Friend's Hostel

The staff was nice, but the hostel is in a neighborhood that doesn´t seems safety.The room was hot and the linen not very clean.When the sun goes down is not a recomended metro stop.
They have no dinning room, only a little "patio"and the shower of our room was so small that we almost couldn´t enter.
Try another hostel if you can.

Comfortable stay in maintained rooms. Front desk staff is always almost someone different but are friendly to speak to.

Unique Quality: This hostel is located very near to Sacre Coeur (10 mins walk or so), which is rather notherly from the city centre. The streets here can get really crowded on weekends, and the traffic on Boulevard de la Chapelle can really pick up in the mornings. But it is right smacked in front of the Barbès-Rochechouart metro station (exit by Boulevard de Magenta), which was really convenient. Also, you may find cheaper items in carts, shops along the streets here. The weekend flea market St-Ouen (Marche aux puces de St-Ouen) is a few metro stops up north. It's pretty close on foot to Gare du Nord train station (RER) if you're going to and fro paris and CDG airport. Great if you plan to explore places that are near here. But still feels a little far if you plan to visit the other places and left bank areas in Paris. Rooms, toilets and showers were clean and well maintained, and blankets were provided.

Directions: take the metro to Barbès-Rochechouart station, exit by Boulevard de Magenta. Or alternatively walk 10 mins to/from Gare du Nord train station.

I stayed there for three nights and move to Absolute Hostel afterwards. Friend's Hostel was a big disaster. The rooms are dirty, small and hot (you couldn't open the window because it was on ground level). There seem just to be 2 toilets and a single shower for the whole hostel - extremely small and dirty. Of course there were no lockers. Nor was breakfast included. It was exactly the same price as Absolute Hostel, which is a million times better (see my other tip). The neighbourhood doesn't feel secure at night either.

Unique Quality: In a word: no.

Directions: way out of the centre - far in the north near Gare du Nord

Arriving late on a weekend without a reservation was a bad idea. I became so desperate, I went with the 'Friend's Hostel'. I am sure some fellow travellers have heard of this place. You can easily find it by looking for the cluster of about thirty drug dealers at one intersection near Gare de Nord. The room consisted of about twenty dorm beds crammed into a garage that has a smell that is beyond description. 'I keep your money and passport in our safe-yes' asked the seedy desk clerk. 'That's alright sir, I don't have any valuables on me.' I did enjoy the bar there, however. There was a great bartender who played horrible eighties music on a discman that fed into some speakers. I drank with fellow travellers throughout the night as we watched the police chasing the drug dealers on the corner.

The next day I woke up early to set out for accommodations that were a bit more suitable. I found the Centre Internationale BVJ Paris-Louvre. A nice hostel with great staff and clean rooms. The location was excellent, only a few blocks from the Louvre and the subway. It is a little more spendy than the other hostels, but after sleeping in a garage, it seemed like quite a bargain.
130FF for a bed in a four bed dorm room.

Unique Quality: Centre Internationale BVJ Paris-Louvre: Breakfast included.

Friends Hostel: no charge for the cops and dealers show from the bar, and they weeel keep your money in thee safe for you...

Directions: Centre Internationale BVJ Paris-Louvre: 20 Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau