Loftstel

I travel a lot for work but whenever I am in DC this is my home base. It’s a small boutique hostel and never fails to feel like home.
The neighborhood is not the best but it’s safe and conveniently located, only 3 blocks from the metro. You can get to any other part of the city relatively quickly from here. It’s 15 mins to Chinatown and 30 mins to Dupont Circe. It is a newly gentrified area so there are lots of cool neighborhood bars popping up if you want to just not go anywhere.
My favorite part about Loftstel is the housekeeper, Lucia, she always remembers me and insists that I speak Spanish with her. Because of this I dubbed her La Professora!

I really can’t recommend this place enough. The price is excellent (especially for DC which is very expensive), the atmosphere welcoming and the facilities great.
I stayed here for 3months whilst interning and was so happy I’d picked this place right from the start. The dorms aren’t huge but you have plenty of room to put your things and hang up your clothes and the beds are very comfortable. The people in my room were a mixture of longer term residents and tourists which meant you could always nab a bit of extra space just by asking/​waiting for others to leave. The communal space is well maintained and well cleaned. The kitchen has good cooking facilities and, despite the number of residents, its never hard to get a space to cook. The bathrooms are clean and, most importantly, the showers are hot!
The real selling point of this place, for me, is the atmosphere. The RAs are absolutely fantastic, so friendly and really go out of their way to continually make improvements to make guests lives easier! They know tons about the area and are never to busy to impart their wisdom and help you out. They also put on house activities which are a great way to meet everyone else living there and make some quick friends. The way the house is set up with shared living space fosters a wonderful homely atmosphere and makes it super easy to meet and get to know the other residents. As someone who moved to DC from abroad knowing no one it was amazing how quickly I felt at home and met some wonderful people! The balance of the house is great, I was worried that a hostel would be too noisy and wouldn’t be conducive to a working lifestyle but I was happily proven wrong. The house is quiet at night and, thanks to some well placed house rules, its very easy to get to sleep and get up early if you need to.
I read all the reviews before I came and don’t think they can even begin to do this place justice. I would recommend it to anyone, regardless of how long you want to stay or whether you are there for work or pleasure.

If you really miss the dorms from summer debate camp or your messy roommate from college, (No? Just me?) you will love Loftstel. I think Loftstel would be fine for a vacationer, but the majority of people there are staying for more than a few nights. I stayed for a month. You will probably need a good deal of tolerance for other people and other people’s stuff (literal and figurative) to stay here, but it’s a good deal.
The bedrooms have bunkbeds and the carpet looks like it has seen better days, even though it is vacuumed daily. The beds come with comfortable bedding, and everyone who lives here is generally friendly and respectful of others’ space. The bathrooms are large and clean, but the walls are dirty and need a touch of paint. I seriously scrubbed the shower the first day I was here and bleached out the mildew stains because I knew it would drive me crazy.
However, I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes to use the shower, and the toilets and floors are cleaned daily. The living room is very large and comfortable, as is the kitchen and eating area. They have lots of cooking equipment, but it’s not quite «gourmet.» Basically everything except for the beds is falling apart.
That said, if you need a place to stay when you move to DC, I would recommend Loftstel. This place is a lot better than sleeping on your friends’ couches and you’ll make lasting friends in DC. The monthly rent is cheap, especially if you are a student or an intern. Book ahead online if you can. If you’re not staying here for a month, the rent varies from day to day. I calculated that paying the daily rate for two weeks would cost the same as paying for a full month, so I paid for a full month. You get 2 days after your reservation starts to get a refund. After that, no refunds.
The common area downstairs is large enough to get work done without being bothered, but the TV is loud. The wifi works. You can definitely make friends here if you want to, and there are lots of opportunities to practice your foreign language skills with international students. The hostel staff («RA“s) are really nice, responsible, and will help you out.
The neighborhood is good. Petworth feels warmly residential and there is an organic grocery store right down the street. It’s not super close to the capitol, but it’s a heck of a lot closer than Silver Spring. The hostel is about a 5 minute walk from the Georgia Ave./Petworth station and the Looking Glass Lounge and about 15 minutes from Columbia Heights. It’s a 10 minute walk to Meridian Pint.

I lived here for about 2 weeks when I had just moved to DC, was looking for an apartment, and had begun to feel guilty about crashing on friends’ couches. So, off to the Loftsel it was.
The facilities were clean and in good shape when I was there. The beds were comfortable and I didn’t have a problem sharing bathrooms. I’d recommend this place for people who were in a similar situation to me — looking for a cheap place to stay (when I was there, it was about $ 25 a night, but I think it prices are higher in the summer) for a few weeks. The staff are friendly and helpful, as are the other guests. People hang out in the evenings to watch TV, they are generally good about sharing the kitchen space, and there is a «quiet area» in the basement if you need to study or work.
That said, many of the guests there were staying there for the long term during internships. I’m not sure I’d recommend it for that long — if you scour Craiglist, it is possible to find a much better deal for a room for a semester. However, all of the long-​term residents had become friends and seemed to enjoy living there.
If you’re in DC for just a few days, know that Petworth isnt’t super convenient to downtown. The hassle of walking to the metro, shopping for food, and sharing bathroom space with others doesn’t totally seem with the hassle if you only have a few days to sightsee.

Just stayed at this Hostel which was exactly as the other review said about how it looks. It does look like a house, it does have a pleasant living area, large couch, and lovely bunk beds. The kitchen is great and you can bring your own food (they have labels to label it) and all the cookware you need. YOU can even do laundry! They have a code for the internet if you bring your own laptop, and places to lock up your stuff if you feel the need (I didn’t)
I do suggest though bringing your own pillow. I’m a bit of a pillow snob and cover my bed in big fluffy pillows, the pillow is a little flat, but the comforter is INCREDIBLE.
Im horrible at sleeping with strangers and new places, and it wasn’t too bad. It was awkward when people came in after I was asleep or turned on the lights and such but I guess thats what happens when you share.
The people who were there apparently live there for a while so they had a lot of their stuff in the bathroom and in the rooms. I almost felt like I was invading peoples space. They were however extremely friendly, they invited us to do things with them, and told us about different ways to get around in D.C. They definitely make it less awkward for me because I really felt like I was invading and they made it seem more homey and normal for us to be there. I absolutely appreciated that.
I think that as long as you don’t mind sharing your own space this is a incredible place to stay, especially for the price. Throughly enjoyed my experience here.

Wanting to save a few bucks and have an adventure, my compadre and I chose to stay here for a few nights while we attended a film festival.
The «loftstel» is on a residential street, so when you drive up, it looks like someone’s house and not a hostel. We stood there for a few moments wondering if we had the correct address. …we did.
It’s a nice place– a pleasant living area with a large couch and flat screen tv, big kitchen and a backyard patio area. There’s plenty of space for your food in the kitchen– each room has labeled cabinets and there’s plenty of space in the fridge as well as labels so no one steals your goodies. You probably won’t need to buy milk or OJ as there is most likely a communal supply from people who haven’t used all of theirs. Utensils and dishes also supplied.
The rooms are ok… 4 bunks per room. Comfortable beds for the price. Nice down comforters and warm with color. The first night we only had 2 other girls in our room; the second, it was full. The first night was lovely and quiet. The second, we had some unexpected snoring issues. I’ve never had an issue sleeping with strangers (don’t take that the wrong way) — but I’m pretty sure this was my last hurrah as far as communal living goes.
besides the snoring, we agreed that the staff could have been a bit more welcoming and friendly. Not that they were rude or mean– they weren’t at all– but they weren’t welcoming. Didn’t introduce themselves and the girl who showed us around basically whipped through the «tour» and then bolted without even telling us she was leaving or asking if we had any questions.
Their one computer wound up breaking down while i was on it (the first day) and not being fixed. I was afraid it would hack into my accounts since I didn’t have time to log out of my stuff before it started flashing WARNING and DANGER signs.. . and the staff was a bit too nonchalant about it.
There were also some bathroom issues– cleanliness and facilities-​working-​properly issues. umm… unacceptable.
Also, it’s 5 blocks from the metro. Pretty easy, but it is a little scary at night for a chick.
I will be springing for a real hotel room on my next DC visit.