HI Hostel Upper West Side

Hi all,

I have booked to the HI hostel on the upper west side for a few nights. After i booked i realized this is located adjacent to some housing projects. According to my jaded view, this could be a bad thing. I realize that this area of manhattan is pretty desirable. Should i be worried walking around this hostel later in the evening, or the subway station located nearby? Would i be advisable to seek a hostel a bit more upper west side, like more north?

HI Hostel Upper West Side

im thinking of booking at the 1291 hostel new times square instead. i think there is more i want to see in midtown, and its also really close to columbus circle. How is that area?

HI Hostel Upper West Side

Neighborhood is absolutely fine. No worries about walking around anywhere in the neighborhood. It may look a little gritty, but it is a safe as any other neighborhood in Manhattan. Yes, the hostel is next to the projects, but in New York, there are projects in a lot of neighborhoods, ';good'; and ';bad.'; Further North on the Upper West side and you will be too far away from much. Times Square will be more central but also more hectic. Don%26#39;t know about the Times Square hostels, but the HI on Amsterdam and 103rd Street has a lovely garden out back, and also a lot of tables and seating in the front for relaxing and people watching.

You might want to retink 1291 - tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60763-d582691-鈥?/a>

Remember just because it is central and cheap does not make it great. Sightseeig is all over Manhattan, so no matter where you stay, you will still be traveling to different areas. Which is quiet simple with the New York Subway. It is more efficient than ever before and much safer. People who choose to stay either further downtown or further uptown do so due to the difference in the rates of accommodations - in other words cheaper (with exceptions of course) as well as the easy accessibility that the public transport offers. Getting from Point A to Point B is for the most part quiet simple.

Try hostelworld.com (for New York Hostels) or hostelz.com for reviews about hostels.

it seems there is some confusion with the 1291 hostel reviews on trip advisor. By reading some of the reviews, it looks like the 1291 name was used for two different places for awhile, one good, one bad. I think some of the reviews are for the bad one. The swiss 1291 hostel is the top rated hostel in new york on hostel world.

Actually it is the same company - 1291 international. same owner. 1291. Does not have a great reputation at all.

here

http://www.1291beware.bravehost.com/

P.S - Hostelworld allows hostels to edit (in other words hostels are allowed to show good reviews and cancel off the bad ones) thus when you look for a Hostel%26#39;s review, you only see the good ones, because the hostels edit out the bad ones, by choosing not to list it.

I know this system very well.

sorry to relay the bad news.

I agree with MontyM500 that HI is a good choice for its location. Broadway is one block away, an easy and safe walk to bus stops, with a bus coming along every few minutes. The Amsterdam bus is right out in front and runs about every 15 minutes. Get a Metrocard, get on and off all day long for as long as you stay and get quite a savings! You will notice HI just updated renovated and painted interiors...that holds promise for a neat and tidy stay. The tours out of HI are outstandingly good and inexpensive.