I really loved the curtains to each bunk bed! I value privacy and this was a very good surprise! I've stayed in other locations of HI USA Hostels and Chicago was a great surprise also with the shared spaces and nice breakfast! I only stayed for 1 night, but would most def come back for more.

The location was a little bit off for me, but not the hostel's fault. It's a bit weird to walk around, but I must say it was very convenient being able to walk (during the day) to the Bean and Millennium Park.

As any other solo traveller, I was looking at HI Chicago Hostel's WORST ratings first. The main popular points were that the staff is unfriendly and unhelpful and that the rooms are musty and noisy and towels are dirty. While there was a certain heaviness in the air inside the room, the AC inside it was running 24/7 and the towels were clearly not at their first cleaning cycle, I have to say that NOTHING disappointed me, that is exactly the standard hostel experience that makes them so affordable -- nothing out if the ordinary At the same time, I was surprised to see the staff EXTREMELY jovial and friendly and helpful -- making me think that the bad reviews were nothing but an unfortunate coincidence 100% recommend!

Hostel made an effort to organise activities each day - would be great to have more especially when the weather isn't looking great (e.g., rain / dust storm whilst I was there). They had someone come into the rooms to tidy up / clean each day which was great. Generally pretty clean. Was in an all-women dorm and I thought it was great!

More choices / options for breakfast - the same thing every single day (i.e., oats, bread / bagel / muffin, yogurt). Would be great to have healthier options. No privacy curtains or blinds - would have been nice to include this for the dorms and bunk beds to provide a bit more privacy and hide any light coming in (or conversely, if someone were to stay up late, this would not impact others as much). Comparatively this was cheaper, though for a hostel it was not all-too-cheap. May just be because it's in downtown Chicago.

The location is perfect, it was very easy for me to have access to all cta lines in about 5 minutes. With the help of the staff i was able to join the blue line train to O'hare airport on my way home at a highly reduced transport rate. The rooms are big, neat and quiet. The breakfast is memorable to the point that i didn't spend money at all on breakfast and lunch. The 24-hour kitchen helped me a great deal in preparing my local food which i travelled with for my dinner. The power and free wifi were reliable and helped me in my work while in the hostel. The breakfast hall was very good positioned as it allows one to view the trains on the purple, pink, yellow lines, etc.

Nothing except few homeless persons staying very close to the hostel, i was scared initially but that wasn't a problem. The refuse containers beside the building should be emptied on time to reduce odour, though only when one is passing there outside the hostel building. The fact of meeting people of different nationalities on daily basis makes ones stay a little scary.

The 4-bed dorm has a private kitchenette + ensuite bath room + a spacious dining room !! It is almost an " appartment - suite " rather than a regular dorm !!! . Also shared kitchen is very well-equipped + 2 modern Elevators + spacious common rooms on second floor & lobby + good location . Spotless clean every where + comfy bed + daily organized activities thanks to Melissa.

1- Unlike other hostels, That they charge you 3 $ for each package you receive in hostel ,whatever small, even if it stayed at reception, just 3 or 5 minutes !!! 2- they had stopped serving breakfast since 2nd of June !!!

This hostel is located at the Loop which is extremely convenient since all the city's major attractions are nearby at walking distance. The room I stayed in faced the elevated subway train (the "L") and you can hear trains passing by every 10 minutes which did not bother me but it may have been a nuisance to others. Free breakfast was a plus. This hostel host many events which provides an amazing community feel. When I return to Chicago, I plan to stay at this hostel again.

The shower/bathroom was shared which I do not enjoy due to lack of privacy. In the rooms there were no hooks to hang sweater or coat leading me to lay things on the windowsill.

The hostel was clean and walking distance to downtown and the train station. There was a complementary breakfast and there are lots of areas in the hostel to relax/quiet spaces to work.

The price on Booking was not the final price and tax was added on top once we were paying on arrival

This is a great hostel. It is very well located in the South Loop to walk to museums and catch trains to other neighborhoods. This place is very well facilitated with a whole building floor for lounging, kitchen and dining. There are daily events and walking tours and the tour guides are terrific. They even on some nights have free beverages and hot dogs. The cleaning staff is great and they gave me fresh towels without having to ask and even changed my sheets after one week. They have nice laundry facilities too. Trader Joe’s is just a 1/2 mile away for getting groceries to prepare in the big kitchen. We even went Kingston Mines blues club one night.

Can’t come back til next year because we are only allowed 14 nights per year.

The hostel was located just off Michigan Avenue, and 2 blocks further from Lake Shore Drive and the lake front, itself. The location, off the south end of Michigan Ave was less than 1 mi walk to most of what you want to see along the Magnificent Mile. There was very easy access to train and bus stops so that you could easily get to or from other key locations in the city, including both airports, Wrigley Field, and more. Staff was friendly. Accommodations were clean. Security was appropriate for the area. I have no complaints and will certainly consider this location for another stay when back in Chicago.

This was my first time staying at a hostel. I really liked the cleanliness and the safety features of the building.

They don’t give a tour or how the hostel works. It was a figure it out your self. I didn’t know you needed to use the pass so activate the elevator to get to your room. I didn’t know how to get to the community kitchen or that we could store our food there. I threw my lunch away because it was in aluminum and I can’t put that into a microwave. It was until later that night that I stumbled upon the community kitchen after a nice common user of hostels showed me around. Instead of the staff.