I stayed here just before Christmas with a big group of friends (there were 10 of us) and we got a 10-bed dorm with ensuite. We could also use the common bathrooms. The rooms were spacious, clean and comfortable. You can get free wifi on the first and second floor.
There was a travel agency just outside the hostel and you can book all your touristy things there and it was a short walk to Budget Cars to hire a car, which is what we did. It's not easy to get around LA without a car.
There's heaps of nice restaurants (Japanese, American, Italian, Thai) around Santa Monica. Hooter's is nearby and so is a nice bar called Yankee Doodle.

My boyfriend and I visited Los Angeles and decided to stay in Santa Monica because of the great location and the affordable price. This place looked to fit the bill and it did. Our rooms were clean and the bathrooms as well. The water can be a little funny (my shower was way too hot one day, otherwise it was OK the other two days), but otherwise it's all good. It's great that they have a wash machine and offer computers if you need them. The beds aren't amazing and the decorations sparce, but it's comfy and livable. The lobby and courtyard are really warm and welcoming though; there is even an area with a fireplace and some big comfy chairs. There is also a communal feel about the place and I think that it does that part right. As I said before, the location is GREAT (just a block from the beach and two from the Pier and one block from Third Street Promenade). We also took the Big Blue Bus (#3) to and from LAX and it dropped us three blocks from the hotel for just $1 each. Lastly, there are a lot of nice restaurants nearby (the Yard around the corner, Buddha's Belly down the street) that are not super cheap, but had really delicious food. The breakfast was alright, but nothing special. I would say one other highlight was the discounted city tour they offer through the tour agency next door. We got to take tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, view the Hollywood sign, and see celebrity homes all for $20. In a spread out place like the LA metro, it made our tourism stressfree and affordable. Places like Hollywood were really crowded and over run by stores and other commercial things, so stopping there for an hour with the tour was just the right amount of time. I really liked that.

The last thing I would say about this hostel though is that they could use better reservations/confirmation system. I wanted to get a private room so I called and made a reservation. I called to confirm my room and spoke with a different person a few days before my trip and they assured me everything was OK. When I arrived, I found out that the person who booked me had booked my room for a year in advance of the date I arrived, so they didn't have a private room for me. They were very gracious in accommodating the error though and gave my boyfriend and I a whole dorm room for 6 to ourselves and also reduced our rate to compensate. For me it worked out alright, but I think it would have been better for everyone if they had been better about sending confirmations of reservations so that I could have followed up when I noticed the error. I am happy that they had space to accommodate us, because it was the days before the Rose Bowl and so I think everything else would have been booked. As I said, next time I hope there will be better communication from the hostel about reservations (my first time booking a hostel in the US, so I didn't know what to expect), but otherwise it was a super great stay in all other aspects.

This hostel has great staff, great facilities and an excellent location. It's one street back from the beach / Santa Monica Pier and one block from the 3rd Street Promenade. There are heaps of great shops and restaurants in this area and it's also only a few blocks from Vons and Whole Foods. The hostel provides a massive kitchen if you prefer to prepare your own meals and they do provide breakfast. There is a laundry, computers, a fireplace / sitting area, a TV room and a movie room. The hostel provides a tourist service counter which can organize day trips, longer trips e.g Las Vegas, Tijuana etc and shuttle services. The rooms and showers are clean.

This hostel exceeded my expectations and then some . Firstly youncan't go past the location, one street back from the beach, close to the shops, and in a safe neighbourhood that I as a single female traveller felt comfortable wandering around alone at night. The kitchen redefines what the hostel kitchen should be and the number of different chill out areas, all with wifi was great for chilling out in. The rooms were clean with a towel, and clean nice feeling sheets! The fact that the HI Travel Centre is next door with their super friendly and helpful staff only seals this deal for me. I recommend this to anyone you don't need to do the dorm room if you want peace and for this price and location I will be back and recommending this to all!