ShutEye Hostel

I was put in a bunk above a rude guy who plays video games all night. It's past midnight now, and he's talking out loud to another player. I can't sleep, and I'm leaving Houston a week early because of it. The posted quiet hours and other rules aren't enforced. This doesn't feel like a hostel for travelers. There's a core group of young people here who can't rent elsewhere, and this is their home, so they seem free to do or say what they want. Management doesn't care about short-term visitors and only looks after long-term residents. Bookings are non-refundable.

The manager was the one redeeming part. She understood when I looked at the room and place, turned around, and left. The owner still charged me full price for this honest review. He said, 'we dont respond to threats'. I wasn't threatening him, just saying what I thought. That's a fair response anyone in my situation could have given. I've traveled widely and usually enjoy hostels, but this one was hostel death. There was no chance of getting any sleep. My room was a mess and smelled of weed, and the guy below me played online games loudly with friends on his headset all day and night. In 40C/110F heat, the AC didn't work. The toilet didn't work either. The manager had to reach into the cistern water to lift the latch and flush it. Even hostels in the poorest countries I've visited were far better. The place is in the middle of nowhere, so getting there and back cost me $25 in Uber fares. It wasn't a cheap or pleasant experience. Thumbs down.

If you like living with people who pry into your business, make passive-aggressive comments, tell you how to live, and allegedly try to hack your phone with roach intentions, choose this place.

The bed was pretty comfortable, but that was about it. This isn't a hostel, it's a house where locals live. I had one of my worst nights of sleep there because the AC in my room sounded like a plane taking off. It's way out in the sticks and pretty rough, though I guess you get what you pay for.