Avenues Hostel

The room was overbooked, someone else was already in it, and we ended up split up. Getting to that point took more than half an hour of waiting while the manager shouted at Expedia customer service on the phone. When we arrived, we had a confirmation for four, but staff insisted the booking was for one and blamed us. Eventually they admitted we were right. The manager was snappy and aggressive, and kept calling me “guy.” Hygiene was awful, there was a bad smell, and the fittings were botched. I've never had a worse hostel stay. It was unpleasant from start to finish.

After I moved into the area and had nowhere else to stay, I ended up here, but I wouldn't recommend it. The attendant told me it was like a Hotel 6, though I've never been locked out of one for hours while pounding on the door. I waited in my car until 2 a.m., then one of my roommates finally answered. The attendant wasn't woken by my knocking, but people in the neighboring houses complained about the noise, and I was kicked out. Another guest said this happens often and called the place at least 20 times because the attendant was incompetent. I left my phone in the room, and they still wouldn't refund my laughable night's stay. Now they won't answer my calls about my deposit. I'd like to speak with the owner about the attendant. When I asked what I should have done, he said I should sleep in my car. In Idaho, you can have an intelligent conversation about a problem with a paying customer instead of refusing to deal with them. I don't know how things are done in Utah. DO NOT STAY HERE!

My room was far too warm, though still better than my cramped car. The office was closed and empty at both check-in and check-out, and nobody answered the phone. They lock the doors earlier than they're supposed to and don't show up until you've called several times. When another guest finally reached someone, I was told I'd have to wait an hour for them to come back and return my security deposit, well past checkout time. For one night, it's barely good enough to give you a heated roof over your head. Better than sleeping in a car.

This was my first hostel in the US, and it scared me into checking reviews ahead of time from then on. I only lasted about an hour before leaving. I'm used to Canadian hostels costing 21€ and including blankets, towels, and decent quality. Here, there were no blankets, sheets, or towels. The bathroom was shared, with curtains instead of stall doors, and the showers were divided by curtains too. I didn't try anything beyond that, but the quality drop from what I've had up north was unexpected. I wouldn't recommend staying here.