Name: HI Austin
Address: 2200 South Lakeshore Boulevard Austin,South Lakeshore Boulevard, Austin, Austin, Austin, TX 78741, United States of America
Rating: 7

Air conditioning

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Heating

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Outdoor furniture

General

Locker

Linens

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Laundry

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Vending machine

Meals

Internet access

Internet

Bike rental

Ping-Pong

Recreation

Parking

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Cycling

Sports

Playroom

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

East Sixth Street

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

San Marcos Regional Airport

Lakeside

HI Austin

Austin

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

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40-beds

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9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Location by the river is lovely. Not far from downtown and airport. Hired an onsite bike which was good $15/day with helmet and light. Reception staff very friendly and helpful. Clean kitchen and bathrooms. Nice atmosphere.

Very good hostel experience

The Bad

My very first impression of the hostel was not very good. The lady at the reception was a little too impatient and irritable, maybe because of the lack of sleep. She couldn’t find my correct booking. It took her some time to retrieve partial booking and re-book for the total no. of days I was going to be there. Overall I got very negative vibes after entering the hostel, which no doubt, got better with time.

The Good

The room had a lake view and was kept clean. The beds were also quite comfortable. The free breakfast included bread, butter, and jam, milk, and fruits.

All in all, it was an above average stay - I would recommend this hostel if you want to be away from hustle bustle of the city and in a close proximity to nature.

An above average stay

I really loved his hostel, I loved the common area, the staff, the complimentary coffee, and breakfast. I loved how conveniently close to the BCycle and trails it was. Totally adored Buddy. The place inside was just adorable. However, I’m giving it 3 stars for several reasons to help draw attention to things that really should get attention. 

1. The floors were super dirty. I personally don’t enjoy getting up in the morning to go to the bathroom and stepping in piles of dirt. The halls and even the floors in the room seemed like they hadn’t been swept in days or weeks. So every time I walked around barefoot or even with socks on I captured everything on my feet.

2. Lack of basic necessities for beds. I’ve stayed in several hostels around the world and almost all of them have their own personal outlet, reading light, and curtain. Our room, in particular, had outlets but they were inconveniently placed and not easily accessible to other guests in the room. We had a few extension cords in the room to resolve that. Having outlets for each bed should be a requirement.

3. Smelly lockers. I don’t know how often you clean your lockers and deodorize them, but 168 was horrible. Smelled sour and like it hadn’t been cleaned in a while. I’m not really sure who would want to put their belongings in something that smells like a trash can.

4. Blow dryers in the bathrooms. We had a lot of people get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom in our room. No biggie. But because both doors to the bathrooms are open, when people use the hand dryers, it sounds like an airplane turbine is just starting up, and for light sleepers it’s incredibly frustrating.

5. Educating people on hostel etiquette. I don’t know if I got just an unlucky round of people, but there was a lady who showed up at 7:30 ish am when I was just waking up and asked if she could turn on the light in the room while all other 4 people were obviously still asleep. To me, it was a ridiculous question. Some of them trying to arrive and leave, even wedged the trash can in the door to give themselves light rather than just packing the night before their departure or using their phone to help them navigate the room. And nearly every single bunkmate of mine decided it also wasn’t important to close the door quietly after they leave the room at night or early in the morning when people are sleeping and don’t need a door slamming to wake them up.

6. Smoker Designated Rooms. I had a roommate in the roommate who was a big smoker. When she would come back from smoking, the smell would practically fill up the room. People sensitive to smells don’t it enjoy and I definitely didn’t enjoy it.

You guys have a great location and a great design of the place! It just needs a little extra love!

I really loved this place

Located right on the river and just a few minutes in an Uber from Downtown, the location of HI Austin was a pleasant surprise.

As it was right before Christmas it was pretty quiet and the crowd there was pretty low key. It's not an overly large hostel, there is just one women's, and one men's bathrooms which aren't attached to the dorms. This was a little awkward and the bathrooms could use an upgrade.

There's a large kitchen and lounge and there were plenty of places to work for the day, with large windows. The breakfast was good as well, with coffee available all day.

The best part of the whole hostel was the location. Right on the Colorado River, the walking path along the river runs right alongside the hostel. Definitely take some time to head out on the walking tracks, as there were some great photo opportunities out there.

Lakeside location, could use some more facilities

The staff were nice and present, and the common areas were sunny (floor to ceiling windows) and open. This is a small hostel and the tools and bathrooms are pretty dated. The showers don’t have stalls, if that’s an issue for you. Lockers were adequate and room temp was fine. The location ride off the river and trail is great! A short walk from the bus route makes the hostel accessible, but it’s not within walking distance from many sights.

Great location, okay facilities

I’ve not stayed in many hostels (6 in the USA) but HI has been the least enjoyable hostel I’ve stayed in so far. There’s nothing horribly wrong with HI and I imagine it’s the best hostel you’ll probably find in Austin but it really wasn’t up to the standards I’d expect. 

In comparison to the the other hostels I’ve stayed in for a comparable price the bathroom facilities and bedding situation was pretty substandard. The dorm I stayed in was for about 16 persons, the layout of the room was alright and it was quite spacious but the beds were loud, unstable and very creaky. Every time you made a small movement the beds would make a noise, it was a huge racket when people were going up to the top bunk. Luckily I was staying in a room with friends so it wasn’t a huge issue about the rickety and loud beds but it would have been terrible if I were in a room with random people because I would have felt so conscious about turning in my sleep too much. In addition to this there were not enough plugs and charging sockets in the room for everyone and they’re not really placed near people’s bunks either. If I weren’t staying with friends I’d be concerned about the security element. The bedding provided was not great either, I found a few stray thick black hairs, both short and long, within my ‘clean’ bed sheets, and considering I’m blonde I can safely say they weren’t mine. 

In addition to the dorm room, the (female) bathroom wasn’t great either. The toilets have a public restroom layout, and this is actually the only hostel I’ve been to that has this. It was a shame because like many other Europeans I hate American bathroom stalls because they’re so exposed. However, that’s down to my personal preference rather than a complaint point - hostels are designed to be communal so you get what you pay for and I imagine loads of others have the same set up. My problem with the bathroom was the showers, the shower curtains were half broken and quite frankly, dirty. All of the showers/plugs were covered and clogged with hair too. The pressure on all the shower heads was abysmal, felt like I was having a shower in a light drizzle of rain! It was especially bad in the humid heat of Austin in the summer...

Really, for the whole sleeping/bathroom arrangement I’d give HI 2/5. However, because it’s a hostel and because the communal area and the staff were actually really nice I’ve pushed it up to a 3/5.

The communal area is very light and airy and had a really nice atmosphere. It’s super modern and a great place to chill out. The laundry facilities on offer are also really great. The staff I spoke to at HI were really friendly and were able to use their local knowledge to recommend some points of interest and interesting bars to us. Probably wouldn’t have ever been to the fabulous Rainey Street if it wasn’t for a staff recommendation. 

All in all, it lived up to the hostel stereotype of being a bit of a grim dorm/bathroom situation but having a nice communal area/community feel elsewhere in the building. 

HI Austin

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