Amazing stay. Traveled to San Diego for work. I was looking for inexpensive stays in the area and came across this hostel. I booked and loved it. It was clean, fun and in a great area. There is always someone to talk to and people to meet. The staff go above and beyond for the guests. I live on the east coast but will definitely be back to visit San Diego (and Ill stay at ITH Colive Balboa). Thanks for everything!

Hello! I just want to take time to appreciate what you guys do for us. Im safe, Im well, above all I feel welcomed. I meet new people, and I get to party with!! How cool is that!?!?

Friendly group activities. Staff always smile and greet you no mater where or when your passing. Movie and beach nights are great!

The hostel was fine, overall, except for one major thing.My partner and I reserved 2 beds last Friday, around $50 each. We arrived Friday evening and there was someone sleeping in one of our beds, and we had to sleep in one bed together. Imagine if I were alone? And this was my only bed? I would have had to sleep in a dirty, occupied bed after kicking a high dude out of it. In a room full of other dudes. Really bad environment for a young woman, if you ask me…For the managers or owners, if you are reading this, please reimburse us for our bed which was occupied by another person when we arrived to our room late on Fri night (Sat AM). I have already sent multiple emails thru booking.com. Thank you.

Octobre 2017 _ more than just friends, this lovely place offered me family... people were kind, dinners and evenings together made me a lot of memories ! I wish Ill come back one day

Overall had a great time here for a month. Mannie made it feel like my home away from home!

Awesome as always here, staff is great and the managers Manny and Petya are top notch!

Very clean and friendly environment.!Great location as well to get around.Staff is knowledgable and have maps & directions to great spots to see !!HIGHLY recommend!!

Friendly staff, friendly guests. Keep in mind you are paying less so expect less, but for what I paid the staff here went above and beyond.

Nice atmosphere. Good peoples.

Home away from home. Really love this place. The cultural knowledge Ive gained with my time there is irreplaceable and couldnt have been gotten anywhere else

Great location, amazing staff and phenomenal atmosphere. New activities are organized every day...This is a great place to live and meet amazing people. Both the people I met there and the staff were wonderful. I have made a lot of new friends.The Bedrooms were clean, big storage space, lots of showers etc. Thanks to all the people who live there and to all the staff for your kindness and your excellent service. I miss all of you guys!!

Inconsiderate and loud people that live there.

Stood for a night while visiting SD - staff was always very helpful and my accomodations were clean. Its also close to a few bus stops and there were some pretty good restaurants nearby. Highly recommend for budget travelers!

This place was wonderful. Ive never stayed in a hostel before and I was really excited to try it. We met loads of people that were friendly and excitable. The rooms were reasonably well kept and the bathrooms were constantly cleaned. It was fun to meet people and share meals and time together. There was also a lovely quiet space provided. Great price too.

Great hostel with a lively community. Prefect place to stay if you are looking to see the sites in San Diego. They offer daily activities and have plenty of information to guide you on a self tour. I stayed in a mixed dorm. The bed was comfortable and there was plenty of space for my things. Lockers are small but plenty of space for any valuables. The desk sells locks if you forget yours. Bathrooms are clean as are the kitchen and living areas. Everyone is friendly and helpful.

The best hostel that I ever stayed. Super clean and comfortable beds. The people living there are really cool and the staff too. Maryanne is very nice and helpful. She is always planning really cool activities! I liked that they serve free breakfast and dinner. I really enjoyed my stay!

I have been staying here numerous times throughout the year for the past three years. The Staff, Volunteers and Travelers themselves each bring a little of their own culture to the table. Thats what makes this place so great, the celebration of friendship and individuality. Let alone the wonderful meals, the clean rooms and bathrooms, the inviting common area, every town needs an ITH Hostel to help spread the love! Ill be back soon!

Stayed in a 4 bed dorm for 1 night. The layout of the place is like an apartment complex with community bathrooms, a small library, a smoke area, and a large common room with kitchen. Its not the ideal layout for meeting people if thats your sole goal. The bathrooms are nice for a hostel. If your trip is based on the zoo area or the neighborhoods gay friendly scene than this hostel would be appropriate for you based on location. For me, their hostel downtown was a much better fit.

If youre looking for a place that you can call a home away from home, then youve come to the right place. Shared nightly meals, breakfast in the morning, and fun activities that cover everything from beach bonfires, to hitting the club with your new found friends. ITH Zoo Hostel has become my home for the last few years and every time I come back to San Diego, I know exactly where it is I want to spend my time. The staff are always amazing, and Eric and Maryanne make sure that all your needs are met and even if youre only here for one night or two months.. Theyll make sure that you get the best possible experience.Thanks for the memories guys!

What lovely people! Every aspect clean and everything needed to live for days. Near busline and small shops.

Location, activities and staff!In between a number of interesting neighborhoods - Hillcrest, Balboa Park, North Park, Mission Hills, Old Town, Little Italy and downtown.A number of buslines conveniently located nearby.Many coffee houses cafes, restaurants in walking distance.

I had few long stays at the zoo hostel during the past three years. Its always a safe place to be and fun. There is a lot of activities and the managers are always here to make you feel a part of the family. Activities and time at the hostels are great! Thank you guys for everything

Price an all info that came up on Google search WRONG AN MISLEADING. FALSE ADD. WASTED MY TIME

Great hostel! Staff was super kind, room was clean and so was the bathroom. There was also a free community dinner every night which was really good! The next bus stop to downtown or the beach wasn’t far either 👍🏼I really really enjoyed my stay here !!

Rachel, Julia, and the rest of the ITH Zoo Hostel staff made my stay incredibly pleasant. They are very knowledgeable of the area, take groups on daily and nightly adventures, and are just very friendly people. I stayed for 10 weeks as a student while on an internship at a nearby hospital. The ITH Zoo Hostel was the perfect place to stay and the rent was extremely reasonable for the San Diego area. The staff is so incredible: I forgot some things when I moved out and they mailed it all back to me! Would definitely recommend staying here if you will be in the area!

The rooms were clean and comfortable, but the plumbing in the bathrooms wasnt great. However, I loved the atmosphere and the people who worked there. The nightly events were also really fun! Would stay here again in a heartbeat

Loved it

Nice hostel with mostly friendly staff. I had just one encounter with a staff that kicked out a friend of mine from the common area while we were deciding where to go. Silly rules but overall great location and nice, fairly priced place to stay in SD.

Great place friendly people. The folks get along and share together their marijuana in the smoke room,guitars and drums,we had a good sing song tonight, and s great dinner n breakfast

Easily some of my favorite memories were spent here while I was traveling in San Diego!Minutes from most attractions here and blocks away from downtown.Great staff, lots of volunteers who are like family as we do activities and party together.Definitely will recommend it to my friends and family👌🏼

Awesome place to go and meet people! A perfect excuse to come visit San Diego. They are really friendly and understanding of the different lifestyles of everyone, near or far. Very clean and full of good vibes, definitely the best hostile in the area. Also, a wonderful place to possibly find that right person for you :)

Overall this was a good place to stay on the cheap and Id do it again. Just a minor issue with not having enough lockers to store stuff and you needed a lock which I must have missed. Dont expect to sleep soundly all night with everyone coming and going and snoring :)

ITH Zoo Hostel is an Absolutely Amazing environment ! I love the people and I love the vibe here . Everyone makes you feel so much at home ! Its filled with so many genuine people, I love how everyone can be themselves here. If you guys do decide to come and visit ask for Cameron, Andre, Luis G., or Luis B. They are Amazing people with such great personalities and positive attitudes, With EXCELLENT hospitality skills !!! THANK YOU GUYS FOR MAKING MY EXPERIENCE AT ITH ZOO HOSTEL EVEN GREATER !!!! (: I will miss you all once I leave !

Its cool! Nice workers and colive community.

Super friendly staff! I booked with Cira. At first she offered another ITH hostel she thought would be better for me based on what I was doing that night. I found out the zoo location was better for me. When I called back she was super cool, we had a pleasant conversation, and she gave me a few other recommendations. A++ for you Cira :)

The value for the price can’t be beat, the staff was super friendly and the location was wonderful! I would recommend bringing your own towel even though they say they provide them.

I was last december and It was awesome!! Colorful and friendly atmosphere. There are a lot of free activities and you meet a lot of people from others countries! The food are so delicious, and it is super clean! I would like to come back soon! I recommend it!

Incredible! The place is clean, the staff are so friendly. The atmosphere is very nice.There is a lot of activities to keep you busy everyday! It is super fun and really easy to make a lot of new friends from all over the world. Also, the night life is awesome! You can really get to know SD well =) Loved it. Definitly coming back!

Fun atmosphere and adequate lodging. If I could stay longer I would be able to use the facility to the fullest but I was a overnight guest. I did not see a elevator or anything so maybe not the best for the disabled. Great location central to many of the attractions of SD and also awesome staff.

I lived here for a couple months during an internship and loved it! The staff plans fun outings to go to around the city and they treated everyone like family. The breakfasts and dinners were wonderful, and the hostel was INCREDIBLY clean- eslecially the bathrooms. I highly, highly recommend this hostel. I met so mamy great people and had a comfortable and nice experience here.

Very social and friendly and the people are authentically human so it’s comfortable to be comfortable in the oxygen we all share. I like the atmosphere here and I highly recommend this small group of hostels (ITH), to the travelers who are interested in an opportunity to experience cultural diversity in the most hospitable way.

Locals cant stay nightly

Great hostel in a GREAT location. Nice people and friendly staff. Just bring ear plugs and youre good!

Very, very racist staff. I witnessed a discrimination with my own eyes while trying to make a reservation. I couldn’t help but over hear what was going on. I watched them falsely accuse a black male of not paying when the system showed he did. Other staff tried to show the on duty worker his mistake and with anger he told them to leave and mind there business. The black male never got a refund and was kicked out shortly after. Bad business.

Staff knocked themselves out making a nice dinner for guests and keeping peace. Luck of the draw for roommates. This time roommate tried to wake up whole building because I was rustling pages writing in a notebook using a headlamp during the night. If she hadnt been snoring like a moose maybe I would have been asleep instead.

Loved the atmosphere and lots of outdoor activities you can sign up. I really liked their body wash. Whats the brand?

Great hostel. They provide dinner and breakfast. Friendly people and friendly staff. Stay here!!

My stay here is awesome.....i love everything about the hostel...6s😉

I applied there on a Monday and Amber immediately processed my $25 applications fee, but never got back with me. She said I would hear back in 2-4 days, and after a week my Air b n b time was running out. I called her twice a day for a week and she never got back with me. Front desk said she was at a concert, then she had problems with her 2nd job, and finally that she would email me tongiht but never she would get back with a move in date. I even wonder if there maybe was no room available, because during the tour I could not view the shared bedroom itself, because that is a private area. I would like my $25 application free returned, but no one in management will even acknowledge my messages. 2 days afterI posted this and moved into a different place, Amber emailed me and said sorry for the late response, but your application was denied. She never said why.

The zoo hostel is the best place in San Diego! If you are social and looking for that vacation experience definitely stay here

Its great. Staff are very friendly. They provide a nice space for community and just hanging out and getting to know other guests. They also schedule events every day, so if you want to see and wxperience the city, youll never be left wondering what to do.

EXCELLENT place to enjoy down time together with an amazing Staff that treats me like Family .AMAZING evening meal made SPECIAL care for ALL that is staying at the ZOO. SU fixed this SUPERB Dish

Wonderful group of friends were made.. clean and quiet.. will be back very soon

Such a fun place! Reasonable price, friendly staffs, and great location. Lots of cute restaurants and coffeshops nearby

I stayed here a 2nd time this past weekend. I really enjoyed it! The first time I went solo, but this time I took a couple of friends with me and INSISTED that we stay here. The staff is super friendly and helpful in pointing you in the right direction if youre craving a good milkshake or bite to eat. Its also next door to a FANTASTIC ramen shop (yummy)! But really awesome place, people, and location! Cant wait to visit San Diego again. This place is definitely my favorite place to stay!

It is a really good hostel. I was about to spend 2 nights and go to a friends house but now I wanna stay here a little longer :) clean, good atmosphere and amazing staff !

Two stars instead of one to give them a little benefit of the doubt since I showed up on New Years Day.The food storage area was so full I couldnt add mine to it. It smelled of rotten food and had fruit flies. That is not a situation that developed on New Years Eve, it clearly had been that way a while (see photo).The mens bathroom was flooded when I showed up, and was still not functioning the next morning when I left. Everyone shared the womens, which meant there were half the toilets & showers there should have been (genders sharing bathrooms was fine, its just there were fewer).The lockers are only big enough for a small day pack and they do not have locks to loan out.The front door is always locked (good), so youre dependent on staff being present to let you in (bad). Staff seem to let everyone in without checking theyre guests, so the locked door is of limited benefit anyway.They changed the bottom sheet and pillowcases (two pillows, classy), but they did nothing about the comforter. No top sheet, no change of comforter cover.The wifi wasnt working when I showed up, so I managed to check in by showing them my reservation on my phone and paying cash. I still couldnt connect the next morning, but that may have been a problem on my end.It is a co-living situation, and some of the folks living there seem less than functional. Others seemed really cool. I didnt stick around to talk to people.They ask you to write a review and say the front desk will give you a cookie if you show them your completed review. Caveat emptor.The website talks about a community dinner but there was no talk of it when I checked in At this point Id seen all of the above and wasnt particularly interested so I didnt ask.This place could be so much more. There are tons of signs everywhere trying to police behavior. Seems like they need to sit down with everyone living there and have a frank discussion about what an adults only co-living hostel could be if everyone just did their part.

Best hostel ever, staff and people who come to this place make the difference. It has an international college feeling to it. Recommended for the good spirited people.

Wether your here for a day or a month, Ith is more then just a hostel, its a community and a family. I could not have stayed at a better place.And Receptionist Rikki is awesome.😁

Busy, great crowd

The staff was fairly nice. I was a little thrown off by the co-ed sleeping arrangement and wish that had been a little more explicit on the website (I knew it was dorm-style but assumed it was by gender--my bad for assuming) but not a big deal. However, the bathrooms were incredibly gross both days I was there. Every single toilet consistently had unflushed poop every time I tried to go. Toilet paper was not put back properly in the dispenser, but just set on the ground and sometimes wet from being on the ground. If it got cleaned while I was there, it wasnt done very well, because there were always pieces of toilet paper on the ground and poop-covered toilet papers in the garbage.Be warned that there is a group of people who live in the hostel long-term who made some very homophobic and transphobic comments while I was there. They openly mocked a group of gay men staying at the hostel, then mocked another person by questioning whether they identify as a man, woman, or helicopter, all while other guests were in the room (and some of us identifying as LGBTQ ourselves). One man even encouraged another man to incite violence against one of the gay men, since in his words, Its not like theyre a threat.While this hopefully doesnt reflect the views/behavior of the staff, it does speak to the hostels general hospitality when the people who live there long term are not open and tolerant to LGBTQ people in one of the most well-known gay neighborhoods in San Diego. If ITH cares for its LGBTQ guests, they may want to consider what kind of message their long-term lodgers are sending.Overall, if youre not LGBTQ and enjoy talking to/sleeping next to strangers, you might enjoy your stay. If not, cough up a few extra dollars and find a Super 8 Motel.

If you are a traveler this is the awesome place for you to have fun with awesome people and staff and learn about best places in San Diego, and after partying and enjoying awesome homemade food you can go to your clean and quiet room and have good night sleep. If you are looking for place to stay long term also this is the awesome place where you can enjoy great time in San Diego!!!

Best hostel Ive ever been to. Sooooo much fun

The staff is amazing, they keep the facilities clean, i loved them all, they make a lot of activities everyday, i had the time of my life while i was there, i want to come back already, i miss all the people i met at the hostel, somehow there was always food and it was delicious.... iwant to come back already, I miss the hostel and the staff so much

Had a great time staying here for a week, location is excellent and met all kinds of awesome friends. They also have trips up to their hostel in Big Bear for pretty cheap. Id reccomend anyone thats looking for a a clean, fun hostel to look into any of the ITH hostels.

Great place to stay at, staff and residents were great and helped out with places to see and transportation.

Free chocolate chip pancake breakfast, parking close to hostel, clubs/pubs/restaurants close by and a lot of free activities like sailing & farmers market. The staff was friendly. We only stayed for 2 nights, but would definitely come back! 👍

This place doesnt care at all about their guests. I stayed in san diego for 3 days, the morning i woke up from the first night I had bed bug bites all over my body. I told the staff member at reception and then spoke with the manager named Bradley. The man was very disrespectful to me to the point where i wanted my money back on my remaining two nights. Eventually I decided it wasnt worth my time and just left losing about $60. The reviews on this hostel are so good i dont know why my experience was so terrible.

Edit: Hi! Sure thing, happy to provide some detail.Positives-Staff was extremely friendly, made a huge effort to get everyone together and feeling welcome. Everyone seems nice and seems happy to be there.-Location of the hostel is stellar - right next to Balboa park, near the college, and directly above an amaaaazing ramen house thats open until 2 or 3 am.Negatives-Everyone, staff and guests, was sick; Not a germophobe, but I did not eat any of the common room meals after watching multiple staff and guests coughing directly on the shared plates, at dinner and breakfast.-Food storage area was pretty gross; Smelled rotten, handful of fruit flies.-Staff having to let you in the front door is a mistake. The locked door is nice, but two of the 4 times I entered in two days I had to wait because nobody was available to answer my buzz for entry.-Bedsheet changing was a debacle. I was initially directed to a bed that still had dirty sheets from the prior person. Would not have minded taking care of it myself in the slightest, but was told it would be taken care of, so I left. I came back, and it was not, though the comforter was removed. I managed to find some clean sheets, but no blanket, so I spent that night feeling pretty cold wearing my warmest jeans.All things considered, it was a less than average stay. I dont think I would come back, there are a lot of hostels Ive been to that run a much tighter ship.

Very good place ! Good vibes with an amazing staff !! Everything (activities, food...) are awesome !!

Friendly staff and visitors, vibrant decor, activities every day, free breakfast/dinner, great study areas, fantastic price and great location! Definitely will come back next time I need to crash in SD!

When we are full at The Hostel California @thehostelcalifornia on Instagram, we always tell our guests to check out ITH Zoo Hostel! Most other San Diego hostels are overrun with homeless locals... but these guys keep the good vibe alive. If they are full try THC or @HillcrestHostel

Everything you want from a hostel, the breakfast is lacking but is made up for the fact you get dinner as well. General management could be a bit better and smoother but nothing to ruin a stay.

Great hostel, Great service, all staff was super friendly. Confortable beds, Great tour, (only one because the others, there was no quorum). Super clean (at least common areas). Two times i stay there was kind of difficult roomies.Or, if the roomy gets to be with a dog... it maybe disconforting for someone. Even the dog did ZERO noises, he smelled as dogThe only thing that could be necesary, is, to have single readers light for each bed, in case someone wants to stay sleep late

Its so cozy and nice place, you can meet a lot of new friends, do well planed activities, and party all the time

Its a good place but they dont have a parking

The rooms were hot (beyond hot with door closed). Sweat was a constant in all rooms (dorms and living area). I learned this has beem (& was/is) an unusually (record-?) warm summer. But the stay was awsome, fabulous, great!!!! I loved meeting all these new, neat people! Everyone was so friendly! Plus I loved my time in San Diego!!! By the time I had to leave, after the fourth night, I was so dissapointed, almost blue, to leave. I really had a wonderful, phenomenal time!

Great place to live and interact with fellow travelers.

Its a nice place to feel at home as a foreign student and definitely comes at a good price.I highly recommended ITH hostel to anyone new in san diego

Didnt love it. The staff was friendly, and there were some helpful tips, but Ive definitely stayed in cleaner more accommodating hostels.

I wasnt sure what to expect staying at a hostel for the first time. Sadly the experience was less than desirable. There are a number of issues that I can go into but I will try to be concise.For those who dont know, the entrance to the hostel is a narrow doorway that immediately turns into stairs. The entirety of the hostel is based on the second floor of the building, so those who cant frequent stairs are going to hate it.The private room I reserved was recently Renovated. Upon checking in it was, well it was poorly done. You can tell they rushed to get the room ready for pride. The room was painted horribly; the door wasnt even sanded and the handles and other parts werent removed and instead were painted over lazily, with splotches of the previous blue paint showing through. The dresser was poorly painted in the same color as the walls. The masking tape up where the cieling met the walls was never taken down. The cieling fan didnt have a lightbulb. The only lighting was a small desk lamp and string lights strung up on one of the walls. The mattress was on the floor and there was no railing to support a box to place the mattress on top of. The only professional thing about the rooms remodel was the carpet which was probably put in by someone who actually knew what they were doing.The entire hostel has a frat dorm feel about it. There seemed to be individuals staying for the long term as dorms with a single or two bunk beds had personal belongings everywhere, window fans mounted on the small windows that face the halls, and some doors had what I would consider graffiti on them but were surely personalized by the tenets.Another thing. The food storage room, which in just a room with a rack and two fridges in it, was disgusting. Wanting to store some left overs from a nearby restaurant my fiance and I had gone to, i found that a ransid smell came from the fridges as spoiled milk, eggs and whatever other horrors were just sitting there, nevering having been cleaned out. The fridges are stuffed to the brim with nothing else being able to fit inside of it. The fridge I put my leftovers in ended up being the one in the kitchen and when I retrieved it the next morning the bottom of the bag was covered in a nasty slime from rotten vegetables that i must have squished trying to placed my food in there.The bathrooms are not dissimilar from that of a fast food restaurant. You enter, a row of sinks to your right or left, a row of toilet stalls, and a row of shower stalls. There are NO private bathrooms. Everything is communal.There is a smoking room where you can relax and smoke anything legal, which adds to the frat house vibe and frankly makes me feel like it draws the wrong crowd if this place wants to be seen as a legitimate, reputable establishment. My advice being, ditch the tacky party vibe and go for something more neutral and clean, it would deffinetly draw a more desirable clientel. Update everything, gut the building if you have to, add private baths to the private bedrooms and just charge a little more for those rooms. Hire people who actually seem like they want to work there instead of looking like they are bored out of their mind waiting for their next break to go smoke. Guarentee somewhere to park for out of town clients like me, I drove over 200 miles and over 6 hours and had to park almost a mile away because downtown San Diego is awful, prohibiting parking everywhere or demanding you pay an exorbitant amount for only a maximum of like 2 hours on the street or 2-6 hours in a designated Public Parking location.To conclude this review, I wouldnt stay there again, ever. I would only consider it if they did a massive overhaul because if I wanted to sleep over at my aunts old crumbling 70 year old house, I wouldnt pay $150 (marked up nearly or more than double for pride) to stay there.

When you need to relax confortable on vacation check them out

Great hostel great customer service, very friendly.

Good place for young international bargain travelers.

Great place to stay and great atmosphere.

Rikki is awesome and so is everyone else.

So dope

Everybody was very friendly and I greatly enjoyed the experience!

Everything was great apart from 2 people snoring all night in my dorm

Friendly staff, good cheap price for a bed.

Great hostel and awesome volunteers who provided a great time!

Great place and Amber is awesome

Centrally located. Staff was friendly.

There were some creepy and rude people there, I felt uncomfortable only had to stay there 2 nights luckily

[email protected] contact me

Friendly staff and clean rooms. Very good Hostile.

Has a blast loved it

The location is a bit difficult to find and parking is worse but when you find it the employees are amazing and the beds are soft for that price you cant get a better offer

Clean & friendly and accommodating!