# Best hostel in San Francisco plus more **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2002, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603 "2002-04-25T18:57:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MattK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MattK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattK)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/1 "2002-04-25T18:57:16Z")
Some might remember my LA thread. No more, I finally found a cheap flight to SF and booked it this morning. Now I have to choose a youth hostel. There seem to be three major ones I found at [http://www.hostels.com/us.ca.sf.html:](http://www.hostels.com/us.ca.sf.html:) -Adelaide Hostel/Hotel -Pacific Tradewinds Hostel -Hostelling International-San Francisco-City Center So far, i think the Adelaide would be the best value, since it is only $19 and I get a free breakfast. Any experiences/tips/warnings? I’m not sure if I need an international hostel pass. Plus, what cool things can I do from the 20th - 28th of May in SF, besides the obvious? Food/entertainment should be as cheap as possible, and to tell you what I’m interested in, well I’m kind of a geek. Mucho into music and design. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/2 "2002-04-25T19:43:45Z")
A couple of years ago we stayed at the Hotel Fitzgerald [this](http://fitzgeraldhotel.com) which was very clean, family owned and about $60 a night. Not for everyone, as it was in an area that had a lot of hookers. (The hotel didn’t.) I would stay there again. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/3 "2002-04-25T20:07:40Z")
I haven’t stayed there myself, but I’ve heard good things about the Pacific Tradewinds. The membership card won’t do you much good anywhere except the HI hostel, and even there, they’ll probably let you stay without one for a few extra bucks, so don’t bother if you don’t have one already. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/4 "2002-04-25T20:24:05Z")
When I was in college, we always stayed at the Green Tortoise hostel when we went to SF. Major attraction? It’s got a sauna. Woo hoo! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![MattK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MattK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattK)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/5 "2002-04-26T03:51:53Z")
I read very bad reviews of the Green Tortoise… ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/6 "2002-04-26T04:06:00Z")
Interesting. What’d they say? It’s been a good six or seven years since I’ve been there. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![derTintenfisch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ea924/32.png) [@derTintenfisch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/derTintenfisch)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/7 "2002-04-26T08:09:27Z")
I just stayed at a HI hostel in San Francisco last weekend - I believe it was $22 or so a night with or w/o HI memebership. It’s in a great location for seeing Fisherman’s Wharf (inside Fort Mason). People were heading to bed at 10pm - not terribly social (at least compared to my hostel experiences in Italy). The bathrooms were iffy, but the staff seemed nice, and there was lots of info for stuff to do. All 3 SF HI hostels are on this page: [http://www.norcalhostels.org/](http://www.norcalhostels.org/) ---
**Author:** ![MattK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MattK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattK)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/8 "2002-04-26T14:38:35Z")
They said the Green Tortoise hostel was nasty and the staff very rude. [http://www.sftravel.com/greentortoisehostel.html](http://www.sftravel.com/greentortoisehostel.html) I don’t know maybe it’s different people now. ---
**Author:** ![MattK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MattK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattK)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hostel-in-san-francisco-plus-more/105603/9 "2002-04-26T21:09:12Z")
Has nobody been at either the Adelaide Hostel or the Pacific Tradewinds Hostel? I can’t decide which one to book. Both offer a few percent off when booking a full week.