breakfast included in the price
• Free Wi-Fi
• ‘Chill out area’ upstairs with couches and DVD’s
• Family Dinner Nights (Good if you’re saving money)
• Well equipped Kitchen
• Towels & Bedding Provided
• Right around the corner from Hollywood Boulevard
• Has a beer pong table outside to set up
• Great privacy fence from the street
  

Cons:

• I actually can’t think of any major faults with this hostel. Maybe it was a bit noisy when I was trying to sleep as my room was right next door to a car park where homeless people would yell and get drunk some nights but I never felt un-safe or uncomfortable. The only annoying thing about my LA stay was the annoying people on Hollywood Boulevard haha. But I hardly think that’s the hostels fault.
  If you’re ever in Hollywood, I’d really recommend this hostel!!