Green Tortoise Hostel

The location of the hostel is brilliant. About a block away from Chinatown and 10 minutes from the pier and ferry plaza. There are so many food places within walking distance. I was travelling by myself and I never felt unsafe at the hostel. The rooms are decently sized. You do get a personal light in your bunk and access to at least two switches. There is a space at the bottom of each bunk bed for you to store and lock your personal bags. I especially appreciate the bathroom stalls at Green Tortoise. Although it is a common bathroom (this is a hostel after all), it is single stalled. Love the privacy. There was always a bathroom available when I needed one. The hostel has a big and open dining hall. Breakfast is served here. There is coffee and tea, breads, spreads, cereals, and fruits. There are also eggs and you are free to cook them in whatever style you enjoy. I often buy meals and snacks from around the area and bring them back to eat at the dining hall. Loads of tables and comfortable chairs available.

As mentioned by previous reviewers, the walls and windows are not particularly soundproof. Depending on where your room faces, it does get noisy on weekends from the music from the streets. But that is what you get when you're living in the city. You can either request and pay more for rooms that do not face the main streets or get ear plugs.

The room was cozy and the bed comfortable. The view from the shared balcony was lovely and looked amazing at night. They had fun activities available every night and the fridge, kitchen and shower facilities were great. The hot water ran a little too hot if you didn't adjust it right and the coffee machine didn't seem to work (or we couldn't work it out), but that's about it for constructive criticism. Liked the annex building and the breakfast area was so good for free breakfast facilities too. Would definitely stay there again. Great value for money and all the staff were lovely and very accomodating.

To be fair to the staff, we didn't try out the coffee machine until the last day and mentioned neither the shower being a little challenging to cool down or the coffee machine being tricky and I'm sure they'll look into it.

i was recommended green tortoise by a classmate & i’m really glad i went with his recommendation because this was a great experience! as a young female travelling solo for the first time i felt really safe & well looked after by the staff. the location was super central and also felt really safe. the complementary breakfasts were a bonus, i loved the bagels and the orange juice, and the dispensers for shampoo and conditioner were very handy. loved it, very cool place with lots of character

would’ve loved for there to be more vegan options for breakfast

Really fun party hostel with events on every night of the week to join. Great free dinner on Sundays too and there common area was like a lounge area which was massive and a huge kitchen. Was really well set up and also free breakfast with bagels, eggs cook your own and fruit and coffee was pretty good compared to prices of other hostel. I would definitely stay here again if I come back to san Fran.

It is on a bit of a dodgy street there is a few strip clubs right by the hostel but seemed fine in the day.

The stuff were really nice and helpful. The place really tries to keep the cleanibg standart high, which they do and it's not so easy when all bathrooms are shared. Breakfast was fresh and all vegetarian. The bed was surprisingly comfortable!

Our room was really small, but we saw there are a bit bigger ones. It was noisy at nights during the weekend, but we could still sleep. No ac, but we didnt reallt needed it since open window provided enough fresh air.

I really liked the location of it which was very central and right next to Chinatown. The breakfast had a nice selection and I liked the way they let you cook your own eggs with a kitchen that was opened 24/7. They had a letter box facility and sold stamps and also had free branded postcards which was very cute. The staff were all very polite and accommodating. They had a different themed social every night (that I didn’t go to but I’m sure it was fun). The common room always had people in it which was very lively and the hotel decor was on theme with the green tortoise.

It is based on broadway street and the nightclub across the road was fairly loud in the middle of the night. Extend breakfast to 10:30 instead of 10 pls.

Excellent location, more than walkable to/from the piers and any BART station and lots of buses radiate out to other parts of SF. Lots of good restaurants and amazing views nearby. Staff was ultra-friendly and super helpful/accommodating. Breakfast was excellent and the lounge is REALLY big and spacious. I didn't go to any but the group events appear to be quite frequent and well-organized as well.

The Monroe nightclub across the street--heavy bass and a huge lineup of partygoers talking loudly outside, this persisted until as late as 6 AM the following day. Might not have been as bad if I wasn't in the room that faced the street on the lower level. The lockers are hard to use--it's a couple cages under each bunk and is hard to use without bothering the person in the lower bunk. The only source of drinkable water is the vending machine and the water is expensive there, $2.50 for a small bottle that would cost ~1.75 at a store outside, would recommend buying a large water or case of water during the day and stashing it in your locker for the duration of the trip.

Nice and comfortable bed and comforter. Pillow was ok. The bedroom was clean and also the bathrooms and common areas. The staff was very friendly and the recommended several restaurants nearby to eat. I try the Mexican restaurant, the food was very nice (a bit spicy for me) During the week there wasn’t noise, on my last day (Friday) you could hear the music from the clubs but it was not that loud. The breakfast was nice, do it yourself :), eggs (if you want ti prepare them) and bagels/bread, coffee and juice. Overall it was a very nice experience, I would recommend it.

The dinner night out, it would be nice if you specified the whole price with a drink, so it wouldn’t be a surprise from $6 to $10 plus taxes.

The huge lounge with the stage is great. However, there is quite a draft in this room. I loved the guacamole with the free beer one night. The codes for the rooms are practical, so you can already not lose any cards. The multible individual bathrooms with their own toilet on the floor. Breakfast ok.

The steep stairs at the lower entrance are difficult to take for large suitcases. Curtains for the beds for more privacy would be very desirable. I have then helped myself with an extrra sheet. That the towels are not included in the price. Ok 1 dollar is not much, but I had this. never had to pay extra in any hostel.

A beautiful spacious building with spacious dormers and solidly constructed dormer beds. Prime location to reach most attractions on foot. Including choice breakfast. Big lounge to find a quiet corner if needed. No keys or swipe cards. They use Goki, opening your door through bluetooth. Plenty of single showers.

Be careful with breakfast utensils. Despite a good 3 step system of cleaning your own dishes and cups after breakfast, not everyone seems to adhere to this. Tip clean your cup/ utensils before use one more time. In some of the single showers the sink is absolutely tiny and awkward.