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Hostel Review: Cityhostel Berlin

September 17, 2017 By James Clark Leave a Comment

Hostel Review: Cityhostel Berlin

Hotel Name: Cityhostel Berlin
Address: Glinkastrasse 5-7., Mitte, Berlin, Germany

[Edit: This hostel was ordered to shut down, which you will discover why in this article.]

I stayed at Cityhostel Berlin in Berlin. I booked a bed in 6-bed dormitory for 23 Euro a night.

Cityhostel is in Mitte (middle or centre in German) so it is centrally located in Berlin. If I was going to stay in Berlin long-term, I would not stay in Mitte. For short term visits or if it’s your first time in Berlin then this is a good location. It’s a few minutes walk from Checkpoint Charlie, and not far from the Brandenburg Gate.

Cityhostel Berlin

The Cityhostel is in a big purpose-built property. I like stay at hostels like this in Europe (especially in Germany) as they are usually well-run operations.

Reception

I know some people prefer the small hostels in an apartment, as these big ones can have an institutional feeling about them.

Hallway

I stayed in a 6-bed dorm which was airy and spacious enough, and each bed had a locker. There was only two power outlets in the room so that was inconvenient in this age where everyone has daily charging needs. A separate bed light would have been useful too.

Dorm

The dorm has an ensuite bathroom and toilet, with the sink outside in the dorm area. On the one hand this is an efficient arrangement to avoid bathroom hogs from holding everything up.

Bathroom

On the other hand, having the bathroom as an ensuite in the dorm is disruptive in the morning. I found myself conscious of waking people up because of my early starts. Using the sink I felt like I was waking everyone up.

Sink

There is a public lounge area in the foyer, though the seats were not the most comfortable.

Lounge

There is a dining area at the ground floor where breakfast is on offer if you have the breakfast option.

Dining

In a bizarre twist that seems fitting for its location in Berlin, the hostel is next door to the North Korean embassy. There was a peaceful protest happening when I arrived (Christians singing some songs), but apart from that I didn’t think much of it. It was only after my stay that I found out that the hostel is renting the property from North Korea and there have been calls to shut the hostel down. Oh, that’s complicated.

North Korean Embassy

Overall it wasn’t a bad hostel to stay at (apart from inadvertently funding North Korea’s nuclear program). I liked the clean spaciousness of the property. I didn’t like the ensuite bathroom, and the rooms need to be modernised to add power outlets for every bed.

Search for more hotels in Berlin.

Filed Under: Accommodation Tagged With: berlin, germany, hostel

About James Clark

James Clark is the founder of Nomadic Notes. He has been a digital nomad since 2003, and Nomadic Notes features trip reports, train travel articles, and where to stay guides. He writes about transport and urban development at Future Southeast Asia. Subscribe to the weekly travel newsletter.

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James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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