First impressions are everything and this property does not instill a sense of confidence from the outset. As you approach you notice the area it is in is not very good, lots of kebab shops, shisha bars and run down 'corner' shops. Directly in front of the entrance is a liquor store, meaning the wrong type of people are hanging around day and night.
The hostel it self is on the second floor of an apartment complex that is quite dark, dingy and has a distinct aroma. Once through the front door the whole place looks a bit tired and in need of a lick of paint. A rare positive was the staff member that met us, Martin, was very efficient, helpful and informative upon our arrival.
Our room was quite spacious and well set out and looked relatively clean when we first arrived. Although, the bed and bedding smelt distinctly of wet dog and we had to buy some febreze and a candle to reduce the smell in the room. The pillows supplied were pathetic and may as well not have been there, as soon as you put your head down there was no support what so ever. The room was really hot all the time and there was no way of regulating the temperate with the windows only opening a tiny bit. Towels were supplied, however, they were really small and smelt so we used our own. There was however, free wifi (at times slow), a fridge and a wardrobe in the room.
My previously good opinion of the staff was short lived, the reception was supposed to be open until 12 but I never saw anyone there after 10.30 and was even forced to buy more toilet roll due to not being able to find a staff member.
The atmosphere in the hostel was quite poor, it seemed as though a few people were living there ling time and these people made no effort to clean up after themselves and the kitchen had poor ventilation, meaning whenever someone was cooking it stank the whole place out. All these people seemed to be quite old and a few were most definitely breaking the 'no over 30s' rule.
Although the hostel is not really in a central location it is very close to 'Pankstrasse' and 'Wollankstraße' stations so is quite easy to get around.