Tourists flocking to New York City this summer have no doubt experienced the city’s widely-reported, astronomical costs of hotel rooms. There are a number of reasons for the inflated prices, including the city’s crackdown on AirBnB rentals and the conversion of many hotel rooms to migrant shelters, but the end result is that you, Dear Reader, may be struggling to find a reasonably-priced place to rest your head after a long day of eating pizza, taking photos, and getting chased by Elmo.
Enter the humble hostel. Long a staple of travel in Europe, hostels have never taken off in the United States like they have abroad, possibly due to Americans’ concerns about privacy safety. We’re an individualistic people, so the idea of sleeping in a bunkbed in a room with 7, 9, or 11 strangers is something many Americans can’t get behind.
But these are expensive times, Dear Reader. With hotel prices in the big apple pushing over $300 a night, and even a beloved McDonald’s Big Mac clocking in at $18, it may be time to reconsider, and HI New York City Hostel could be the place for you.
Background
Unbeknownst to me, the building housing the hostel has a history behind it. It was originally constructed in 1883 as a care home for elderly women, but over the years, it fell into disrepair. The structure was nearly torn down in the 1970’s, but before it could be razed, a group of local conservationists convinced the city to buy the building and preserve it. In 1983, it was declared a New York City landmark. In January 1990, it reopened as the hostel that it is today.
The location is very convenient. Located uptown on Amsterdam Avenue, between W 103rd and W 104th streets, the hostel is just a short 5-minute walk from the 1 train at the 103rd Street Station. Visitors can take the 1 train and reach all the exciting touristy bits downtown in about 30 minutes.
What is it like staying here?
There are basically two kinds of hostels in this world. The first kind views itself as a roof with a bed, and nothing more. It exists purely as a means to an end, a way for broke backpackers to see new cities as cheaply as possible. The second kind is more of an experience, focusing on high-minded ideas like “meeting new friends” and “cross-cultural experiences”. HI Hostel aims to be more of latter, with some mixed success.
HI Hostel boasts a lot of open common areas to meet and chat with fellow travelers. There are a couple different rooms and lounges to hang out in, though judging by the sunken cushions, some of the couches had seen better days. There is also includes a cafe area – complete with board games and a pool table – and surprisingly nice outdoor patio area. It was summer when I visited, and so it was the perfect weather to sit out by and enjoy a peaceful peaceful evening reading by the pond while other groups drank, chatted, and played ping-pong.
The rooms themselves offer little of note, especially for any seasoned hostel-stayers: metal bunk beds, white sheets, and lockers for your luggage. Each bed has a light and individual sockets for charging, which is nice. But my locker was a bit old and rusted, so trying to open it in the morning without waking the other 11 travelers in my room was a struggle. There’s something painfully, inescapably awkward about trying to open a rusty locker and rummage through your suitcase while a strange man sleeps just 3 feet away. Perhaps placing the lockers away from the beds – as I’ve seen in other hostels – would have been a better idea. However, they rooms were clean and the beds were comfortable enough for a night’s sleep, which is really all you want, right?
One popular feature was the communal kitchen in the basement. While this certainly won’t appeal to everyone – after all, most people go on vacation to get away from cooking – this is a great opportunity if you’re in a large group and want to save money by making your own spaghetti or a quick breakfast of eggs and toast. However, this was probably one of the most mixed parts of my experience. On one hand, I got to indulge in two of my favorite pastimes: cooking and saving money. But rather than a place for peaceful cooking, the kitchen was normally loud and chaotic. In the mornings and evenings, it would fill up with dozens of young travelers shouting and scrambling about, channeling their inner Gordon Ramsay. I frequently had to weave around twenty-somethings struggling to boil water, turning what should have been a simple breakfast of eggs and toast into an tedious traffic jam. And although the hostel provides labels for your food, I would sometimes come down in the morning to find my pack of bread with suspiciously fewer slices than the night before.
Another issue was the elevator, which seemed to be perpetually out of service with little explanation. When I first arrived, there was a sign noting that the elevator only worked between 8:30am and 4:30pm in order to conserve electricity. By the following weekend, the elevator was out of service completely, again with no explanation. My heart goes out to the two unfortunately young women I saw lugging heavy suitcases up to the 4th floor.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been staying in hostels ever since my study abroad trip in college. They’re reliable, cheap, and can be a fun place to meet new people. But they’re not for everyone. The lack of privacy can be grating, the hygiene can be questionable, and there’s something awkward about sleeping in a bunkbed above a total stranger who snores like a set of rusted gears mashing up a soda can. But if you, like The Atlantic, also feel that New York has become unaffordable for visitors, HI New York City Hostel can offer a reasonable alternative. With clean rooms, a quaint courtyard, and a large (if sometimes annoyingly crowded) kitchen, this is a great option for anyone who wants to visit New York City and save money for those $7 lattes.