The Hostelz.com Review
Frankfurt Stay & Learn Hostel is lively in the evenings and comfortable in the daytime, with secure rooms, free breakfast, no curfew, and a twenty-four-hour bar. The property is nonsmoking except for balcony in main area. Guests may check in at the bar at any time.
The Location
The Hostel is literally across the street from the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station), with the entrance to the S-Bahn (subway) directly out the front door. The hostel is located in Frankfurt's red-light district, which is innocuous during the day. The hostel lies between this area and the main road, which hosts the train station, so guests do not have to walk through any of it to reach the hostel.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The six-bed dorms have one bathroom with shower and sink. Each bathroom contains soap dispensers, and each guest is provided with a small towel along with the bed linens. Our dorm had squeaky bunk beds, a desk and small television, and windows facing a courtyard. Sound carries through the courtyard when the windows are open, but the rooms are otherwise well insulated. There are no lockers in the dorms, but guests may rent lockers in the hallway. In addition to the private dorm bathrooms, there are public bathrooms in the hallway. All bathrooms were spotless throughout our stay.
Every room is secured with electronic locks. While the keycard system is a bit complicated, each guest is given instructions on how to operate it when they check in. The room locks are very effective.
Common Spaces
The hostel's common area is set up like a bar/lounge. The bar is open all the time, selling an assortment of hot and cold beverages. There is plenty of seating in this space, but most is at tables, making socializing a bit regulated. There is additional space on the balcony overlooking the main road and courtyard leading into the red-light district. This is the only area where smoking is permitted in the hostel, but the smoke can carry into the common area.
Although free wireless internet is available in the common area and could be accessed in some dorms, the signal was spotty at best during our stay. The hostel also hosts a computer lab with plenty of terminals that is never crowded.
The reception lounge hosts free breakfast every morning and free pasta on Saturday nights. Pasta night provides a filling meal and opportunity to socialize, making the lounge-type structure of the main room very appropriate. The selection of music playing in the main room is eclectic and fun, but is loud and can overpower conversation. Instruments on the wall are available for playing if guests are interested. With the open bar, guests do not need to leave the hostel to party, and the lounge fills up in the evenings. Still, rooms are well insulated, making it loud in the hallway and reception area but quiet in bed.
The small kitchen behind the bar is used by staff for Pasta Night and breakfast -- there is no kitchen available to guests. The breakfast buffet is plentiful, but the food is standard -- muesli, milk, tea, and bread. Kitchen staff are on-hand to bus tables and keep the buffet stocked.
Summary
Frankfurt Stay & Learn Hostel is a very convenient and comfortable stay and extremely easy to find and use as a starting point for exploring the city. With plenty of opportunities to socialize and get a free meal, this hostel is a good choice for both the traveler with a strong itinerary and the guest who doesn't want to venture out to find nightlife.
The Location
The Hostel is literally across the street from the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station), with the entrance to the S-Bahn (subway) directly out the front door. The hostel is located in Frankfurt's red-light district, which is innocuous during the day. The hostel lies between this area and the main road, which hosts the train station, so guests do not have to walk through any of it to reach the hostel.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The six-bed dorms have one bathroom with shower and sink. Each bathroom contains soap dispensers, and each guest is provided with a small towel along with the bed linens. Our dorm had squeaky bunk beds, a desk and small television, and windows facing a courtyard. Sound carries through the courtyard when the windows are open, but the rooms are otherwise well insulated. There are no lockers in the dorms, but guests may rent lockers in the hallway. In addition to the private dorm bathrooms, there are public bathrooms in the hallway. All bathrooms were spotless throughout our stay.
Every room is secured with electronic locks. While the keycard system is a bit complicated, each guest is given instructions on how to operate it when they check in. The room locks are very effective.
Common Spaces
The hostel's common area is set up like a bar/lounge. The bar is open all the time, selling an assortment of hot and cold beverages. There is plenty of seating in this space, but most is at tables, making socializing a bit regulated. There is additional space on the balcony overlooking the main road and courtyard leading into the red-light district. This is the only area where smoking is permitted in the hostel, but the smoke can carry into the common area.
Although free wireless internet is available in the common area and could be accessed in some dorms, the signal was spotty at best during our stay. The hostel also hosts a computer lab with plenty of terminals that is never crowded.
The reception lounge hosts free breakfast every morning and free pasta on Saturday nights. Pasta night provides a filling meal and opportunity to socialize, making the lounge-type structure of the main room very appropriate. The selection of music playing in the main room is eclectic and fun, but is loud and can overpower conversation. Instruments on the wall are available for playing if guests are interested. With the open bar, guests do not need to leave the hostel to party, and the lounge fills up in the evenings. Still, rooms are well insulated, making it loud in the hallway and reception area but quiet in bed.
The small kitchen behind the bar is used by staff for Pasta Night and breakfast -- there is no kitchen available to guests. The breakfast buffet is plentiful, but the food is standard -- muesli, milk, tea, and bread. Kitchen staff are on-hand to bus tables and keep the buffet stocked.
Summary
Frankfurt Stay & Learn Hostel is a very convenient and comfortable stay and extremely easy to find and use as a starting point for exploring the city. With plenty of opportunities to socialize and get a free meal, this hostel is a good choice for both the traveler with a strong itinerary and the guest who doesn't want to venture out to find nightlife.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2009
Their Description
Frankfurt Stay & Learn Hostel Details
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Frankfurt Stay & Learn Hostel Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Excellant, relaxed, fun Staff were a little thin on the ground but apart from a little queuing to register they got everything done quickly and well. On the subject of the staff, get chatting to them in the quiet times, they helpful and great fun. Rooms were clean though not spotless. Bathrooms were spotless, very impressive. Location was good, even though it's in the red light district the industry was never intrusive (certainly less so than Soho in London), there were a few beggars about but they weren't pushy and I never felt threatened in any way. Great place to stay, stick around for the Saturday night pasta party! — Mogcat , English (2009-06-21) Terrible staff I stayed at this hostel for two weeks because there are few choices in Frankfurt. The younger staff is unfriendly and terrible. Basically, kids are running the place. They would not fix the TV after I repeatedly complained. Staff would not answer simple directions questions, the bed cover was stained. They weekends were filled mostly with drunken guests. — Grinevicius , USA (2007-11-29) Unfriendly staff This hostel was way too understaffed, when I arrived there were about fifteen people waiting to get a room and only one person taking care of them. It was total chaos, and of course the unfriendly staff was too busy to show me my room when I asked them to, only giving me a rude answer instead. You could see some staff members smoking pot in the stairway instead of working! The cards that are used to open room doors never worked. Even though the hostel rooms were decent and it was in a good location (although quite ugly and full of sex shops and junkies), this hostel lacks the basics of good service. — Pete , Scandinavia (2007-11-18) I have traveled for the last nine months around Europe, U.S.A., and Canada, staying exclusively in hostels. I stayed at this hostel four days.
Some people will tell you the location is excellent -- and it is close to the station. But they should also tell you there are dozens of XXX shops and peep shows within shouting distance. Moreover, there are lots of beggers and drug addicts. Close to the city? Yes -- but it is the worst part of the city of Frankfurt by far. Security is barely adequate. You press a buzzer to gain access but the reception let anyone and everyone in to the building (ie no questions asked). You get a key card access to your room (that sometimes doesn't work) but no lockers. If you want to use a locker it costs 2 Euro per day. Excessive in my opinion especially if you stay more than a few days. When I was there some people in my room were told there were no lockers available so they had to risk leaving valuable items in the room. So there are not enough lockers for everyone. The bed I had was terrible. The mattress is very thin and I could feel the metal bar in the middle of the base all night. The beds are very cheap steel beds and everytime someone moves in the bunk above (or below) you will feel the whole bed move. The worst bed of my entire nine-month trip. No working laundry facilities on site. There is no information about the sites in Frankfurt (no noticeboard with ideas or special events). You need to do your own research if you want to stay here. The staff are 'ok' but when I asked for a double adaptor to connect a laptop computer in the lounge I was told "we have them but do not lend them out as they go missing." Not exactly good customer service (if they are worried about them going missing -- ask me to pay a deposit). The only lounge, meal area, kitchen, dining room is an area where the staff smoke cigarettes all day and allow visitors to smoke. It is a disgusting room full of smoke. If you are a non-smoker and dislike smoke -- do not go to this hostel. Apart from your room, you have nowhere to relax that is a smoke-free environment. The lounge room is also quite dirty -- I never saw the tables wiped down and they are caked in dust. One positive comment I have is the hostel has free wifi for guests. The bathroom in the room was also quite decent. As for the location you can walk everywhere you need to go in Frankfurt without needing public transport. Overall -- this hostel has potential but is let down by the basics. I would not stay here again. — yfin (2006-09-06) Perfect, the best place. I recommend that place for everyone who's looking for a good and cheap room. I'll be there next week. See you, whoever you are. — Pawel gold man (2005-11-20) Great hostel! Very well located; it's a few steps from the central rail station. Awfully clean and comfortable. Nice cheap places to eat nearby. The upstairs bar with the nice view sells all beverages. It's within walking distance to the river and tourist spots in town. Not to be missed in Frankfurt! — South American (2005-11-02) What impressed me most is that the bathroom is really clean and spotless. Prove it to yourself!! The room is also very clean and quite nice. The Internet is great and cheap. It is also very, very close to the main station. A drawback would be that it can be quite busy at times so you may have to wait like 10-15 minutes in the reception. It's one of the best hostels I've ever stayed at and highly recommended. — Mackenzie (2005-10-26) I loved this hostel. The rooms were very nice and very clean. The bathrooms were clean too. The staff were very cool and seemed
to enjoy working there (unlike many other places).I also enjoyed a free city tour. The hostel is in a very good location. Stay here. — Jakob (2005-05-26) This hostel was a great base to explore a city that was much more fun than the transfer point I had always regarded it. It's about a 10-minute easy walk to the heart of the city. There was a very friendly and helpful guy who worked the day shift — I did not catch his name. We would stay here again for sure. Good value place. — Anonymous (2005-04-03) Being away from home for the New Year was the best idea ever. The place was alive with backpackers from all over the world. The staff were friendly, although I don't think they were ready for us Irish and our all night drinking. The place was lovely and clean and very reasonable. Sure where else would you get free spaghetti night when the only few euros you have left are for a few pints down in O'Reilly's. Well worth the visit. — Ashie (2005-03-23) There are too many prostitutes hanging around the area of this hostel. — Anonymous (2005-01-17) I don't recommend this place. Everywhere the price is listed at 20 euros per night, and when I finally paid the price was 30! Why? I was told the price was higher because there was a "fair" in town. When I asked what kind of fair, the staff didn't even know! If the price was lower, this place MAY HAVE been okay, but even for a cheaper price, it stills sucks. The rooms contain too many beds, the place in general is boring, and the staff are not very nice and helpful. However, I have to say that the breakfast was really good (I hope it would be for the price!) and the Internet access is really cheap. — Anonymous (2004-10-03) It wasn't bad. Staff are really helpful, and this could be the best location in Frankfurt. It's a bit quiet, but very nice. — Andrew (2004-09-29) There were lots of bug bites, dirty towels, and an unhelpful staff who stole from us. However, there were top class, friendly people staying there who helped us get back home. I'd give the people who stay here 5 stars, but the hostel 2 stars at most. — Andy (2004-09-11) The room was so-so. I can't say much about the bathroom; it's clean. I got many bug bites (even during only one night's stay). The breakfast was okay. Can the staff respond to any questions? (They seemed unable to speak or communicate.) — Anonymous (2004-09-07)