Modern Hostel

As a first timer, I expected more from this small hostel. It didn’t match the online listing. Our flight was delayed, and when we arrived after midnight, the manager left us waiting outside for 40 minutes. She’d given our bed to someone else, so my partner and I had to share one bunk. I’d tried to contact the property to ask about check-in time, which was stated in the booking. The manager kept insisting the confirmation was for one adult, but it clearly said one booking for two adults. There was also a hole in the bathroom wall. In a building with 20 people, it was the only shower, and I had to wait two or three hours to use it. The carpets were torn and stained, water covered the floor after showers, and there was mould on the walls. My partner has asthma, so we have to be careful about mould. A man sleeping in our room was hostile to both of us and tried to tell us where we could sleep. In the morning he told us to take our conversation downstairs, even though he was up and walking in and out of the room. I didn’t feel safe or comfortable, especially as a tourist from England visiting the USA for the first time in years, after hearing all sorts of things about what had happened there. We decided to go somewhere else. I asked the manager if we could get a refund and leave. First she said she could give us one, then a minute later changed her mind and said we had to go through the third party we booked with. The WiFi was down, so I couldn’t use my phone because I had no data. When we decided to leave, she told us it was working again, but by then it was too late. I understand this place also serves people on low incomes who can’t afford motels or hotels, as well as tourists looking for cheap stays. But if you want privacy and your own bathroom and bedroom, I’d spend more and stay elsewhere. The company could renovate, sort out problems between customers, and warn people when someone is threatening and hostile to other guests. That’s how they’re losing money.

When I came back to the hostel after a day out, my backpack was gone. A woman sharing my room said she saw someone take it. That person claimed it belonged to a friend and walked out with it. I reported it right away to the manager and staff, but they just said there was nothing they could do and accepted no responsibility. It wasn’t lost outside or misplaced by me. Someone got into the hostel, which has a door passcode, and took it. I consider that theft and think the hostel should take responsibility and compensate me. They’re still ignoring the incident. I filed a report with the U.S. police and contacted the booking platform’s customer service, but there’s little more I can do myself. I could have come to terms with losing my things to some extent. What I can’t accept is the hostel’s indifferent, irresponsible response. There’s no basic CCTV, and they seem to be brushing it aside. There’s also nothing being done about guests tattooing people illegally. In the 4-bed Room 7 where I stayed, a guest was doing tattoos in the bathroom. It disturbed our sleep, and it seems to hide criminal activity in a business. It was disturbing and unacceptable. This is Modern Hostel at 142 West 54th Street, Los Angeles, California. I’m sharing this so nobody else becomes a victim like I did.

The people running this place seem to care about making money above anything else. They build houses and cram each property with 80 people, literally 80 on one lot. These aren’t backpacking tourists, they’re 100% locals without stable housing. There’s often a reason people have nowhere else to go. Some residents are nice, but the situation is generally awful, and the facilities are pretty unsanitary. Residents try to keep them clean, but it’s not really possible.

The photos on Priceline matched what you get: a bed, pillow, sheet, and blankets. There are showers and several bathrooms, but bring your own towel, hand soap, and hand sanitizer. There’s a kitchen, though you have to make your own food, and I wouldn’t be surprised if cookware and dishes were on you too. The bunk beds were pretty shaky, and I’m not a big guy.