Wanderstay Houston Hostel

Location & Accessibility: Highly praised for proximity to public transit , downtown Houston, and nearby amenities .

Everything is as great here as other reviews say... except my check-in. I'd driven 14 hours across Texas and arrived, exhausted, at 3 minutes before 9pm closing to find... the hostel was in the middle of a construction zone, and the person who answered the phone said she knew nothing about anywhere except the block in front of the hostel. The "emergency" person who answered after 9pm (because I couldn't get into parking) said she couldn't find me on the guest list so could do nothing except send a message that would probably be answered the next day. I was left alone in a sketchy part of a big city. After an hour, and taking to the few other guests I saw, I figured it out on my own. This was no way to welcome a traveler to the hostel and Houston! (At least everything else was wonderful.)

I was here with my college-age daughter for two nights in June, my first time at this hostel. I'll break it down as such: THE GOODS - Houston is a sprawling city, but this location is right where I wanted to be - I was here for the Museum District and the downtown area primarily and this was mere minutes away with my car. Even had I traveled on foot there were places to eat, as documented in the hostel's common area. They even gave directions to Beyonce's childhood home which is in the neighborhood. - Free street parking in front of the hostel, with plenty of room. - Friendly check-in process - note the check-in takes place from 4-9pm. was walked through the various codes I needed to use for the gate, the front door, and my room. - The common area is pretty cozy with board games and such, and one of the nights I was there I saw some people hanging out there which was nice. Had we not had evening plans and been general Eastern-Time-Zone zombies by the time we got back, we probably would have checked it out more. - Our room had a bunk bed setup, floor and ceiling fan, and even an ensuite bathroom - for $60/night this is a very good deal! No noise at night, a very peaceful room setup. THE NOT-SO-GOODS - When I first arrived, I was admittedly a little underwhelmed with the location - the neighborhood, at least on a summer afternoon, had a quiet, almost abandoned feel, and the hostel's street is directly next to the banks of an elevated highway. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a slight feeling of uneasiness. But this was all my imagination attempting to play tricks on me, and there was nothing wrong at all and again I was happy to be so close to the places I wanted to visit in town. And as mentioned, the highway noise didn't impact our rest. - That's it! Simply put, this was a great base for our time in the city and when I return to Houston I will definitely plan on this as my lodging.