Pros: Enjoy staying in a hostel with so many different cultures in one area. The room was quiet and private. The room was clean. We had Netflix for the day we got sick which was cool. Always wonderful staff volunteers available 24/7. We made friends, enjoyed the social experience, and had a spot to sleep/shower. It’s very centrally located next to Little Italy, so many restaurants, short walk to Gaslamp (super cool by the way), only a 20 minute drive to the Mexico boarder, and 10-30 min drive to all the beaches in the area. E-scooters are all over the place and super fun to use.
Cons: Parking sucked. Parking is free after 6pm-8am daily so I had to wake up at 7:50am daily to move my car. If you have to drive, heed warning to the street signs. All streets have designated “street sweeping” days. I read the sign wrong and was ticketed $52 for parking on a street when it was sweeping time. As for the house, we had some issues the first day where the sheets had some stains, however, the staff changed the sheets and made sure we were happy. Sharing bathrooms suck. We stayed upstairs and there is only one bathroom and it was always taken. I had to go downstairs to shower and go to the restroom a lot of the times which was annoying but part of the experience.
If you are expecting a 5 star hotel, do not come here because you’ll be upset and snobby which will ruin the experience of the other travelers. However, if you are open to a new experience of sharing common spaces with others, meeting travelers from around the world, and enjoying humble sleeping quarters, definitely choose the hostel life. It’s affordable, interesting, fun, different, and if you are friendly to the other travelers, you’re guaranteed to make new friends.
Thank you all for the hospitality!!