The Hostelz.com Review
The Anker Hostel in Oslo is great. It's reasonably priced for an overnight in the capital, which is usually very expensive. It's also close to everything, including just a ten minute walk from Oslo's bus and train station. Oslo also has great public transportation (so get a day pass for about 50 kr). To get to the hostel turn right onto Storgata from Karl Johans Gate (the big one running from the train station to the palace). The hostel is a few blocks up. You can't miss it -- there's a sign on the building.
This hostel is huge, about ten floors high. It even has an internet cafe and bar downstairs. Reception is open 24 hours and the hostel has a guest kitchen.
There are private rooms for individuals, couples, and groups, and male and female shared rooms. And each room has a toilet and shower. Sheets must be brought or rented, and you can't use a sleepingbag. The cleanliness of the rooms may not be especially good. The rooms may vary, but during our review stay there was a bug in the bathroom that had crawled out of an unpatched hole in the wall. Perhaps the other rooms are cleaner than this? On the positive side, the beds were comfy and the room was large with plenty of storage.
All in all, a typical hostel -- and try to get a better room if yours has a hole in the wall.
This hostel is huge, about ten floors high. It even has an internet cafe and bar downstairs. Reception is open 24 hours and the hostel has a guest kitchen.
There are private rooms for individuals, couples, and groups, and male and female shared rooms. And each room has a toilet and shower. Sheets must be brought or rented, and you can't use a sleepingbag. The cleanliness of the rooms may not be especially good. The rooms may vary, but during our review stay there was a bug in the bathroom that had crawled out of an unpatched hole in the wall. Perhaps the other rooms are cleaner than this? On the positive side, the beds were comfy and the room was large with plenty of storage.
All in all, a typical hostel -- and try to get a better room if yours has a hole in the wall.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2004
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Anker Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Unfriendly, too expensive for what you get!! 1st night in a 8 dorm -- all ok ... all nice people! 2nd night in 4 dorm -- all ok -- got my Netbook STOLEN!! location (central). free Wifi. staff (stupid, rude, unable, uninterested). NO Lockers, NO self closing doors, Luggage room NOT locked. too expensive for what you get. better than nothing -- but BRING YOUR private Padlock!! check if your bill is correct (they kicked us out after 1st night -- a battle to get the 2nd night even if all was black on white resverd by mail!!!). — Steve , Austria (2011-09-15) Not at all professional! When I visited this hostel I had booked a 4 bedded dorm and they had already charged my credit card. However, when I arrived there I was informed that I had been moved to a 6 bedded dorm. I asked them why they had not send me an e-mail or phoned me since the reservation was made months ago and they said that it was the owner's decision. When I asked to see the owner they told me that he was not there. After an hour's discussion they refused to give me back any money since the price for the 6 bedded room was different and they offered me free linen and a towel. I realized later on that all the people who were traveling alone no matter what room they had paid for it was a policy if the room was not full to put them all in another room. In general, it was not clean and there are no lockers in the room so if someone does not lock the door anyone can enter. — Anonymous (2010-01-25) Good Small fridge provided in room, along with hot plate. No dishes or pots, but they could be borrowed. Comfortable beds, spacious room with tables and shelves, but squeaky bunk beds. Shower curtain unfortunately did not stop the entire bathroom from getting wet. Good hostel, about ten- to fifteen-minute walk from the train station through a decent neighbourhood. — Jen & Karen , Canadian (2007-08-25) Dated and dirty Really not thrilled with this place. From the outside the building looks very modern. Yet I echo other comments that this place feels like a prison. The rooms are getting shabby quickly -- cupboard doors missing. A little grubby too, with things like shelves and windowsills not dusted in too long. I stayed here as nothing else had space, and even then considered checking out. — Bazz , Australia (2007-08-09) Boring and rude This is part of a larger hotel converted into a hostel. The whole thing is boring and soulless. The doors don't lock automatically, and there's no lockers in each room. Also, the staff were incredibly rude. This was because everyone was trying to check in at once at 3 p.m. because they don't let you check in earlier. On the plus side, there is a shower and toilet in each room, as well as a cooker, but you have to hire cooking equipment from reception, of which there is a limited supply. — Roger , Australia (2007-08-09) The least cosy and least friendly hostel I ever stayed in Like everything in Oslo, the Anker hostel is quiet expensive, but I would have expected more service for this kind of money. The rooms were too small, the common room was too noisy and boring, the staff was unfriendly. Wouldn't stay here again. — A , The Netherlands (2007-07-26) Stayed here for two nights, really no complaints. They seemed to keep it quite clean and the rooms were fairly well equipped. The staff were polite and some quite friendly. The location is pretty decent as well. My only wish is that they had had more computers for internet use and a bigger common room. I would recommend staying here. — Tina (2006-12-05) Overall this was a nice hostel, close to the attractions and easy to reach. Our room was cleaned daily and was nice and bright. It's a big building, but the lift worked fine so there was no dragging bags up ten flights of stairs. A few downsides -- everything needed a deposit, the key, the kitchen equipment. The area was a bit of a rough area, but we still always felt safe. The shower curtain was inadequate so the bathroom was always wet. I would still stay here again. I have come across a lot worse. Also, check out the Streetwise Torsdags (Thursday) Happenings when in Oslo. Usually a few hours of fun and free entertainment! — Vanessa (2006-09-05) Stayed there for three nights. Very nice hostel very near to the center of Oslo. I stayed in a six-bed dormitory room, which was nice, clean, and extremely large. Big windows for sufficient ventilation, and nice wooden beds. Every room has bathroom and kitchen, so it is well equipped. The only con is that the lockers are small (you can put only a handbag) and many of them cannot accept pad. Security is good, with locks to every room and also you need a lock for every corridor. Community room nice and cozy, you meet people and you can buy the cheapest coffee in Oslo, a very expensive city! Staff very nice and helpful by any means. Hostel situated very near to the center, five to ten minutes from the main street. Around there are markets and food stores twenty-four/seven. This hostel is the cheapest accommodation in the center of Oslo, at least when I was there! — Andreas (2006-09-02) This is by far the worst hostel I've stayed in. The area surrounding the hostel is definitely not the safest and my friend and I were bothered more than once on our way from the train station to the hostel. We reserved beds in a dorm room. Because the hostel is so large, it was noisy all night long. My friend fared much worse than I did -- she had small cockroaches and other insects crawling all over her all night long. It was utterly disgusting! Needless to say we checked out immediately the next morning but were refused a refund for the night because the hostel manager "expects that that is something that can happen" at their hostel and so their policy is to not refund the money. I would definitely recommend staying elsewhere. We ended up with a private room in a nice home, referred through the TI, for basically the same price as the dorm room in the dirty hostel. — Anonymous (2006-08-28) it was ok we were in a dorm and had a kitchen all we had to do was rent the dishes which was a bit lame but its so they will be ther for the people after. i liked it it was clean so no complaints, and it was in an ok location you can walk for the train station — jenna (2006-01-13) I think this is a nice hostel. For me it's clean enough. I stayed in an en suite dorm; it was nice and quite spacious. The staff are ok. But most of all, for that low price (in Norway) I would recommend this one. — Arief (2005-06-22) Anker Hostel looked modern on their Web site, but on our arrival we were disappointed. The hostel looked like a prison. It had an old kitchen, and old beds with terrible mattresses and filthy-looking duvets and pillows. Each night a horrible cooking smell filled the room, and we saw lots of cockroaches (one on the bed!). We were not happy!! — Anonymous (2005-03-22) This hostel was a nightmare! The reception staff were friendly enough, but the dorm we were allocated was filthy. There was a sticky substance on the sink in the bathroom (possibly blood), the room stank of smoke despite declarations that smoking was not allowed, there were beer cans and cigarette butts scattered all over the place, and the sink was cluttered with junk. Also, there were signs that people cannot use sleeping bags and people had to either rent linen or use their own. I seriously doubt that any practical backpacker travels around with his own pillowcases and bed sheets. I would highly recommend that people spend a little more money and go to a proper bed and breakfast. — Anonymous (2004-12-05) I quite liked the Anker; it was reasonably priced and the rooms were okay. Having said that, the shower was weird! It was right next to the toilet. The reception and common room were cool. You could buy a beer and sit outside all night. The toilet in the reception area got really dirty and no one seemed too bothered about it. The hostel is right next to the bus and train station, which is handy, and it's a ten-minute walk to the city center. — Cathal Ireland (2004-10-12)