Green Tortoise Hostel

Impeccable hostel. From the outside, the building might seem dated, but I must say the interior is very well-maintained. The common areas are beautiful and spacious, with a large kitchen where you can cook. Every morning, there’s a small but very good free breakfast. The rooms are spacious and extremely comfortable. The beds are sturdy and don’t make any noise. The bathrooms are shared, but I was surprised by how clean they were—always spotless. Every evening, they host some kind of event, including free dinners, which is quite rare. The location is very convenient—you can easily explore the entire city center on foot. I’d gladly stay here again.

So I'm pretty new to traveling. Haven't stayed at very many hostels so obviously a party oriented hostel like the green tortoise leaves a strong impression on my virginal hostel traveling mind. You have the potential to meet some very interesting people here but also some very creepy people as well who give you a feeling as though they've just escaped from jail or have just come out of a mental ward. The 3 weeks I stayed there I was verbally assaulted by a person coming into the room at 4am directing his anger towards me because of the roommates shoes. Needless to say he was eventually kicked out after he also verbally assaulted someone on staff. Honestly you have potential to meet some great people here if you stay long enough but the fun doesn't really last very long. Everything is dictated by who is coming and going (if you like the social post 9pm party atmosphere of the hostel). The main problems I have with this place are it's very dirty. You will see multiple mice running around the kitchen. The staff are very rude elitist people who haven't yet escaped their teen angst phase (but they are well into their mid 30's some of them). Some of the staff are absolutely incredible people but overall they are mostly smug [-]. Green tortoise is an interesting place to stay for a couple of nights (if you want a cheap place to party) but I would suggest a more professional hostel for an extended stay. You have to put on a show, stand out, act like an ***** etc if you want to be treated well by staff. If you are an average person they will treat you poorly and you will regret your stay their. People that go there to stay can be great but the staff just sucks so i cant recommend this place due to my bad experiences with these people (front desk people should use eye contact, say thank you hello in a friendly way, be courteous etc ).

I've stayed at many hostels including Hostel International in the Tenderloin distric. All and all, not a bad experience, i didn't think it could get worse. IT DID. After booking a room with Green Tortoise i was expecting to stay at the North Beach location, instead we were sent down the street several blocks to a hole in the wall location where the rooms were small, cramped and worst of all I woke up from the Green Tortoise room with flea bites all over. Once we checked out I talked to the front desk staff about it and they didn't seem at all bothered or apologetic or concerned about my predicament. After I emailed Green Tortoise about the fleas, they did not take accountability and brushed me off. For an organization in the people business, they don't seem to care too much about people. I would never go back! AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE

I used to love this place. I unfortunately had a female traveler who said she's going to make sure she keeps the riff out. So she thought I was riff raff and complained to the front desk manager about me. San Francisco is a very difficult city rn. You have to look a bit homeless because you don't want to get ripped off or have things stolen. Today, I got an email that I'm not a good fit for the hostel. I'm crying in a bathroom. Because I don't want to hear the European travelers hearing me cry. On a good note they allowed me to extend one day more than I should of. They are very nice people. But the you don't fit in here comment hurt my heart

I really loved this hostel!! It’s set in a very exciting neighbourhood right next to north beach and Chinatown. I found it incredibly easy to connect with other travellers and I really liked my dorm room as well! The living room is very cool as well, with plenty of space, nice views, guitars, a piano and many sofas. The bathrooms were clean as well. I can highly recommend it and have already recommended it to friends. However, I took part in a dinner event hosted by the hostel and can’t recommend it… it‘s ofc great to get in touch with others but the Italian restaurant we went to was really bad. I could have easily cooked the pasta myself. Also, the woman who took us there (our guide from the hostel) seemed rude and unmotivated. The other night friends of mine went to an Indian restaurant and said the food ****** as well…

We stayed in the green tortoise for 3 nights for our first time in San Francisco and it was absolutely amazing. Super easy check in/out, friendly staff and excellent facilities. The best equipped hostel kitchen I’ve ever seen. Stayed in a mixed dorm as a female (my boyfriend was also staying in the room) but felt completely comfortable and safe. Good company from the other guests too and super comfy common room.