Hostels in San Francisco - an Inexpensive Way to Stay in San Francisco

A few years ago, a friend and I decided to open a youth hostel in San Francisco. We took a Youth Hostel Management Certification Program with Hostelling International and then stayed at several of the hostels in San Francisco to scope out the competition. San Francisco has a lot of hostels as, along with New York and Atlanta, it's one of the 'gateways for international travels to the USA'. We stayed at most of them over a three month period. Some were wonderful, some terrible, but all taught us something about opening a youth hostel.

San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Hostel (Hostelling International) - 1-888-GO-HI-USA - Simply one of my favorite youth hostels ever. This San Francisco hostel does everything the right way. They have free breakfast, free WiFi, free parking, and awesome café and it's in one of the most beautiful locations in San Francisco - Fort Mason, near the Golden Gate bridge. You can even see Alcatraz from the hostel grounds. Also, North beach, the marina, Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown were within walking distance. The hostel has dormitories and private rooms. I stayed in a private room and it was perfect. It's incredibly clean, the food in the café was delicious - their pancakes and eggs are superb - (one of the best things about the stay) and the bed was comfortable.

San Francisco Downtown Hostel (Hostelling International) - 1-888-GO-HI-USA. Another Hostelling International hostel in San Francisco, this one was awful. It was not very clean, the bed was uncomfortable (I had a private room) with an ensuite bath, which was small and not too clean. Like the other Hostelling International hostels, it had everything. Free breakfast, free WiFi, luggage storage, and some great tours you could organize around San Francisco - but this didn't make up for the general dinginess of the place. I really liked the location here as it is downtown, so it was easier to get around than the Fisherman's Wharf Hostel, although not as picturesque, but I wouldn't stay here again due to the general run-down nature of the hostel. The staff is not too friendly either.