International Student Center

Situated in a brownstone on the Upper West Side near Central Park, the bare-bones International Student Center makes a great home base for easygoing student travelers looking for a clean and affordable place to sleep. The Center's noteworthy mission statement (see below) just sweetens the deal.

The International Student Center offers 50 beds in shared single-sex or co-ed dorm rooms. These are your standard dorm rooms: eight to 10 wooden bunk beds in rooms that are basic, but very clean. Note that luggage is not allowed in the rooms (small backpacks only) and that they are not equipped with TVs or Wi-Fi.

All bathrooms at the Center are shared, clean and functional. Note: Towels are not included so either bring your own or rent one from the reception.

About the hostel

The International Student Center is operated by the non-profit organization Association for World Travel Exchange and aims to celebrate and encourage diversity and multicultural experience among young travelers. The Center offers several perks to support that goal, including a communal kitchen and basement lounge with television and public phones. There is also a “Sacred Garden,” with free herbs for guests to harvest in summer months.

Note that rooms are closed each day from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. for cleaning.

Also note the luggage policy: Guests may take small backpacks to their rooms, but luggage must remain in the locked up storage area in the reception.

Wi-Fi is deliberately not offered in the rooms, in order “to promote an environment of social interaction and New York City adventuring.” Guests can stay connected by using the free Wi-Fi in the common spaces. There is no curfew and breakfast is not included.

Note that guests must be between the ages of 18 and 35 to stay here. The International Student Center requires a $10 key deposit, refundable on check-out, and there is no elevator.

Location

The International Student Center is set in a rich neighborhood, with Central Park and the jogging track around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir just steps away. A lovely walk across the park gets you to Museum Mile, Manhattan’s famous stretch of Fifth Avenue, lined with some of the best museums, including the Met and the Guggenheim.

To the south of the International Student Center, the American Museum of Natural History— with its fascinating collection of dinosaur bones, rocks and minerals—is located eight blocks down Central Park West, and a little farther south are the city’s most exclusive luxury apartment buildings, like the famed Dakota (at 72nd Street), with Central Park’s the John Lennon memorial at Strawberry Fields just across the road.

Transportation

Subways: The B and C trains are conveniently around the corner from the hostel, at 86th Street and Central Park West. (Note: B trains run on weekdays only.) The 1 train stops at 86th Street and Broadway about a five-minute walk to the west.

JFK: To reach the International Student Center from JFK, take the AirTrain to Howard Beach Station, and catch a Manhattan-bound A train to 59th Street, where you can transfer to an Uptown C train to 86th Street. The hostel is a quick walk from the station.

LaGuardia: If you don’t have much luggage, take the M60 public bus, which stops outside the airport terminals and it travels west across Manhattan. Get off at 1 25th Street-Frederick Douglass Boulevard, and walk down the block to catch a Columbus Circle-bound M10 bus, which will drop you off at 88th Street, on the same block as the hostel. Another option is to take an airport shuttle to the Port Authority and then catch an Uptown C train to 86th Street.

Newark: Take the AirTrain to the NJ Transit station, and then any NJ Transit train into New York Penn Station. Transfer to an Uptown C train and get off at 86th Street.