By Louise Southerden
Union Square, San Francisco.Credit: iStock
THE PLACE
HI San Francisco Downtown
THE LOCATION
A bright and cheerful room at the HI San Francisco Downtown.Credit: Jordan Siemens
San Francisco has long been one of the world's favourite cities, loved for everything from its countercultural roots to the Golden Gate Bridge. It is now also America's start-up capital and, as a result, one of its most expensive cities. The good news: Hostelling International (HI), a worldwide network of more than 4000 properties, has three hostels in San Francisco. HI San Francisco Downtown is in Union Square, a short walk from museums, restaurants and the Powell Street cable cars that go to Fisherman's Wharf.
THE SPACE
Built in 1909, this five-storey former hotel has been a HI USA hostel for more than 20 years. It also "made the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs", according to a plaque in the lobby, a Star Wars reference that passes me by and is just one of the witty geek-chic touches around the place. The lobby is welcoming on a cool San Fran day with a fireplace, a retro chandelier and comfy couches, and the reception desk is open 24 hours. Climb the creaking stairs to the first floor and you'll pass the HI USA motto, emblazoned on the wall like a pacifist's call to arms: to create "a more tolerant world" through the power of travel. There are 102 rooms (44 mostly four-bed dorms plus 58 private rooms), half with en suite bathrooms. The Wi-Fi is free and fast, as you would expect.
THE ROOM
I share a four-bed en suite room with three women from Brazil, Canada and the US; the youngest is in her 20s, the oldest a first-time hosteller in her 60s. Each bunk has a cheerful orange-and-white duvet, plenty of headroom, a reading light, a shelf and two power outlets as well as a lockable storage box. Towels and bed linen are provided; as in most hostels, you have to make your own bed. The high ceilings and the large sash window next to my lower bunk make the room light and airy; blackout curtains keep out the neon at night.
THE FOOD
Room rates include a help-yourself breakfast of fresh bagels with cream cheese, oatmeal, fruit and tea or coffee, which you can enjoy at communal wooden tables with views to the street below. There are also authentic all-American diners around the corner such as Pinecrest, open 24 hours with booth seating that looks as if it hasn't changed since the 1950s. For the rest of the day and night you're spoiled for choice in a city that loves to eat: from foodie walking tours of North Beach, San Francisco's Little Italy (sffoodtour.com), and $US10 clam chowder in sourdough bowls at Fisherman's Wharf (boudinbakery.com) to Michelin-starred restaurants such as Saison and Benu.
STEPPING OUT
Keep to the "San Francisco on a shoestring" theme with the hostel's free or cheap activities such as bike tours across the Golden Gate Bridge and in-house "San Francisco movie" nights. The hostel staff are as helpful as any concierge, or visit the nearby Visitor Information Centre (sanfrancisco.travel) where you can buy a MUNI public transport pass ($US32 for three days; a single cable car ride costs $US7) or a CityPass ($US94 for nine days) that covers attractions such as the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. This park, bigger than New York's Central Park, is a must for its towering redwoods, bike trails, Japanese tea garden, model yacht club and free-range bison.
THE VERDICT
This is the quintessential San Francisco experience, in a way: staying in a beautiful old building in the centre of an iconic city with like-minded travellers and a sustainable ethic, for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room. The Beat poets would be proud.
ESSENTIALS
312 Mason Street, San Francisco. Rates from $US40 a person for a four-bed room (female, male or co-ed) with en suite, if you're a member of your national hostel association (YHA membership in Australia costs $25 a year, see yha.com.au). Non-members pay an extra $US3 a night or can join HI USA on arrival for $US28 ($US18 if you're over 55, free if you're under 18). See hihostels.com/hostels/hi-san-francisco-downtown
HIGHLIGHT: Staying in a 100-year-old former hotel run by travellers in the fast-beating heart of San Francisco makes you feel like an insider, not a tourist.
LOWLIGHT: It's hard to think of one, maybe just the lousy coffee at breakfast.
Louise Southerden travelled at her own expense.
Our rating: 5 stars
TripAdvisor Traveller Rating: 4 stars
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