Simple Lodge & Hostel

We booked a private room to ring in the New Year’s with friends in Salida. My boyfriend has stayed here in the past when the previous owner John used to manage this hostel. He suggested to stay here since he had a good experience in the past. However, our experience this time around left a lot to be desired in terms of the checking in process and the quality of the hostel. I have stayed in numerous hostels across Western Europe so I know what a good hostel is and this one simply falls short of my expectations.
Booking/​Checking in: Since the online reservation page doesn’t specify the upstairs and downstairs option, I called the hostel to request an upstairs private room to avoid being next to the kitchen and living room. Much to our disappointment upon arrival, one of the employees gave away our room to another couple the day before. The employee suggested to ask the couple if see if they’re willing to move to the downstairs private room. So we did and it was extremely awkward and uncomfortable and definitely NOT the way to be welcomed into the hostel! The couple decided to stay in the room so we had no option but to take the downstairs private room right next to the kitchen and living room. However, we did receive a discount for the first two nights. Our friend came across the same issue when he checked in and found out that they double booked and had no bed for him. Apparently, this has been an ongoing issue they’re having.
Rooms: the downstairs private room is a decent sized room with a queen size bed and a few mismatched furniture and a closet. It get very warm at time since this used to be the boiler room that was used to heat up the entire house. We had to leave the window open at night. On our last night, we stayed in the upstairs 6-​bed bunk room, which was roomier and nicer than the downstairs bunk room. If you don’t want to end up in a very cramped room with 8 bunk beds, I highly recommend the upstairs room.
Bathrooms: there are a total of 2 shared bathroom in the hostel one on each level. The downstairs one has a separate toilet and shower room. However, the shower room is all the way in the back of the house, which gets cold at night after you step out of the shower. The upstairs one is a bit nice with 2 showers.
Cleanliness: this is where I was extremely dissatisfied with. The bedding and sheets are all mismatched and look like something purchased from a thrift store. The bed sheets we got were very thin and staticky. I believe it’s very affordable to have bed sheets of the same color. One of the mattresses even had blood stains on it! The bathroom and shower definitely needed some deep cleaning! The hostel does get cleaned daily but they need to do a better job at this.
Location: A+ for being just off of the main street. You certainly can’t beat the location of the hostel!
Service: I enjoyed talking to Mel and Justin. They are very nice and helpful people who genuinely cares about their guests!
All in all, we didn’t enjoy our stay at this hostel due to the booking confusion and the cleanliness. The only reason we might consider staying here again is the location and proximity to downtown. Otherwise, you’re better off finding something on Airbnb and VRBO.

The place is clean and just a block away from downtown. Tough to beat the location. They also offer showers for 5 dollars after your outdoor exploring for the day. Mack was awesome, made sure we had everything we needed! Highly recommend checking this place out.

This place is über clean, affordable and social. Mac the manager dude (and he is very much a dude in the best of ways) is welcoming and easy going; just what is needed after the stress of hitching into town. Thanks for a great stay!

We got a private room w/​shared bath for a ski weekend and overall we were happy with the place. The hostel is located in perfect walking distance of bars and restaurants and offers a clean place to crash. Some of the folks staying there were a bit loud late at night and early in the morning. The first night the hot water ran out due to the hostel being totally booked. Eventually we were able to get lukewarm showers after waiting around for awhile. Besides that, I would suggest staying here.

Very nice place to stay in downtown Salida. Great location. Even if hostels aren’t normally your thing, you will feel comfortable here. Great owners, nice people, clean and comfortable.

Clean, friendly and fun!!! This is the best place to stay in Salida, especially if you are skiing nearby. Oh yeah, it’s cheap, too! They have wifi, comfy chairs, nice beds and (okay) showers. If you don’t want to cook your own food, you are in luck because there are plenty of places to eat nearby! 5 stars for sure.

Great accommodations & staff. Superb location & only $ 80 for the extremely spacious suite. Room was very clean. Honestly can’t say enough great things about this place. Absolutely love it!

Great place to stay. Very convenient to everything in Salida. It’s clean. Staff are helpful. It’s very affordable! Definitely stay there again if we go to Salida.

It has been years since I stayed in a hostel. My wife and I had a private room with a shared bath. The place was clean, safe and Sara and John the owner were really helpful and great source of information on restaurants, trails and things to do. It was never loud and the people staying were really friendly and interesting. Great spot to stay for a night or a extended stay in Salida

Top notch staff and accommodations. If you’re familiar with hostels, this is a fairly standard hostel in a great location with easy acces to hiking, biking, and fishing locations.
Jon and his staff were extremely welcoming and helpful with suggestions about things to do in the area. The bathrooms and kitchen were all clean with a very unique style.
If you are looking for a place to stay when passing through Salida, be sure to check these guys out. You’ll be sure to meet interesting people and enjoy the city of Salida.
Would definitely recommend to others.

So excited that there’s a reasonably priced hostel in Salida!
Came out here back in March for a little skiing up at Monarch because I had heard good things about the town and that Simple Lodge existed. I stayed in the shared dorms during the mid-​week so there weren’t so many people. Beds were comfortable and blankets are warm. I would recommend bringing a sleeping bag, though, if you are prone to getting cold. Bathroom and main living areas were clean and well kept. The owners were very cool and had good food, drink, and hot springs recommendations.
Looking forward to coming back here during the summer at some point for mountain biking and for the convivial nature of the town! I wish more places across the US had affordable accommodation like the Simple Lodge.

Clean facility. The owner/​caretaker was very nice and welcoming! The room was clean and updated with newer furnishings. Great location with an easy walk to dinner and river.

If your adventures have you trekking thru the mountains near Salida CO this is a must stay location. The price is extremely resonable and the staff is awesome. There are bunk rooms upstairs that attached to a private room. This is where me and my 6 buddies stayed this weekend. We rented the whole wing. There are two bathrooms in the «house», two toilets and three showers.
Be aware that this is a hostel in every sense of its meaning. It’s a place to build community and relate to those who are also staying in the hostel. Put your name on your food if you decide on going to the grocery store.

Great location. Tastefully done. Owners are very nice. Price for a private room comparable to motels on Route 50. Locks should be placed on private rooms for security reasons. Downstairs shared bathroom and private room should be walled off. Current division is a thin door with a large gap at the bottom which equals no sound blocking.

A really safe, clean, and relaxing place to rest up. The people who own it are the best, and the rates are on the expensive side, but still doable. I really like this place.

If you like hostels this is a great find in the mountains!
They have a really clean well run place. Free waffles in the morning too! Your right in Salida and can walk to many places for food and activities.
The people here are really friendly and accommodating. There are lots of things to do and they can make some great suggestions. You can come and go as you need as they will give you a code for entry. The bathrooms and rooms are clean. Plenty of room in the kitchen and laundry is available. Parking is a breeze right on the street. The décor is well kept and fresh too.
There are private rooms available, Pets are welcome, free WiFi, and they even had bikes to ride that they did not charge us for! Jon is awesome and really friendly. Thanks for making our stay so fun.

Gorgeous hostel.
Really. It’s gorgeous. The wood, the colors, the nice toilet paper, the complimentary towels, the stone showers.
Nice staff. Not too large a hostel. Very reasonably priced. Perfect *location*. We’ve stayed once in the bunk bed room and once in a private room. The beds are comfortable. We’ll definitely be back.
A late-​night entry code is provided. Plenty of nearby street parking.
I must also recommend ear plugs. A certain level of noise is expected with every hostel but this one really carries the sound of every door slam.

I’m going to keep this review short and simple:
–Great host
–Great Hostel (especially all the local artwork)
–Clean and relatively cheap
–A block or two away from Amica’s brewery
STAY HERE!!! rather than the hotels on the main strip of highway 50. Much more comfortable, so much cheaper, you meet other people doing the same thing that you are, and you really experience the atmosphere of a small mountain town… Plus you can cook your own bacon in the morning to go with your pancakes, what’s there not to like!?!

Great little hostel in downtown Salida! Love the hosts and everyone was really friendly. Would definitely stay here again!

I cannot recommend this place highly enough. The owners/​hosts are extremely friendly and helpful, the facilities are very nice and clean, and the location is superb.
My boyfriend spoke with Jon on the phone and I spoke with Kimberly. Even over the phone they seemed enthusiastic to have us as visitors and happy to help us with any and all questions we had about the area. When we arrived, Kimberly gave us a brief tour. We were the only people booked for the evening so far (on a Monday night in the off-​season), so we had our choice of two very nice private rooms. We peered into the bunk rooms, both of which were clean and orderly with crafty looking bunk beds. The shared spaces (kitchen, bathroom, dining room, living area) were also very clean and well-​furnished. There were also lots of informational books and pamphlets about nearby attractions.
The location is just on the edge of the charming historic downtown and there are endless opportunities for exploring the scenic outdoors in the nearby surrounding area. Kimberly spent probably about half an hour going over our options specific to what we wanted, our experience level, and the weather conditions (which happened to be unseasonably cold).
I’d like to come back to visit during a busier time, because it sounds like this place has quite the community feel when it’s full up (again, we came on a Monday and Tuesday during the off season). Still, it was a wonderful place to stay and I will certainly come back here again. I’d recommend you find your way here, too.