Hostels in Chicago
Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:03 pm
That hostel isn't all that close to the Hideout and is in a very dense neighborhood with lots of traffic so plan on giving yourselves at least an hour to get to the Hideout if yr relying on CTA. Half an hour in a car.
It may not seem far when you map it but try driving west on North Avenue on a Saturday in the summer, especially now that the bridge is closed, and you'll see what I mean. At least I think it's closed, but I'm not really sure because I ALWAYS AVOID NORTH AVENUE AT ALL COSTS!!
In fact west on Fullerton will suck, west on Armitage will suck, and west on Belmont will suck at least as far as Southport.
Most of this information is incorrect - no offense.
I live two blocks east of this hostel and can say that by cab, you'll be at the Hideout in 10 minutes, 15 tops with a total cost of about $10 (depending on how many of you are in the cab). You can get a cab in a nanosecond on Clark Street - walk left/East out of the hostel to the second stop sign.
From this hostel you can also just walk there if it's nice out.
Here's a friendly route I recommend taking with numorous bars along the way there and/or back for any beer/smoke/pit stops...
Walk west on Arlington till it dead-ends at Orchard. Walk left to Fullerton (first street). Take a right on Fullerton and walk to Halsted (at light). Take a left. Walk down Halsted about 3/4 of a mile to North Ave (Bars line Halsted St). Take a right on North Ave. Walk over bridge, through the Home Depot parking lot and across to Wabansia St./Hideout.
Max walk time with no stops or stumbles: 30 minutes
As for the hostel itself... It seems alright. I've never been inside of it, but there are plenty of friendly folks hanging out in front of it and I've never heard of any problems coming from there in the 2-plus years I've been living down the street.
There's a grocery store just off of Clark St. where you can grab groceries/beer/whatnot for your stay as well.
Forget taking the CTA. You can walk there quicker than it would take for you to figure out and wait for the right buses.