Would probably live here! Ideal location - right in the heart of downtown and 2 minutes to trolley and buses to get everywhere else. Super friendly and helpful staff. Organised events so we were able to meet lots of people. Stayed in a double room with a bunk bed, fridge(soo enjoyed), t.v and a mirror and a chair! Bathrooms were clean - spesh compared to some of the other hostels have stayed at. Lots of stairs!! but what can you do. Breakfast were good - Bagels nom nom! Stayed at HI hostel a little bit later and just wanted to go back to the usa hostel. what else ummm living room area and computers plus free wifi. Orgainsed trip to t.j- didnt do this but people seemed to enjoy it. If your looking to travel while meeting cool people and having a blast this go here!!

I was in a room facing the street and no one slept until 2am when the bars closed! Unbelievably loud, even with ear plugs!

Otherwise, hostel is decent - bathrooms need a good scrub, friendly people, helpful staff, well located.

PS - the Tijuana trip is for serious alcoholics only - you see the seediest, most touristy places there - I've have better Mexican food and margaritas in Easter Europe! Definitely do not recommend.

So we stayed here 4 nights. I knew it was going to be a party hostel, from everything I read online. My boyfriend and I, although we like to go out and stuff, are not the most outgoing people in this kind of situation.
Anyways, so we arrived there late (around 9pm) on Friday night. We had booked a private double bed and I was annoyed to find out that when we arrived, we pretty much got the worst room (because it was the last one available) : right in front of the staircaise and the satelitte TV was completely broken... they gave us 10$ off...I think we should have asked for more, since we having satelite TV in the room description obviously drove the price up, and we were staying there 4 nights, but whatever.
So my first recommendation is if you care about getting a good room, don't get there too late.
Now, when we arrived, the place was already in full swing. People were hanging out in the lobby and staircase drinking. People were nice and welcoming though and actually helped us carry out luggage up :) ! If you are into partying and meeting people, yes, its absolutely great for that.
Our room was nice, although we had to keep the curtains closed because you could see into another room across the courtyard thing.
Oh, another thing, they have free WiFi which we used a lot, but it was not functionning properly. You had to keep connecting and disconnecting to actually get a connection... so a bit tricky.
The bathrooms are shared, coed. Never had a problem waiting for anything, and they we're pretty clean.
The place did have all the organized activities that they promised : we were there on the Tijuana night, which we kind of wanted to go to, but we were way too tired because we went surfing that morning (exhausting). They also had the organized dinners, and parties.
Another thing I would like to "warn" about though is that the 11 o'clock "quiet" rule is not really respected. We had people SCREAMING and playing music LOUD until like 2 in the morning. And we later found out this was actually a staff party.... So I was pretty annoyed about that because I am a REALLY light sleeper. However, I put my earplugs in and was able to fall asleep anyways.
The girl at the front desk (blonde) was really nice and very helpful. They answered all the questions we had about what bus to take where, where we should buy our tickets, everything. (however some of the staff we're a little annoying/gross (ie drunk, unhelpful, barefoot) They also have a great map in the hostel that shows ALL the popular attractions and little cards which directions on how to get there by bus!! Great!! Used them all the time.
Oh and the free breakfast : it was nice having something to eat in the morning for free (coffee, pancakes, oatmeal)... but it was reallllly not that good. But whatever, all I need in the morning is coffee and something to eat with it, so that was fine.

So all in all : The good : Mostly helpful staff, and tons of help to figure out what to do/where to go/how to get there, and lots of opportunities to meet people. The bad : room wasn't so great, or breakfast, and a bit too loud at night.

This was a great hostel, with very friendly traveller folk staff.
The boyfriend and I booked the cheapest dorm room possible which was right next to the party room, we are both heavy sleepers but if your not I would pay the extra. We also had some interesting roommates (I forgot most people who book cheap rooms ARE on a budget and wont participate in anything to save costs).
Was a bit disappointed there was no milk for my coffee or for oatmeal, and some loos were getting fixed which meant the bathroom was a bit crowded, but otherwise had a great vibe, and I would definately stay there again.
If you are a bit of a lone wolf or like early nights, you are probably better off in a hotel though