BBQ/picnic Area
Check availability

Reviews of Capital View - Hostel

1.5 out of 5
Capital View - Hostel
301 I Street NW, Washington, DC

Reviews

7.0

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 9 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 36 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 14 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 7 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 5 out of 71 reviews" "

7.0/10

Cleanliness

7.6/10

Staff & service

7.2/10

Amenities

6.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

Matthew

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Awful
The property didn't even open the door after confirming arrival time earlier in the day. Seems racially motivated...
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2020
Response from Tom on 2 Sept,2020
This is a strange review. This person never arrived, and we had marked him/her as a no-show.

10/10 Excellent

XANTRULUNAR, Washington DC

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very clean facility the faculty and staff were very friendly and helpful and very communicative. I pretty much grew up in this area and for years walked past the location unaware of the service that they provide! Great place to take a load off for an inexpensive fee. Thanks
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2020
Response from Tom on 4 Aug,2020
thank you so much!

4/10 Poor

Ronnie

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
eh...it’s a hostel, it’s a gamble
I arrived and waited a while for service, but the woman who did help me was lovely as she was tending to another issue. A girl came in before I got checked in and was talking about someone potentially getting bed bugs. Eek. My gut said run but it was late. I ended yo leaving the property early and booked a hotel hotel after one night. Three guys in my room were half respectful, half selfish and inconsiderate.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020

6/10 Okay

Wes, Oregon

Liked: Staff & service
The price is right, the location too, It's my go-to spot for DC visits now.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019
Response from Tom on 10 Mar,2020
coolio - thank you!

4/10 Poor

TheHouseRebel, Washington D.C.

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Liked it was near capital and didn't like there lack of patients
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2020
Response from Tom on 19 Feb,2020
yikes, the house rebel is right, lol. Sorry, we can't always control our population, but everyone is super nice now!

8/10 Good

Lauren

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2019
Response from Tom on 4 Dec,2019
thanks! That's nice!

8/10 Good

Elizabeth

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019
Response from Tom on 4 Nov,2019
thank you!

6/10 Okay

ISABEL, Sao Paulo

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good location. I didnt like the atmosphere in the common areas. Also,the hostel wanted to charge more than the expedia offer. The manager accepted the expedia value after some ponderation (but I found that situation ackward), as the price offered should be the price charged without any need for discussion.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019
Response from Tom on 4 Dec,2019
Thanks for your review, and we'll look at how we can up the atmosphere levels in the common areas - usually the patio is the most relaxing spot for sure. Please understand that we charge exactly what Expedia requested us; they sent you and us two different rates. We have no ability to alter the rates, and agreed with your charge with no issues, once we saw proof that you were provided a different rate than what it stated on the reservation. Thank you!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 26 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Tom on 15 Sept,2019
thank you!

4/10 Poor

Ryoki

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019
Response from Tom on 15 Sept,2019
What can we improve on =/ I wonder so much! One night stay, check-in late and check out early, I could see that's likely a bit boring - I understand. Thank you!

8/10 Good

Jungjoon

Stayed 15 nights in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
The walking tour at night was awesome. The room was OK. It'll be better if you remind people to bring their own shampoo and body wash in your property description.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019
Response from Tom on 27 Aug,2019
thank you for your review! We'll make sure to keep that re-stocked!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
For a hostel with so many rooms and beds there are only 4 toilets and 7 showers. You’re always checking for a free bathroom, especially in the evening when everyone is back from their activities.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Tom on 4 Aug,2019
Thank you for your review - we only have 40 beds in this building, and since all the bathrooms and showers are accessible individually, this actually is a better equivalent than having a 6 bed dorm let's say with 1 shower/bathroom that can be used by a single person, while other 5 are waiting. It was surely a design choice, and I'm sorry if it disappoints... 99% it's never an issue, except for those rare days when we are 100% occupied (literally just a few weekends out of the year).

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Tom on 4 Aug,2019
Thank you!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Tom on 26 Jul,2019
thank you

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
When I checked in, I was charged tax on top of my Expedia charge, even though Expedia calculates taxes in their quotes, and I've never been charged by a property for more than what Expedia quotes. I had to ask for the extra tax to be refunded, which it was.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019
Response from Tom on 26 Jul,2019
Sure thing we would refund any discrepancies - but that's not right to add this out of our review =(, especially since it was refunded. We don't make up the balance due, Expedia sends us that - and their system sent us the amount that we're supposed to charge. We've contacted them to correct the amounts and look into this =/ - thanks

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019
Response from Tom on 26 Jul,2019
I wish we could know what to improve on =/. Everything's been clean daily, and we're improving the patio, and outside garden, so the place looks pretty cozy =)

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
A good place to stay for a night. Though the building needs some work.
Stayed 1 night in May 2019
Response from Tom on 27 May,2019
thank you! Copy that - working on it, as you may have noticed paint spots =). Always people staying, so makes it harder =/

8/10 Good

James

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Fantastic value.
This was a new experience for me; I'd never stayed in a hostel before but decided to give it a shot as I was traveling on behalf of a not-for-profit and was being conscientious to not squander their budget. The average price for a room in this area in D.C. during my stay was around $300 per night, so for me be able to spend less than $200 for three nights in essentially a private room was pretty remarkable. The location can't be beat, everyone was really friendly, and their wi-fi was top notch (mission critical for me).
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2019
Response from Tom on 10 May,2019
Lovely!!!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It's a hostel. But an option for breakfast besides hi carb pancakes would be nice. Real oats? Yogurt?
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019
Response from tom on 27 May,2019
Thank you, and we will see if there are better alternatives =/

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The place was acceptable. Didn't like them vacuuming at 9pm. And no one taller than 5 feet can see themselves in the bathroom mirror on floor two.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2019
Response from Tom on 27 May,2019
hey there, thank you and valid point =/ - sorry sometimes we notice new dirt and clean too late =(, but beats getting a bad review over the place being unclean

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2019
Response from tom on 27 May,2019
Thanks!

10/10 Excellent

zhangqi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
very nice! i recommend for everyone!
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019
Response from tom on 27 May,2019
Thank you so much

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Never again
Worst Hostel I have ever stayed in. Hostel wasn't full yet my room one of 17 i think was full the whole 3 days with different people. I think they cram you in so the staff don't have to clean as much. Other hostels would spread people out. The bloke working there was rude and obnoxious.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2019
Response from tom on 27 May,2019
Thank you and sorry for this experience. The building was 100% occupied during your stay, and I'll look into who was working the front desk =/

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Average hostel in good spot with lovely staff
Overall, I'm not sure I would stay at the Capital View again; it depends on what you would prioritise. The staff there are lovely and friendly, and easy to chat to. However there are no real formal social activities or ways to meet people. Whilst there are some common spaces, they are not necessarily the best for facilitating interaction or meeting people if that is what you want to do. The rooms were fine. I was in a 6 bed female dorm, and it was suitable. The windows were cracked, but the heating was decent, so it wasn't cold overnight although it did get chilly in the mornings. The beds were pretty ok, with duvets and clean covers each quest (which I liked!), and had power points and lights at each one. The lockers were good (BYO lock), but wouldn't fit a suitcase. The bathroom facilities were very average, with not all of the showers having hot water (a problem for Washington where it gets very cold!), but there were sufficient toilets and showers for the guests. The location is really the biggest plus about the hostel, located walking distance from all of the sights in town. This was really fantastic! It is also walking distance from Union Station and a number of bus services which is helpful.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019
Response from Tom on 27 May,2019
Thank you so much for such a great review! We are working on introducing more events back regularly - this past few months have just been insane with short staff issues, and it shows =(. We had to prioritize cleaning and front desk but cut down on events =/.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

4/10 Poor

kimberly, illinois

Liked: Staff & service
No hot water
you! I went to take a shower there was zero hot water. I tried 3 showers upstairs. Then called the number and explained the problem. They interrupted me to tell me to use the one downstairs and as I tried to explain that there was a girl.coming out after my first shower and she as well had no hot water down stairs but instead of listening the lady just hung up on me and did nothing to fix the hot water. There was no hot water in the kitchen to wash dishes. No hot shower. The price was great but next time I'll spend the extra 5 or 10 to stay where I have hot water. No hot water and hanging up on me wasnt a solution. The girl that checked me in was super helpful but i only saw her once more for about 5 min while i was eating. I'm sorry to say I cant recommend this place based on my experience.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Excellent location. Quirky building. Friendly staff. Kitchen is a bit small. Roof top patio (with hammocks) is really cool. Quite clean (but too many flagrance dispensers/diffusers -- not good for people with asthma). Mattresses are a bit old and could be replaced--but that's what you'd expect in a cheap hostel. Highly recommend.
Stayed 6 nights in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good Stay
Overall stay was good - kitchen reasonable, amenities including bathrooms ok. Friendly and helpful staff.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Friendly staff let me check-in early on Thursday and showed me to a place I could nap until room was ready. Meet nice immigrant young lady from Turkey who was my roommate for three nights. Cleanliness was average. Place needs some minor maintenance but it is older building. One issue was the second night when a mixed gender couple were lodged in my dorm which was supposed to be women only . I specifically booked women's dorm. Other issue, also second of three nights, was the furnace coming on and cooking all four of us in the room definitely not good. Overall a positive stay, slept well 2 of 3 nights and with its excellent, central location I would probably stay there again
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2018

10/10 Excellent

Rebecca

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Proximity
I had no problems here! Staff: great! There are plenty of bathrooms for guests, they have a terrace which overlooks part of the city, and I walked about a mile to get to the Smithsonian‘s.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Inezpensive, no thrills lodging in central DC. Tired facility has all the basics of a functional hostel plus food frrebees and interesting fellow travelers. Staff was outstanding.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018

8/10 Good

Krystle

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
The staff was very friendly and helpful. It was pretty much what I expected cleanliness and location wise. A good place to crash if you're just looking for something close to the captiol and don't need anything too fancy.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2018

2/10 Terrible

Nancie, Washington DC

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The room cost is $31 plus 14.8% tax. The total is $35. However, the nite male staff taxed me two times. He taxed 14.8% of $35 that was already taxed and its total is $40. He scanned my credit for $40. He ripped people off by taxing them again on top of the total that is already taxed!!!!!! Expedia.com should stop them from ripping off people!!!! People are on the budget. That is why they stay in the hostel instead of the unnesseccery expensive hotel. The crook tries to rip them off!
Stayed 1 night in May 2018

8/10 Good

Graham

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness

8/10 Good

patti

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
All Good
Close to everything. Bed was small but it worked!

6/10 Okay

Deepak

Disliked: Staff & service

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Close to city
Good location. WiFi not working throughout stay with no apologies or discount given. Lovely cleaning staff.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018
Response from Tom on 28 Mar,2018
hey there, thank you for your review. WiFi was out one day, due to the quick winter storm damaging provider cables. We installed back up the following morning and didn't think anyone even noticed. Sorry about the inconvenience that caused, as it was also out of our control =/

8/10 Good

Monique

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
It worked for me!
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017

8/10 Good

Amara, New York

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Nice place
There is only one thing I feel bad that hot water is not very good. Other things like cleanliness, kitchen, environment, etc. are wonderful.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Fit my purpose, I didn't need to stay long so for a brief visit it fits well. Place seemed nice and had good facilities.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017

8/10 Good

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Could have been better, but happy overall.
Overall I was happy with my experience. The two complaints I have is about the pillow and lack of hot water. The pillow had very little substance to it, but it wasn't the worst I've had. And taking a mostly cold shower kind of sucked. There was hot water in the sink, I just couldn't get it in the shower. Considering how much I paid to stay there I will be staying there the next time I visit D.C.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
nice
This experience is a hostel experience were hostel actual meet its expectations the only down fall is that be aware that their is no outside comforts like a patio nor handicap accessibility but its worth it.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stay away from this hostel
I could hear every conversation and noise (police siren) from outside. The shower falling apart and is muddy. The keypad at the roomdoor doesn't work so everyone can walk in your room
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2017

8/10 Good

Lawrence

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Got the $49 bed better, no place to lock stuff
Clean neat nice
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Resting - Room Needed... Bath, Living and Dining
The place is quaint, however there is limited common area space. The other thing is that there doesn't seem to be enough bathrooms when you need one.
Stayed 1 night in May 2017

6/10 Okay

Guillermo

Honest Attempt
I only have a couple complaints. The property has computers, but it is a bit of a hassle to print, because it has to be done by having to send email to the office. That limits my privacy. The other is that there is one room with a wall adjoining a room with a machine that repeatedly runs on intervals all night. There's also a moldy smell in that room. The staff seems to be oblivious to it all and I am sure it is not a new problem.

4/10 Poor

Nora

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Don't go here to many sixteen year Olds
To NOisy
thanks for your review, but this was due to a group that stayed with us. We also made sure that no one was loud after 10PM, and the group was also confined to a private part of the hostel... I thought the group was awesome, they cleaned up after themselves always, including in the showers!

10/10 Excellent

Sophia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hostel to recommend
Great Hostel with friendly and helpful people.
Thank you!