Chamounix Mansion Youth Hostel

Only stay here if you have access to a car, otherwise it’s a pain by bus and you have to walk the last mile. I did four nights here going back and forth from downtown for a conference. Literally 4.5 miles away from city center, it takes 40 minutes once you’re on the bus, and 20 minutes to walk the final mile. On Sunday morning, I waited one hour for the bus (#38) to pick up from the hostel headed downtown. In addition, the park is huge and sprawling but there is only one road that leads to the hostel, so don’t get lost on foot like I did in the dark. Alternatives to a car would be borrowing a bike from the hostel or using car ride app services like Lyft. It cost one-​way $ 12 (not including tip) for a trip from city center 12^th x Market at night when the roads were clear.

Even though it’s cheap it is not convenient at all for backpackers. If you do not have a car you will have to take a taxi from the city center there or take the 38 bus that will drop you off in the middle of nowhere and you’ll have to walk for 20minutes or so. Choose between spending money or a lot of you time in the city getting there. Do NOT go by bus after dark. At day time it seemed better but I would still not go alone.
The hostel itself is fine, clean. But it’s far from the touristic attractions and it’s closed from 11am to 4pm so you have to leave.
Grey was super nice though and our check in was in good Portuguese.

Some have mentioned this being a very clean hostel. I’d tend to agree if it wasn’t for the slight stink bug infestation in the bunk room I was staying in. Luckily they were mostly on the opposite side of the room I was in and I didn’t see them until I was checking out.
The Chamounix Hostel is actually 2 buildings, the old «Mansion» is the main building with a few comfortable common rooms, a large kitchen, laundry room, vending machines, fooseball table, computer, and check-​in. The bunk rooms are on the second floor as well as the 2 floors of the second building. The door to the second building and room door were both locked with a keycode that the front desk gives you. They also have small lockers in the main building if you want to lock up any valuables.
Other perks of the hostel is free coffee and make-​yourself pancakes in the morning and free bike rentals. I didn’t see the bikes but this might be worth the $ 23/​night hostel price alone as the cheapest bike rental in Philly is closer to $ 30/​day.
I had the worst night sleep of life here but most of that had to do with a loud snoring guy in the next bunk. Had there been no snoring it would have been fine but not exactly that comfortable as the mattress is actually a plastic covered pad that wasn’t too thick. They give you clean sheets when you check in but the pillow and thick wool blanket are kept by the beds.
Last thing to mention is that the hostel is about 4 miles north of the museum so it’s best if you have a bike or car to get up there otherwise it’s a very long walk or a cab ride. I would have stayed at the slightly more expensive Apple Hostel in the middle of the city but they were completely booked.

This is in the middle of nowhere, thank god I have a motorcycle or else this would be difficult to get to. A giant mansion with 3 floors the common area is on the first, kitchen in the basement, BBQ and deck outside. Free pancakes every morning which was a plus but for the guys there is only 2 showers and 2 toilets and their on the third floor. speaking of which if you stay on the third floor it’s basically an attic so the small spaces in hostels are even smaller. If i wanted to go back to philly and didn’t want to deal with the city and wanted the absolutely cheapest place to stay then this is it.

The hostel is not exactly what you expect when you are booking a night in a hostel. The location is not convenient to local attractions, but being in Fairmount Park is in itself a great place to be. The place is really nice… literally in an old mansion and the people running the place are equally as nice. My brother and I enjoyed our time thoroughly, especially considering that the other Philly Hostel discriminates against US citizens (Apple Hostel). If you dont have a car it might be a pain getting into the main part of the city. If you have the patience it’s totally possible to take the bus though. The only downside is the lockout period which, while common at hostels, is never a welcome attribute. The area around the hostel is so nice that you might otherwise have wished that you could hang out at the hostel during the day and relax or read a book.
Strongly recommended to stay here though regardless.

The people who run this place are nice, but sadly, as a hostel, this place is less than ideal. I agree with another reviewer’s comment that this place would be better suited as a B&B.
This place is in the middle of nowhere – literally. It’s in the middle of a park and is probably impossible to get to without a car. Even if you do have a car, it blows because parking in Philadelphia blows. What I have always liked about hostels is that they put you right in the middle of where all the action is in a town, but on the cheap… this place doesn’t do that.
2AM curfew… no thanks! This was my first time staying at a hostel with a curfew, and it made me kind of stir crazy. Basically, you can’t get out from 2AM-​8AM for any reason, not even just to step out. Then, you get locked out from 11AM-​4PM (it’s better to be exploring Philly anyway, but still).
The beds have those cheap plastic mattress pad things and not actual mattresses… I was in an attic and that + the plastic mattress made me feel like an orphan :’(

This really is a gorgeous little hostel. The common spaces in the main building (a converted mansion) are filled with the sort of furniture I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of buying at an antique store — because there’d be no way I could afford it.
I happened to be with someone who owns a car, a rarity for me, and under normal circumstances there is no way I’d be able to get to this place. But it is in the middle of the park, and oh so lush and green.
The kitchen is huge and well stocked with cooking tools etc. I cooked quite a few huge dinners here — we had a big group and never felt like we were overwhelming or taking the place over.
Our actual rooms were in the Carriage House, it was comfortable but a little drafty, and not nearly as pretty as the main house, y’know… having previously housed either horses or cars I guess aesthetics weren’t the main priority.
There was a nice common space also available in the upstairs of the carriage house too — great for meetings and down time.
Overall I’d definitely recommend it for groups — or folks who are craving a little more space, tranquility, and greenery than you’d find at the average hostel.

Beautiful, quiet, spacious, friendly, and inexpensive, but you need at least a bike (with lights for biking at night!) to be comfortable with the location. It’s spic and span, and has more common space than any hostel I’ve stayed in, so it’s easy to meet people or to just do work quietly, whatever your preference. Usually I bike the 4 miles to downtown though a lush park along the river (beautiful!), but I think they also lend bikes for free. It’s also possible to drive downtown, and hostel plus parking downtown is still cheaper than other options, including other hostels (where you have to pay for parking anyhow). The park where it’s located is beautiful. There are riding stables next door and I’ve heard other guests talk about seeing deer. This is my favorite option for staying in Philadelphia, despite the distance from downtown. Kitchen is not the best (no granite countertops or Ikea furniture), but who uses more than the fridge + microwave, anyhow?

This is the hostel to stay at if you have a car. It’s easily the cleanest hostel I’ve ever stayed in, and being out in the middle of a park can be relaxing and quiet at night. If you don’t have a car, the location can be inconvenient, to say the least. (see my review for the Bank Street Hostel)
The 12:00 curfews needs to be reconsidered. I’m sure they are doing this because of staffing issues and not some sort of old fashioned paternalistic hosteling ideal, but still…
The only other bad thing about this place is it tends to attract a number of youth groups from the area that hang out in the evenings and early mornings and have loud obnoxious conversations. I’ve stayed there twice and both times there were kids there in groups like this that were younger than your average hostelers (likely high schoolers), who didn’t talk to anyone except those in their group, and seemed to think the kitchen was a perfectly normal place to be annoying at 8:00 am.
Overall, Philadelphia’s best hostel, though this isn’t saying much.