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
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
15 October 2025
Exceptional
I liked the necessities along with free wi-fi that was important when helping me with my homework in my 3 day stay. I come to visit family and friends when I am in town along with business Adventures. The staff is amazing even the security.
The cleaning Maintenance has issues with knocking on the doors and walking right in. I experienced it with a male and female who comes in when I was their getting dressed or preparing to get dressed walked in without knocking saying"Sorry." I guess people do not believe in knocking before entering or saying house keeping. That was a red flag for me.
13 October 2025
Great place to stay with a friendly and helpful staff members. As a female solo traveler, felt really safe also.
Clean, convenient, easy access and safe.
9 October 2025
Amazing hostel as never!
The kitchen, the patio, the location!!
8 October 2025
Great time
Best stay. Safe, good value for money, great friendly staff, amazing kitchen, comfortable beds, shared bathrooms were clean and well maintained. Loved it!
5 October 2025
Fabulous
It was clean and the location is amazing
More events needed to gather people to socialize
5 October 2025
Very good
Good location and vibe
The breakfast was good but limited
4 October 2025
Coffee/tea station, no refill for 3 days. (Hot chocolate was out for 3 days, tea and coffee supply w
Ice was inoperative, so employee didn’t care when asked her if someone can fix it, she doesn’t seem care even it’s not working.
No curtains by the beds, whole bed make noise when you move each time.
2 October 2025
Well laid out and organised events a bonus
Location and clean
As said
30 September 2025
Very good
I didn’t stay long enough to experience the breakfast.
N/a
29 September 2025
A night in Santa Monica on the way to SFO.
It's a hostel (please note this) with a very good location. I'd like to highlight its cleanliness, close to the beach and the bars and clubs. The staff is very friendly, and the breakfast is affordable. I must congratulate them for keeping the hostel in such good condition.
Parking is not included; you have to pay per day (USD 30) in a parking across from the hostel. Breakfast is not included; you have to pay for it. It's a low price, and while it doesn't offer much variety, it's a quick option.
28 September 2025
Recommended!
Double private room, cleanliness, staff, facilities, location
27 September 2025
I’ll stay there every time I go to Santa Monica!
It’s perfect location, everything is very clean, guest usually so respectful and the staff really nice! I stayed there twice and I had a great time!
Nothing
24 September 2025
It is one of the best hostels I have ever been
Location, staff, breakfast, and facilities were all great
I think there must be curtain for beds
23 September 2025
Exceptional
Absolutely perfect
23 September 2025
Fabulous
The location is perfect, by Santa Monica beach. The hostel is very clean, and I love all the amenities (kitchen, courtyard, pool table, library, tv room).
I did not know that the breakfast is not included anymore, so that was a bit of a bummer. But I understand that due to US tariffs, they had to adjust their prices as they are an international structure. It is always hard to get good sleep depending on your roommates but that is what it is in the hostel. Sometimes some of the staff is not as friendly., but they are always helpful!
22 September 2025
It was an amazing hostel
Very clean bathroom, breakfast for 5$ and very complete, big kitchen !
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
- - Higher level 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

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