Nearly two years in the making, the Deep Ellum Hostel is now open for your low-cost stay-over needs.

Located at 2801 Elm St., this is the first and only hostel in Deep Ellum, with 14 rooms and a total of 72 beds.

Co-founders Collin Ballard and Kent Roth are hostel veterans who met in Austin.

"I studied abroad where I had my first experience staying in hostels," Ballard says. "After college, I continued hosteling in my travels and saw there was a need for it here in U.S."

This is their second hostel; they already have a hostel in Austin, the Firehouse Hostel near 6th Street and Brazos.

"When we opened our hostel in Austin, we were the second, and now there's at least six or seven," Ballard says. They see the same potential for growth in Dallas.

"We've found one existing in the Dallas metro area, but none downtown," he says. "Dallas is such a big city, with two airports and lots of international flights, so the market is definitely there."

They're positioned somewhere between a B&B and a hotel. "One thing that sets us apart is the shared quarters," he says. "Having 'dorm-style' rooms allows us to rent beds out at a cheaper rate."

A dorm-style bed gets you an outlet and a reading light next to your bed, with a built-in locker underneath. The rate runs about $40 a night. And while some people value privacy, others welcome the camaraderie.

"It's definitely a more social experience," he says. "And if you share a room, you're more likely to meet people from different parts of the world."

The facility also has a 24-hour guest communal kitchen and dining area; several restrooms and showers; and an in-house bar called Izkina serving cocktails, Spanish wines, and Spanish tapas-style plates as well as pinxtos, or bite-sized snacks served on toothpicks.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the building is more than a century old and has been a saloon, a syrup manufacturer, and an auto repair shop called Long Machine Tool Co.

Ballard and Roth have done a beautiful job retaining the building's vintage charm, with patches of exposed brick enhanced by natural materials such as wood, marble, and copper, along with tasteful lighting, tufted leather benches, and the occasional patch of cheerful flowered wallpaper.

Check it out on July 19, when they host a grand opening from 7-10 pm with tours and complimentary drinks and bites in the bar and lobby.