Close to subway, awesome price, bathrooms so-so
I visited NYC this past weekend with a friend of mine. We stayed at the BH&H for three nights in one of the 2-bed dorm rooms with shared bath. We were in room 331. The lobby and commons area was nice and cozy, and the blonde British girl who was working at the front desk was very pleasant. I noticed most of the front desk employees went out of their way to accommodate guests, even writing down addresses of places they suggested we visit. However, one of the front desk girls was rather rude. When we inquired about the shuttle service they advertise on their front desk countertop the girl said "hail a cab." No offering advice like, "It comes once an hour, let us know so we can reserve a spot for you, and it is approximately two hours to the airport," like a different front desk girl told me (who was nice enough to call the shuttle company to see if they could squeeze me in at the last minute, but no such luck). However, it was too late for me to request a spot. Therefore, my friend and I were both forced to each take a cab to the airport (we had different departure times, also plan on $40 to/from La Guardia) because of the rude front desk girl. But she was the only rude person I met here.
Checking in was a breeze, and they let us pay separately instead of all on one card, which was convenient. The subway is only a block and a half up the street, and there is a diner down the block which was fabulous (Metro Diner). The hotel/hostel is in a nice and quiet neighborhood, despite the fact that it's on Broadway. We didn't hear any street noise (although we weren't on the street...also, our view was of a brick building, so I have no clue what direction our room even faced). We never had to wait for a bathroom. The bathrooms were somewhat clean, and not as nice as I had hoped, but I have seen much, much worse. There are no towels or paper towels to dry your hands, but there is toilet paper, soap and hot water (very hot, watch out!). The shower always had hot water as well. The room was sparse, it had a set of bunk beds, a sink, mirror and chair. Not fancy, but if you are in NYC who has time to sit in their room anyway?! The price was fantastic, since everywhere in NYC is outrageously expensive. Basically we paid $62/person/day and that includes tax.