I had the pleasure of staying at Lucky D's for an entire month and it was a life changing experience in many beautiful ways. I have only stayed in a few hostels while traveling through Scandinavia, and this facility is up to par with typical hostel culture. I've heard a lot of "interesting" stories about other "hostels'' in the USA, but Lucky D's does not fall into any of those negative stereotypes. For anyone who is comfortable with group living, this is an easy choice if it works for your travels. However, my upfront advice is that you don't assume you can just stay here to your liking if they aren't fully booked; They do not operate like a hotel that accepts your money without concern. Staying at Lucky D's is a privilege, not a right, and, like all other AirBnBs, they maintain their facility with a very understandable standard of definite rules & general guidelines to help protect both their guests & their business. The best way to secure a booking is to reach out ahead of time, be friendly, understanding, and open to communication. Keep reading for more clarification to that advice.
I felt personally respected and safe in this facility, which is most traveler's first priority, so I feel it is the most important part of my review. From the moment I arrived until the very end of my stay, I felt both protected and trusted. Although a generous number of lockable closets & lockers are available, there were very minimal occasions when I felt that I shouldn't leave my personal possessions unattended. The biggest thing I want to acknowledge is how much I appreciate how this facility maintains its rules with consideration to all guests; Especially for the protection of their female guests, this quality is crucial to bettering the culture of both hostels and traveling in general. There were several occasions during my month there that management felt the need to enforce their rules and remove a problem traveler from the facility. Every situation had multiple warnings and opportunities to correct themselves but ultimately, they did not, and were subject to the rules. Again, staying here is a privilege, not a right. If you can not respect the very reasonable rules of a group living facility, then hostels are not for you, especially not this one.
Beyond safety, the staff is friendly and welcoming; they clean the bedrooms, common rooms, bathrooms, and kitchen in two different sessions every day; they provide options for mixed-gender 4 bed dorms, female only 4 bed dorms, & private bedrooms; there is plenty of common room space to meet new friends or to get any online work done; the kitchen provides generous space and amenities for cooking; and the location is incredible for exploring downtown & being within walking distance of more events, bars, & restaurants than one could experience in a single trip. Even if something isn’t exactly within “walking distance”, there is an electric scooter hub right out the front doors. Downtown and the surrounding points of interest like Ocean Beach or Pacific Beach are also very accessible by car with short drives compared to most places I’ve been; I’ll add more detailed info about parking at the end.
Whether you are traveling by yourself and looking to jump into the weekly events hosted by the hostel to meet new friends, or if you are traveling with others and just need some suggestions of what to do, there are opportunities for everyone regardless if you are bringing expendable money or not. The hostel provides fun and discounted events every day that allow you to get to know other guests very easily. From movie nights and karaoke, to taco Tuesdays and going out to a club on Saturdays, there is definitely an event for anyone and everyone to enjoy!
The kitchen is usually the most popular & social spot in the entire hostel. It can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but if keeping to yourself while cooking & eating is your thing then there is still usually enough room for everyone to have their own space. You might have to wait your turn to wash your dishes during peak cooking hours, but with patience and responsibility for your own mess, I promise you will be more respected and appreciated by the facility & staff!
There is a huge common room that is usually less occupied than the kitchen but typically has people hanging out on their computers or watching sports on the television. Other common rooms include a dedicated “TV” room that only has streaming apps like Netflix, a reading room with a few book cases of provided options to read in silence, and also a computer room that has a desktop for general use & extra tables for individual laptop use in a quieter setting than the other common areas.
There are only 2 shower rooms and 2 toilet rooms per floor, but most of the time this isn't an issue and it is easy to go to another floor to utilize either. I was never upset with the cleanliness of any of these rooms. There is also a dedicated sink room for brushing your teeth, daily skin routines, or for getting ready as you need. They also provide a generic assortment of amenities in this room such as a full size mirror, hair blowers, straighteners, curlers, and also an iron & ironing board.
There are several parking lot options within the same block of the hostel, all of them offer 24 hour rates, and some offer discounted month-long parking rates. I personally parked my car in the “Park it on Market” garage on the next street over and I was very happy with the safety of my car as they have someone on sight 24/7. I valued this especially since I have a cargo topper and cargo boxes on top of my car and I didn’t want to worry about them getting tampered with. I only needed