Nashville Downtown Hostel

Docked a star only because the staff completely forgot to give us our rooms after early check-​in. We arrived before official check-​in time (arrived around 11am). Staff was congenial enough and we left our bags to wander a bit. But having just arrived on an international flight, our tired butts decided to head back and chilled in the lobby area around 1pm, still two hours ahead of 3pm check-​in. When 3pm rolled around though, no one informed us of the room being ready until we went up to reception to ask at 3:30pm. The response: «oh, you guys haven’t gotten your room yet??»
Other than that miscommunication, everything went smoothly. Met some great fellow travelers, the room and bathrooms were clean. Great location, only a couple blocks from Broadway where everything happens in downtown.

Maybe it’s my age showing, but I tend to think of hostels as grimy, grungy places with lots of furniture scrounged from trash heaps or thrift stores. This place is none of those. The place feels new, expensively decorated, and outfitted with all the amenities a weary traveler needs. Reception was helpful and professional and the location couldn’t be better. The building is fantastic on the inside. Overall, my best hostel experience yet.

It was the mist affordable accomodation I could find on the weekend I went.
Wasn’t sure what to expect but the bed was comfy enough. The room was clean. All the girls in my room were civilised & considerate.
The location is also central with lots of food around.

A really great hostel in the heart of Nashville! Seriously the location of this place is awesome. Right near the main strip of bars and food joints! The hostel in itself was awesome too. Its very private and you feel very safe there. The rooms where big and it had nice bathroom facilities. There was also a big common area to chill, cook food, have a few drinks, or play pool or other board games. Highly recommend to stay!

This was my first hostel experience and I was really impressed. It’s new, clean, and a super convenient location. I was going to stay in a hotel outside the city but I would have had a totally different Nashville experience. It was so awesome to just walk out the door to all the downtown excitement. I’m so glad I stayed there. I can’t wait to go back to Nashville!

The staff were utterly mediocre/​unfriendly from the moment we arrived which can really make or break your experience in the hostel world.
I’ve stayed at plenty of hostels all over the world (not to sound douchy) but I’ve acquired a taste for some hostels over others. This one reminded me of the big, metallic, sterile generator hostels where it feels more like a hotel than a cozy hostel where you can mingle and make new friends. The rooms were fine and so were the bathrooms (although the showers were awkward so be prepared to be seen naked and see some other folks naked).
As far as parking– I got lucky. We arrived on a Saturday night (which meant no street parking nearby) but my friend and I didn’t mind walking and found a spot near the fire station. Sunday is free parking so we were able to leave it there and not have to worry about moving it. We ended up not spending a dime on parking! If this doesn’t gel with you there is a parking garage closer but you still have to walk a block or so to the hostel.
And though this may seem unimportant to you– I was surprised there were no recycling bins. I went to the desk to ask about it and not only were they surprised by the question, they were just like, yeah it sucks but that’s Nashville.
No. It’s you. Nashville didn’t make you not give a shit.
This was in the evening and as I looked around at all the booze bottles and water bottles and thought about how many thousands of travelers come and go through here– imagine all that could be recycled and isn’t. All that waste…
Hostels perhaps live up to a certain place in my mind. When I think of them, I think of co-​ops, friendly open-​minded travelers who also try to be environmentally friendly, people from all over the world sharing meals and drinks and stories. I’ve experienced this for much less than it cost to stay here. On that note– this place is cheaper than a hotel but one of the most expensive hostels I’ve ever stayed at.
My advice: stay at a different hostel or AirBnB. I assume AirBnB would possibly be about the same cost (if not less) and you’d probably get a better experience.
Also– I’m typically a solo traveler and wouldn’t recommend this place at all for solo travelers. This place attracts what it is and if you’re with a group or friend it’ll do but it’s really not worth it.

I consider this hostel pretty overpriced for what you get… Per night, we were charged $ 40, which is pretty high for what we have paid in cities elsewhere, and this hostel doesn’t offer much more.
The worst part is that the hostel charges extra for stuff that other places would give you for free/​much cheaper. Computer use is a dollar for 7 minutes, towel hire is an extra dollar, washing and drying clothes is 7 dollars (!), guests are charged 5 dollars to even stick around in the lobby and use facilities past midday if checking out. This really isn’t in the backpacking spirit, since most other hostels have been kind enough to let us hang in the hostel before we depart to our next destination, and their prices have been cheaper.
The cleanliness of the rooms and bathrooms, also, isn’t great. Guests are told to warn staff if the toilets need attention, and when one vomit covered bathroom was ‘cleaned’ there were still chunks of food on the towel rail and the bad smell remained. The floors of the rooms are very dusty, and you have to make your own beds and strip them afterwards.
I guess a positive is that we were given a quick tour when we arrived. Also, the hostel is quite modern, so nothing is falling apart, as has been the case in other hostels I’ve stayed at. Also, the location is great, a couple of minutes walk from Broadway.
All in all, if you’re staying in nashville, it seems like (unfortunately) motels are the way for budget travellers. $ 40 a night plus the numerous other charges, for a place perhaps as cold-​feeling as a motel, is not good.

Nashville downtown hostel is an inexpensive, no-​frills option for travelers who are looking to have a good time and save on accommodations.
Service: The front desk clerks were fine. They checked us in with no problems, however, they didn’t remember me when I came up to the front desk only an hour later and some agreements about a friend who would check in later we had already set up. You have to ask for towels and you’re required to clean off your bed of its linens and bring them down to the front desk when you check out.
Atmosphere: The whole common area smells like smoke which really bothered my allergies, but the area where the rooms were smelled just fine and were clean. The common area seems fun if you are looking to meet people and you are college age. My group and I are late 20’s so we opted for going out on the town. The showers and bathrooms were clean and seemed newish. The rooms are fine, the beds comfortable enough, however there is no climate control. The rooms appear to have once been an office building so the air conditioning is set for the whole floor as far as I could tell. It gets cold in the rooms.
In summary, it’s fine if you are looking to save some cash and/​or party with some strangers but if you want comfort and convenience find a Holiday Inn.

As my first hostel experience I didn’t know what to expect but this was a great experience. The location is perfect for seeing Broadway St, which is where you’ll find the iconic places like Tootsies etc. It is also minutes from Midtown which is another place worth checking out in Nashville as it is far less touristy.
The rooms were spacious. I stayed in a private room with a friend. The beds are comfortable, linens provided at no charge. Community and private bathrooms are available on each floor. It is very modern and updated, very much like a college dorm feel.
The community area has a large kitchen with plenty of dishes and some general ingredients free to use. There are games, books, and guitars free to use as well.
The staff was helpful, informative and run this hostel very well, I would definitely return on my next trip!

We had a fantastic stay at the Nashville Downtown! The hostel was very clean and the staff was welcoming. They made great recommendations for things to do around Nashville. We stayed in a private room on the fourth floor, with access to both private and community bathrooms. Both had lots of privacy and were never overcrowded. The location is unbeatable — right next to Broadway and there are numerous cafes around for coffee lovers. A tornado warning was issued during our stay — the staff was great about getting everyone to a safe place in a calm manner and went the extra mile to make sure we were comfortable. There was a little noise in the morning from construction going on upstairs, but it didn’t start until around 9am. We only stayed one night, but we would have loved to stay the entire week!

I am seriously thinking about flying all the way to Nashville again just to stay in this hostel. I’ve been all over the world and this is by far the very best hostel I have ever stayed in!
The beds are very comfortable. The rooms are newly renovated, modern, clean, and spacious — especially the bathrooms… I can’t stress how much of an issue that usually is in countless other places (once, I stayed in a Paris hostel; the bathroom was half the size of a bathroom stall, and the shower had very low water pressure… just very uncomfortable to shower in.) Here at the Nashville Downtown Hostel, the showers are clean and roomy, brightly lit, and there is plenty of space for your towel, clothes, and soaps. They even have some private bathrooms, if sharing isn’t your thing!
Downstairs, the check-​in area opens up to a great «lounge» filled with comfy seats, numerous games, computer stations, musical instruments, and laundry in the corner. The open floor plan leads into a large, fully equipped kitchen, where friends and new acquaintances can cook a meal together or chat while dining. Although you can’t really go hungry in Nashville surrounded by a plethora of amazing Southern BBQ and some of the best fried chicken in the country, I love the idea of having access to a full kitchen to prepare an inexpensive, healthy meal in between all that fatty deliciousness.
The location is convenient, easy to find, and very close to all the places you want to go to in the downtown area. There is a very good reason why the hostel’s motto is «Come as Guests, Leave as Friends.» We stayed here for a couple nights and met so many awesome people. The staff is friendly, professional, and helpful. (Special shout-​out to Patrick for tipping me off on where to go to get the best view of the Nashville skyline for my photography!). They may work here, but the setting is so informal and everyone is so chill that it feels more like a large group of fun and creative friends sharing a common space. If, by chance, you happen to hate people and don’t want to leave your room, you will still be fine in this hostel — there are private rooms, free wifi for your browsing needs, and it’s actually pretty quiet, considering the large number of occupants.
All in all, not bad for roughly $ 35+/- per night.

Best. Hostel. Ever.
I am forever indebted to Nashville Downtown. They took my crappy situation of flight delays/​cancellations and turned it into a wonderful time. I was originally staying got two nights, and it turned into four. Luckily, the guys at the front desk were able to make the changes with absolutely no problems.
I booked my original stay through AirBnB (Sara was great), and it was $ 32 a night after that. This was during the winter «storm» and from what I overheard, all other hotels were booked up, so I was lucky to be at NDH.
The space itself is absolutely wonderful. It’s all really new.
There’s a huge common area outside of reception, with sofas, a TV, a pool table, board games, and dining tables. There’s also a kitchen with a ton of equipment you can use, including four induction stovetops. The 3-​sink dishwashing process is also outlined for you — they basically run it like a kitchen, which I can tell you from my old food service days is definitely the most efficient way to do things.
I stayed in a 4-​person co-​ed on the third floor, which was only full one night out of the 4. Not bad.
The shared bathrooms in the hallway were nice, and the shower pressure was good. The maintenance staff does a great job with everything.
I stayed at Music City Hostel (run by the same people) before I came to NDH, and it was night and day. The location of NDH is just perfect if you want to be close to nightlife. It’s two blocks from Broadway, and right on the riverfront.
Although, if I had to give one complaint, it was that all night long you could hear music from the bars below.
I was also sitting in the lounge one day and overheard a staff meeting they were having. Let me tell you, these guys care about the hostel. They take customer satisfaction and reviews very seriously. The staff may be on the young side, but the place is run very professionally.
All in all, I made some great friends, had a good time, and didn’t break the bank. What more could you possibly want?

This was my first time ever staying in a hostel, and I was pleasantly surprised. My friend and I booked last minute (1 day before arriving) with no trouble at all. Good price and very clean.
Pros:
Location — walking distance to a lot of things downtown
Clean
Price
Quiet
Staff is very friendly
Cons:
The first shower I got into did not have hot water. Moved to another one and it was fine.
They don’t allow alcohol in the rooms. I wanted wine. But I understand why they have this policy.

The good:
It’s clean.
It’s cheap.
It’s in a great location.
You’ll make new friends here from all over the world.
The bad:
Not enough private bathrooms.
The bottom line:
This is a great place to stay in Nashville for a variety of reasons. My only complaint about needing more private bathrooms is minor and if you don’t mind the shared bathroom, then it’s not a problem.

This is a great hostel– my introduction to Nashville. The staff was very helpful. Tim the manager was very accomodating. I liked being able to play the guitars they had in the downstairs area and the showers were piping hot! Great location too.

Great hostel — very clean, great shared space downstairs and friendly, helpful staff.
Great location too

Awesome hostel. Highly recommend! Very friendly staff, clean rooms, large common area. Extremely convenient location just blocks from Broadway.

This place was awesome! SO clean. All the great parts about a hostel like a community feeling and meeting people, but also felt way nicer than the typical hostel. Great location, not a bad price and worth it. They have an entire kitchen you can use and a really nice common area. Felt right at home.

Wife and I stayed here for 3 nights while visiting Nashville. FWIW, we are both 29. Though I had a okay overall experience, I’m not going to dish out 5-​stars just based on NDH being «better than other hostels». I decided to rate it just like I would a campground or any other hotel. My 3 rating is intended as an «Okay» rating. Details below…
The GOOD:
–Wow this place is cheap.
–The staff is very attentive and responds to your needs promptly. One of the showers was gross so I told a staff member and the shower was soon cleaned.
–Security. Keycards are required to use the elevator and to get into the building after 7 pm. I’ve stayed at expensive hotels that didn’t even have this.
–Super convenient location. We were able to easily stumble back 2 blocks to the hostel after a night of partying on Broadway.
–Common area is very inviting, though we weren’t around to use it much. Pool table, foosball and ample seating are a plus.
–Kitchen is very clean and organized.
–Fresh sheets and pillowcase are provided for each bed.
–loading/​unloading area right in front of the door.
–Cheap parking nearby. Public square garage is $ 12/​day max, but on the weekend it’s only $ 3 flat rate.
The NOT-​SO-​GOOD:
–Though we paid extra for a «private room», we still were given a room with 2 sets of bunk beds, rather than a single bed. Nothing distinguished our room from the others and it was a waste of space. They should have a couple «premium» rooms and don them with a single queen or double bed. I would have gladly paid a little more for this.
–The mattresses are pretty uncomfortable and thin. I could feel the bars from the bunk bed frame through it.
–Communal showers just like you would have at a campground. If the showers are occupied you have to wait. There are two unisex bathrooms on each floor with a lock though, but they were occupied a lot.
–1^st avenue and Riverfront park, where the hostel is situated, is full of shady characters that sometimes approach you. Every day these drifters and hobos seemed to be uncomfortably close to the front of the hostel entrance conversing (noticeably against their will) with the staff and folks staying there. I expected this sort of thing in a downtown environment, but I didn’t even get my bags in the door yet and was forced to talk to one of these eclectic beings.

For a cheap clean and reliable place in Nashville– this is the spot.
Just a 5 minute walk to South Broadway/​Music Row really is a big plus. Each suite is named after a different Southern music entity (Aretha Franklin, Alabama, Johnny Cash) and are super clean and comfortable. Each floor has a couple of singular showers and a separate bank of shower stalls for both ladies and gentleman travelers.
The common area, wide open with a huge kitchen offers fee coffee and tea in the mornings, and a rather robust honor system of the food/​beer fridge. They were very conscious of people bringing food/​drinks into the hostel, but only in the common area. They seem to be cognizant of pests/​vermin.
Only drawback is the hot water. During my few showers, what seemed warm quickly turned chilly. They blamed recent construction, but this needs a step up.