HI Hostel Santa Monica, Los Angeles
Expert reviews
“This great value hostel is adjacent to Venice and the famed Pacific beaches, and has 260 beds spread around colourful dorms, doubles and family rooms, plus kitchen, library and laundry facilities.”
What guests liked
- Friendly staff
- Santa Monica
- Top location
- Boutique style
All you need to know
Just two blocks from the beautiful Santa Monica Beach, HI Santa Monica hostel enjoys a superb location close to cafes, restaurants and movie theatres. The world-famous Third Street Promenade, known for its weekly farmers’ markets, excellent food, great shopping and engaging street performers, is nearby.
The largest purpose-built hostel in the USA, there is a capacity for 273 guests and a wide range of facilities including free breakfast, Internet access, a well-equipped kitchen and daily movies.
Hotel deals & lowest price guarantee
We partner with Booking.com and Agoda. Both booking websites offer the lowest price guarantee so you can be certain you will always get the best deal for this hotel. If you have seen a better price elsewhere, all you need to do is contact the booking website and they will refund you the difference immediately. You can price match right up until the day before check-in.
Location
Recent guest reviews
11 December 2025
Sollid budget stay in a great location
Great location, walking distance to the pier and the beach. Close to many restaurants and shops. Trader Joe's is 5-10 minutes walk away, so is a train station that takes you directly to Downtown LA. The hostel organises daily activities for travellers. The receptionist was very helpful and check in process went smoothly.
10 December 2025
Very good
The location and the crew workers
9 December 2025
Great for short stays in Santa Monica.
Excellent location, public transport from LAX was so easy and cheap. The hostel is only one block away from Santa Monica beach, not far from Santa Monica Pier and really close to a variety of restaurants, souvenir shops, supermarkets and pubs. The hostel is quite modern, safe, clean and comfortable. I loved the fireplace in the common area.
My bed wasn't the most comfortable, I think the mattress/springs had seen better days. But it was okay for a couple of nights.
8 December 2025
Clean and social hostel in prime location.
Had everything you needed. Excellent location. Was cleaned regularly. Staff were helpful and friendly.
Could be slight improvement from privacy perspective in the form of curtains attached to the bunk bed. Apart from that no other suggestions!
8 December 2025
Exceptional
Really great place to stay. The rooms were clean really clean and the bed was super confortable. The Staff is very friendly and helpful and all the amenities are ideal for backpacking!
6 December 2025
Great
All
Hospitality
6 December 2025
Great hostel with nice facilities!
Perfect location—close to the Metro, beach, shops, and restaurants.
5 December 2025
Thank you for the hospitality
Clean facilities including bathrooms and common areas , quiet, respectful welcoming staff
5 December 2025
Great hostel, great location, great price; stayed here twice and plan to again
It's amazing to get such great value and be a short walk to the beach and the Pier! I stayed in a 6-bed dorm. There was a bathroom ensuite, so only we 6 had access to the shower, and toilet. The staff is SO nice, they can give great directions and make recommendations for activities, plus the hostel has activities of their own. Such a fun place and I plan to stay there on every trip to LA!
This isn't anything to really do with the hostel, but I feel that the experience of getting to meet people from all over the world, hang out and talk is gone due to cell phones. Whether you're in the courtyard, the dining hall or even your room, it seems like everyone is just obsessed with the phone or laptop. And it's a shame, because many years ago when I traveled the world, I met so many people and formed friendships. I will say that the Santa Monica hostel, with all of their activities does try to get people together with entertainment rather than constant looking at devices.
3 December 2025
Exceptional
The comedy show was so fun
2 December 2025
Very good
Easy to make friends there.
Beds made a lot of noise.
25 November 2025
Super
Great location, very clean
19 November 2025
Exceptional
Bring back the breakfast for 5-10 dollars 🤨. Place is amazing! I always stay there, if I need to relax.
18 November 2025
Very good
Good location!
It would be better if the beds had curtains to provide more privacy.
17 November 2025
Great location, great value
Location and price
Wish you had a little basket next to the bed lights to hold phones,cetc.
17 November 2025
I stay here several times a year and I am always so happy to return.i feel like i am vacation abroad it’sall if the trav
Front desk staff is always so pleasant, friendly and helpful. Great way to start your stay.
Location, cleanliness, friendly fellow travelers
16 November 2025
Exceptional
Location is great, it’s clean, provide towel and floor towel
No curtains on beds, window in room wouldn’t close so it was cold
16 November 2025
Great place safe and friendly
Clean, safe and close to everything
I loved everything as it was my first time in a hostel
13 November 2025
Very good
Good price and location
The bed doesn’t have curtains with limited privacy and my bed was not stable enough and if you climb up and move a bit, it makes noise which is kinda annoying
13 November 2025
100% satisfied, next time I’ll choose this hostel again!
Everything perfect
11 November 2025
Overall good
Their location was good because it was in the Santa Monica area.
Nothing.
9 November 2025
Big, clean and safe hostel in a very good location.
Big clean hostel in a very good location walking distance from Santa Monica pier. 10 min walk to Santa Monica downtown metro stop. Very clean bathrooms and showers. You get towels for free. They also have free beach towels and games. The kitchen is amazing and very big and clean, the best kitchen I have seen in a hostel ever!
8 November 2025
Fabulous
Good location. Clean.
8 November 2025
HI LA never disappoints and will be back in the future.
Location, options
N/A
7 November 2025
Clean rooms, clean bathrooms and good ventilation in the rooms. Great people and front desk and thanks to Francis one of
Clean rooms, clean bathrooms and good ventilation in the rooms.
6 November 2025
Exceptional
Clean bathrooms, nice library for me to study.
No free parking or validating parking ticket.
5 November 2025
Good choice
The location is fantastic, close to the beach. And you can take bus from the airport to the hostel. Also, there is a metro station nearby if you want to go to the city centre. The security in this hostel is good as well.
nope
4 November 2025
I feel comfortable like my home very nice people in the front
When I arrived to the place first thing they said was welcome and big smile very friendly ladies and staff she talk to me very kindly and respectful she made me feel very comfortable compared to other places that I have stayed before this is the best thank you again
I love all there
31 October 2025
Ideal location, clean and polite staff.
Located in an ideal location in Santa Monica, close to the beach, bars and the Pier. Clean facilities, baggage stowage and towel provided.
Stuffy rooms.
30 October 2025
Fabulous
A lot of events are organized for travelers to meet. The staff is very helpful and friendly. And the facility is clean.
30 October 2025
Exceptional
Great location and great staff, walking is a 10 to w writhing around. The beach, restaurants, shopping and bars are in very close proximity to this wonderful place
29 October 2025
For a hostel it was exceptional, will definitely go back
Location, price, clean and organised was very impressed
Everything was perfect except for a late check in at night that disturbed the room when all 3 of us were asleep
28 October 2025
Very good
Great location, helpful and friendly staff (really appreciate you). Expensive in a vacuum, cheap compared to hotels in the area. Large kitchen with several stations and decent storage space. Several seating and hangout places both inside and outside. Felt secure.
I might be spoiled from spending a lot of time in Japan and staying at good hostels, but this stay felt like a factory for mass producing mediocre+ stays. Of course I've seen much worse places too, so I still gave this place a decent score. Maybe it's because I arrived late, but didn't get any explanation about the facilities. Didn't even know that there's a kitchen I could use until my last day there. Some places give a tour and guide to the bed, so an explanation is the least they can do. Considering it's size, I guess it's well maintained, but overall I think they should've prioritized quality over quantity. Too many beds for too little showers and restrooms, probably cleaned only once a day too so it can get dirty. Too many beds for staff to clean properly (found hairs on sheets). Would have appreciated at least curtains for the beds if not even pod style beds like they do in Japan that give more privacy, darkness to sleep at night and quiet from the other guests.
27 October 2025
Very good
Building was modern and clean. The staff was friendly and helpful!! I really enjoyed their recommendations. I think the food options for breakfast were decent (though I didn't eat any) and the location is perfect! A quick walk to the beach!! I also appreciated the industry sized kitchen with SEVERAL fridges to store food and plenty of microwaves and seating for everyone. The beds were reasonably comfy and for the location, it was a great price.
I think it's definitely an American hostel. The guests were young and rowdy and often left community spaces in disarray. The bathrooms were constantly out of paper towels and people left the bathrooms in a disgusting state (unflushed toilets, period stains, hair and other stuff in showers). People also came into the room loud in the middle of the night, left their stuff strewn about and were vaping and drinking in the room. I don't this this is the fault of the owners! This is the first American hostel I've stayed at and felt like the rumors about hostels were true. I never encountered the same problem in shared spaces from day to day, so they were cleaning, but considering I was there for 3 nights and the same issues kept popping up, it's just something I probably won't stay in this style of hostel again.
26 October 2025
Safe and great location
Great location, safe, clean, you can cook in the kitchen. We were 2 girls and felt safe. Great location. They even give you towels.
All was good
26 October 2025
Great place
Everything was clean, comfy, and the staff was friendly.
25 October 2025
Very good
Air conditioner can be jusst a little bit better at 8 person room's. Otherwise everything was okay.
24 October 2025
Exceptional
Perfect location, easy by métro
22 October 2025
Perfect hostel to stay in Santa Monica
My second time there. Rooms and bathrooms are clean and the staff is very friendly. The location is the best in Santa Monica
Last year the breakfast was included. Now I had to pay $7 for it. It’s not amazing but it’s not bad
21 October 2025
Fabulous
Ottima gestione. Bene frequentato
21 October 2025
Fur sure for Sure
the kitchen is a bargain their should be free drinking water and akaline
Bus Tours sound attractive - Super Priced And more Dancing Girls !!!!
20 October 2025
Great place in a good location
Clean and well equipped
None
20 October 2025
Clean, easy stay
Locations and fun atmosphere.
19 October 2025
Great location in Santa Monica
Great location in Santa Monica
They charge for leaving the luggage before check in and after checkout
19 October 2025
Fantastic
The best hostel I’ve ever been. All is new and very clean, and decoration is so cozy. Even shared bathroom it is very clean, there’s floor towel at the bathroom, liquid soap disposal, hairdryer. The staff are very polite and helpful. Hostel is able to receive packages and stuff you need to be received at the hostel. It’ very close to Santa Monica pier, it’s possible to get there by walk, the location is perfect.
It’s not a too relevant point, but wise card was not accepted as a payment card.
16 October 2025
It exceeded my expectations!
Comfortable beds. Very clean and big shared toilet. Big locker, get your own padlock. Very artistic design. A few minutes to the beach ⛱️ Excellent location, 20 minutes from LAX airport 🛫 They have events and activities. Excellent value for money!
NOTHING!
16 October 2025
Very good
Brilliant location close to downtown, the beach and the pier, basic but very clean and comfortable and not noisy at all
16 October 2025
I loved my stay!!
It's a very high-end hostel because of the number of facilities they have. They also have different organized activities you can join each day. On my last night, it was a movie night. The hostel is well maintained and with very approachable staff. Very near the beach and the train station / bus stations. A few mins away from the airport as well. And oh!! I love the kitchen!!!
I would love to have a divider/curtain per bed to have some privacy. :)
16 October 2025
Exceptional
It was great for one stay. Room was clean with comfortable bed
Hotel facilities
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Luggage storage (additional charge)
- - ATM/cash machine on site
- - Lockers
- - Invoice provided
Outdoors
- - Garden
- - Outdoor furniture
General
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Lift
- - Heating
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Vending machine (drinks)
- - Vending machine (snacks)
- - Shared lounge/TV area
Activities
- - Hiking
- - Beach
- - Stand-up comedy
Cleaning services
- - Daily housekeeping
Parking
- - Parking garage
- - Electric vehicle charging station
- - Accessible parking
Accessibility
- - Wheelchair accessible
- - Toilet with grab rails
- - Raised toilet
Miscellaneous
- - 24-hour security
- - Key card access
- - Smoke alarms
- - CCTV in common areas
- - CCTV outside property
- - Fire extinguishers
- - Access to health care professionals
- - Face masks for guests available

More photos

12 December 2025
Exceptional