Hostelling International Baltimore

I stayed at this hostel for the 4^th of July weekend. Originally, I was just going to be down here because my cousin was going to have a wedding in Upper Marlboro, but I decided that I was going to stay for the weekend so I could see some things I hadn’t before (Ocean City, MD and Virginia Beach). I had wanted to stay in HI-​Washington D.C., but according to
, it was full. Not wanting to stay in the hostel that I previously was in in D.C., I opted for this brownstone located in Downtown Baltimore. It’s very comfortable, clean, and safe (like all the HI hostels that I’ve been to in the past). The kitchen is available for anyone to use at all hours of the day. There’s parking in the back ($ 8/​day), however, it is limited to 8 spaces, forcing others to find parking lots in the city, or worse, street parking. The building has no elevator. It wasn’t a problem for me, but it might be for someone who has a lot of bags or is handicapped.
The best thing about this place is the staff. They are extremely helpful, especially when I had a problem with one of my roommates. It was taken care of immediately and I did not have to pay one cent for it (I won’t say what it was because of it’s grotesque nature). I ended up having a great conversation with one of them. He told me of his story of him (practically) adopting a Haitian child, who eventually came to the states and is now (practically) his son! Was such a sweet story!
One thing that I really didn’t like (which may or may not be the hostel’s fault) was the lack of mingling with the other guests. It doesn’t seem to have the same type of atmosphere that many other HI hostels have (ex. Group tours). It may be that it’s so close to Washington D. C (a 40-​minute drive down I-​95 or the Baltimore Washington Parkway) that tourists probably just decide to go there, taking away the foot traffic that might’ve come here. Also, the riots that happened a few months ago may have had a hand in it too.
Regardless of this, If I ever need to come back to Baltimore, I would definitely stay here!

Really great hostel! Friendly staff, nice people staying, it’s clean, and they offer free pancakes & coffee for breakfast. I was really surprised by how big and open the downstairs area is, and the beds in the rooms are really comfy. Not a private room option, but if you don’t mind being around a bunch of other people it’s totally fine. (The dorm style rooms are also large!) Plus the location is good — a ten minute walk to Lexington Market, and on a nice day you can walk to Inner Harbor, no problem. I wish I knew about this place the last time I was in town! Definitely would stay here again!

HI-​Baltimore is the BEST! I stayed for four nights in May, and I truly enjoyed by stay at the hostel and Baltimore. As someone who has been hosteling in the US and Europe since the 1990’s, HI-​Baltimore is one of the best around with a homey feel, personal staff, and great accommodations.
The highlight of my trip was taking the City Tour led by James who works at the Hostel. As a life-​long Baltimore resident, James was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the City and he had much to share. He took us to through the Mt. Vernon and Midtown neighborhoods and showed us some really interesting outdoor murals on the tour. We received restaurant reviews and entertainment recommendations, discussed the history of Baltimore, walked past important City landmarks, and were given and insider’s tour of the local scene. We visited neighborhoods and sites that I would have never seen if I had stayed at a larger hotel. We stopped at Red Emma’s (the radical bookstore/​vegetarian restaurant/​coffee roaster/​space for public events —
) for a look along the way — a very cool hangout. Visiting Graffiti alley and Cat Island was truly memorable. We returned to the hostel by taking the Charm City Circulator (for free —
).
The location of the hostel is EXCELLENT! It is situated right across the street from the Basilica of the Archdiocese of Baltimore —
. The local neighborhood around the hostel is safe (relatively). Like any large city, you have to be careful no matter where you go. While running around the Hostel in the early morning and evenings, I didn’t have any problems with crime or unwanted encounters.
There is an amazing Oriental Grocery store only 1 ½ blocks away — Potung Trading (321 Park Ave Baltimore, MD 21 201) (
) is family-​owned and has been operating in the same location for the past 20 years. The owners ship in fresh Chinese Bakery sweets from NYC once or twice a week and the selection of groceries and fruits and vegetables is amazing. This is a definite grocery shopping resource if you are staying at the hostel. I brought groceries back to the hostel and placed it into the kitchen/​refrigerator in my labeled bins.
The free breakfast at the hostel is a definite plus. Pancake batter is prepared ready for guests to make their own pancakes with blueberry and/​or chocolate chip toppings. I, on the other hand, had oatmeal every morning with chocolate chips or blueberries or raisins. I loved the awesome free-​trade coffee that was served at the hostel (
) The kitchen is well equipped with all the cooking utensils and spices that you need. The same goes for all the plates, cups, and eating utensils. Everyone cleaned up after themselves and the kitchen was always tidy.
The rooms were very adequate for my needs. I stayed in a twelve-​bed room — there were only 6 – 7 guys there at any given time. We had air conditioning which was needed since the days hovered in the mid-​80s degree Fahrenheit temperatures during the days. We were provided with two pillows, sheets, and a blanket. Extra blankets were available if needed.
This hostel is very well managed and cared for. The employees of HI-​Baltimore are great and very friendly and helpful. I stayed for movie night one day and had free popcorn. There are plenty of comfortable couches and chairs in the living room to hang out. I enjoyed browsing the books and DVDs in the living rooms. Mostly, I periodically watched Cable TV with other guests, and we laughed at the goofy reality shows that played on the screen as each of us were immersed in surfing the internet on our computers/​tablets. The hostel WiFi signal was very strong on every floor and I didn’t have a problem with streaming videos or signal interruption.

Bathrooms were very clean and the number of facilities was very adequate. Even through we had a shower, sink, and toilet connected to the room, I didn’t want to disturb my roommates because I always woke up early in the morning, I always used the bathrooms and shower in the hallway. There was never a wait for the bathroom facilities and one was always available when I needed it. The bathrooms and showers were kept very clean.
The stay cost me $ 22 per night — a great deal for an awesome Hostelling experience. I even did a load of laundry before I left which was so convenient (wash $ 2 & dry $ 2).
I truly enjoyed my stay at the HI-​Baltimore. I know that I will visit again the next time I am in Baltimore.

Travel Tips:
— Bring a lock if you want to lock up your valuables during the day.
— Bring your own soap and shampoo.
— Bring shower slippers if community showers freak you out.
— Take the City Tour offer by the hostel (FREE)
— Take the tour of the Basilica across the street (FREE)
— Use the Charm City Circulator to get around town (FREE)

I truly enjoyed my stay at HI-​Baltimore. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Great accommodations, clean rooms and toilets. Steady and strong WiFi.
The location is great. Across the street from the Baltimore Basilica and offices of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. A short 10 – 15 minute walk to the Convention Center. Close to the light-​rail and near the Charm City Circulator (free buses, including one that can drop you to/​from Penn Station (Amtrak/​train).
The HI has events throughout the week and dinners planned too: from a walking tour to the cemetery where Edgar Allan Poe is buried to taco night and more.
Convenient booking online; HI-​stamp-​of-​approval. Af ew small complaints, the main one was that Wish their breakfast started earlier, 7:30am is too late as I was out the door each day prior. But it doesn’t impact my 5-​star rating.

One of the cutest, cleanest hostels I’ve ever been to around the world with very friendly and sweet staff!

I really like this hostel. The location is pretty central to some great spots. The beds (2 pillows and 2 blankets provided) and restrooms are sufficient.
Free pancakes in the am. Free coffee and tea all day. Free wifi. A game room and laundry room. Large kitchen for use all day. Huge common room w tv/​DVD player. Piano, guitar and PC (w digi-​camera for skype) also available in the common room.
The greeter was welcoming, the recommendations were solid and close by. Try Tabor one block up!

In serious need of some TLC, If it isn’t broken then it’s breaking… This is the first hostel international (and I have stayed in 4 over the last 6 weeks) that has absolutely NO atmosphere. Like none. It is seriously like a retirement home. The lack of atmosphere is quite typical of a HI hostel (I put it down to the no alcohol rule) but they usually make up for having engaging activities or communal things to do (like cooking classes where people drop in and help cook and then everyone eats).
The staff were friendly and knowledgable enough of the city (it’s a shame there is nothing interesting to actually do here).
The bed wasn’t very comfortable due to the excessive wet protection sheet thing, but it was clean, the air conditioning was pretty good and the wifi was excellent. — for these reasons this hostel gets 2 stars. Sorry guys.

If you’ve stayed at a hostel, then you know what you’re getting yourself into. Do not expect sparkling floors, queen sized beds, or room service. But do expect friendly staff, (generally) friendly visitors, and a reasonable hostel experience.
I stayed here for four nights while in Baltimore and I have no complaints. At $ 25/​night, it’s a little pricy, but still better than any hotel you’re going to get. Location is right in downtown Baltimore, near the Baltimore basilica and a short walk from the harbourplace.
Rooms were clean and bathrooms aplenty. I stayed in a 10-​person room (5 bunks) which had its own bathroom including shower. There are at least two additional showers on the floor and one extra bathroom. I never had to wait to bathe myself (probably for the better).
Breakfast is included and is standard hostel fare: pancake mix, oatmeal, pop tarts. Good enough for me!

Horrendous staff, rude and obnoxious, in particular Greta. She gave us incorrect directions, twice, at night, in the rain, and bad neighborhood, check in took over an hour even though we said we are in a hurry and needed to be somewhere. She implied that I had booked incorrectly (was not true as per my confirmation), didn’t accept my lifetime membership confirmation email and said it could be a fake and didn’t bother checking with the hostelling organization which is protocol in such cases. Rooms including bathrooms were not cleaned the entired time I was there, trashcans were full and roomies said that no clearning crew had come through on Friday (Friday evening to Sunday morning). The rooms were small and stuffy, beds are tiny, curtains weren’t opened all day and the pipes are creaking all night. Parking behind the hostel is dangerous because the spaces are so tiny and keys have to be given to the staff. There is a parking structure just around the corner that is safer and cheaper !
The locks on the women’s dorms doesn’t work and on Saturday one male staffer came to the room without knocking, not ok.
Several girls in my dorm experience the same type of treatment, one got yelled at for supposedly slamming a door. The doors don’t have hinges that would close them slowly, not something a guest would know, yelling hardly seems to be an appropriate response.
I have stayed in many hostels in many countries, this one is the worst, just based on staff behavior and conduct, I feel bad for all the international visitors who have to endure them.

Not much to say. I’ve spent several nights here, over the course of a few trips to Baltimore. The price is right, the reservation process easy, they have all the services they advertise. The neighborhood felt safe, and they gave clean sheets.
This was actually my first hostel experience, and every visit since has been a delight. Highly recommended!

I stayed here the week after Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, and it was very empty and quiet inside. That’s nice if you like peace and quiet which I do.
My original reservation was for 3 nights, but I shortened to 2 to leave early in changing my travel itinerary. When my flight to Baltimore was cancelled/​delayed due to Hurricane Sandy, I cancelled my first night, and just stayed for the middle night. Each time I emailed the Hostel to change my plans, and the staff replied back immediately saying No Problem. There were few visitors that week, and no issues with availability. The 12-​person female dorm room I stayed in had only 3 guests including myself, so I had my pick of beds and could even use the upper bunk to lay out a few things, plus lots of floor space to store baggage besides the lockers.
The room even had its own toilet and 2 showers and 2 sinks within the room, so we didn’t have to walk outside to use the bathrooms. My room was about $ 26 per night, including the $ 3/​night non-​member fee, very inexpensive!
Self-​serve pancake breakfast was included from 8:00am. The staff prepared all the materials — batter already made, cast iron pan, spatula, syrup, chocholate chips, butter, etc, and all the plates and utensils you expect to have in a hostel. Very few visitors and no line in the kitchen made breakfast quick and easy. Remember to clean up after yourself! Complimentary Halloween candy was offered in a bowl in the main lobby — a nice touch for the week!
Storing luggage was simple and easy. The staff just took me downstairs to store my baggage after checkout, and I came back afterwards to pick it back up, and even stayed for an hour more to do some work on the internet in the dining room before leaving.
The hostel has free internet, lots of sofas in the living room, tables and chairs in the dining room, and more chairs in the kitchen. Safety and security is important for everyone, so guests are issued our own access codes for the front door as well as for our specific dorm rooms, which are all under electronic combo locks.
The staff was extremely friendly too, helping out in all ways and answering questions about the neighborhood. I came to attend a conference at the Baltimore Convention Center. The staff said that the free bus the Charm Circulator goes in that direction, but it was faster to just walk there myself, about a 10-​minute walk each way. I did take the Charm Circulator to Penn Station to the north when I left as the bus stop was just 1 block away, and it was quite long to the station.
A great place to stay next time I visit Baltimore again!

First and foremost, don’t take Megabus to Baltimore. It leaves you in the ‘burbs and you’ve an hour-​long bus ride into downtown to where your hostel is located in downtown. It’s just a hassle! HI-​Baltimore is located in a really nice part of downtown; it’s close to a lot of the public transportation, the MTA as well as the Charm City Circulator, bars, restaurants, everything.
When I made the reservations, it was really simple. I called the hostel because online, there were no vacanies! Luckily, they had two more beds in the co-​ed dorm for us. It was a VERY last minute trip for Memorial Day weekend, we wanted to get away from the city… so we did! Last minute reservations were still available the week before and it only cost us $ 35/​night. The hostel had wifi, lots of common rooms and communal areas, a back patio for soaking up rays, and lovely air conditioning for the duration of our stay. The front desk people are so helpful, to locking up your luggage in the locker area where staff only have keys to, to telling you about great local places to eat seafood at. One staff member recommended we go to Nick’s at Cross Street Market and although the rest of the market was closed, Nick’s was open! It was there that we had the most amazing raw oysters and met Lisa, the lady-​shucker of oysters that captured our hearts and stomachs. (More about her in another review)
HI-​Baltimore is a really great alternative to pricey hotels and don’t be scared because the facilities, bathrooms, and showers were well maintained for a majority of our stay! Bring flip flops if you’re squeamish about things like that. The price was really good for the «amenities» which included the pancake breakfast and Zeke’s Coffee. I fell in loveeeeee with Zeke’s Coffee but unfortunately, didn’t have time to buy any to bring back! There’s also green tea for non-​coffee drinkers. The kitchen is a great open space with two stoves side by side and plentiful burners. They’ve a vast amount of spices, kitchen supplies, and communal fridges for anyone staying in the hostel. We received bedding, towels, and a blanket for the nights. When you leave, you just bring all the bedding downstairs and put it in the laundry basket for checkout. We didn’t have a chance to speak to a lot of the other guests but everyone that stayed in our room was respectful and even if they weren’t, I was passed out cold by the end of the night from sightseeing and food coma.
Protip: Lexington Market is an essential part of seeing Baltimore, it’s only a short walk from this hostel! We wanted to go back for more oysters but they were closed on a Sunday and they also have a lot of cakes, specialty foods, and interesting stalls to see.
I can’t recommend HI-​Baltimore enough even though it’s already one of the top-​rated hostels on Tripadvisor and Hostelworld! Sending our love from NYC!!!

This was my second Memorial day weekend stay at the Baltimore HI.
Even though they have raised their rates, and my stay the first time wasn’t so pleasant (mostly due to extreme heat, and rommies against AC), I would say this is as good as it gets for budget lodging in downtown Baltimore.
The staff was very helpful… from putting me on the waiting list and getting me booked over a month in advance, to letting me store my bags and allowing me to linger during my late flight limbo.
It’s located across the street from the Basillica, and walking distance to other tourist attractions and pretty much everything else you could want (nightclubs, transit, museums, pubs, grocery& liquor stores, library, monuments, Hospitals, Sunday Market, etc).
Both stays I was in room 4, which is an 8 bed (4 bunks) female dorm. It has an ensuite bathroom, plus two seperate showers and a toilet outside the dorm door. I prefered the hall facilities because the showers seemed to have better heads (preassure) and the can had more leg room. They were all functional and fairly clean, however.
The hostel has a calendar up with local events and specials for guests such as, make your own pizza night, all you can eat pasta night, and holiday grill outs and some social events (movies/​comedy/​poetry/​meetins) for free or very cheap.
There’s a lot of «hang out space», with a large salon (piano, free books, nice furniture, 2 fireplaces), a dining room with plenty of tables, a pay phone, and another fireplace, a patio and deck out back, and a basement with questionable couches and lots of fun potential (movies, cable tv, games, karaōke machine, computer, free corner).
The only DOWNSIDES I can conjure here, or maybe more like personal peeves, really, would be:
— There is a «no alcohol allowed on the premises policy» (but they were definitely not nazis about it). I did get away with my share of discreet beverage chilling by using a paper bag. No biggie.
–The beds and pillows are plastic covered. That can be annoying, but I brought an extra sheet and towel to sleep on, and the added breathability under my face and body helped a lot.
–Cheapo micro-​thin TP. yeah… That’s to be expected, but I’m spoiled (and bring my own anyway).
Other UPSIDES this hostel had:
–Discounts at a nice list of local businesses (including Brewers Art and other pubs and restaurants)
–Keyless 24 hr entry at front door and dorm + security camaras
–Free ear plugs
–Free WiFi and computer use
–Free pancakes and zekes coffee every morning.

During a three night trip to Baltimore, we stayed here to save a bit on lodging. Was a good option for us. The location was very convenient. Public transportation (purple circulator and a number of buses) were nearby. The cost was about $ 30 per person per night. The rooms and common areas were very clean and very well maintained. There was generally staff around and the sheets/​towels were very clean. They use a completely electronic door entry system for the exterior door and room doors which I liked. They’ve also got free computer use/​wifi and free pancake breakfasts. I don’t consider the area sketchy but this is downtown Baltimore where sketchy areas are nearby. Almost on par with European hostels but way better than US hostels.

HI Baltimore is an old mansion that’s in the Federal Hill neighborhood, however it is less than a block away from the west side, which is very sketchy. It’s near the bus lines which is convenient to get to and from the Baltimore neighborhoods and Penn Station. Like another reviewer said, the hostel is a nice place to stay if you’re going to be in town for more than a couple of days since it has a very updated and large kitchen. However, we had beds in the women’s dorms and on the second night of our stay a guy was given the extra bed in our room, not exactly what we were expecting when we paid for a single sex room. And waking up at 7 in the morning all week to take the MARC to D.C. wasn’t pleasant when the shower did not have hot, sometimes not even warm, water.

I took a break from youth hostels for a few years and they now seem to be in much better condition than before. This is the second one I’ve been to in the US with a large kitchen with granite countertops, triple sinks and multiple appliances– making cooking your own food really simple and comfy. The Baltimore hostel is in a very large old house with multiple floors, and the entire first floor is the kitchen/​group eating/​living room/​relaxing space. Upstairs are several large dorm rooms with bunkbeds for 8+ guests. My room was about half full, and had its own adjoining toilet, 2 sinks, and 2 clean showers, which made getting ready very easy.
There are private rooms, I believe, for people who are leery of sleeping in a room with strangers, and getting a private room at the hostel might even be better than staying at a cheap hotel because of all the common amenities (kitchen, outside deck, convenient location, and general esprit de corps). Private rooms are about $ 60 per night.
My only concern with the Baltimore location is that it had a lot of old, kind of strange people staying. They do have a rule that locals can’t stay at the hostel, so these weren’t exactly homeless people off the street, but still, it made me a bit uncomfortable. They didn’t seem like tourists either.
Another negative is that their pillows and mattresses all have plastic covers. The AC blares, though, in the summer, so the plastic doesn’t get too hot.
A Chinatown bus (Double Happyness) from NYC stops less than a block away, but I would recommend instead taking a Bolt bus to the train station and then catching a light rail down to the vicinity of the hostel.