Babel Hostel

Babel Hostel was once one of the best in Wroclaw, though it seems to have lost its energy to be the best. However, as one of the cheapest accommodations in Wroclaw, it still drives the customers in with the promise of a bed and breakfast to start your morning.

The Location

If you are coming into the Wroclaw Glowny train station, this hostel is only about two blocks away. Simply walk to the main street in front of the station (Pilsudskiego), cross the street, turn left and walk down Pilsudskiego about a block. Kollataja Street should be only a block away and the hostel is about half a block up on your left. Look for the black and white sign with The Stranger logo. The walk into the main town is about ten minutes and the walk to Ostrow Tumski will take you about twenty minutes, but Wroclaw is relatively small and very safe so it's a nice walk. One warning -- the hostel is located off of a very busy street where traffic and construction can be heard all night. Bring earplugs.

Rooms and Bathrooms

All of the rooms in this hostel a dorm rooms of various sizes. All of the beds are bunk-style and are made of metal so they are very squeaky. The mattresses are pretty old and not very supportive. There are no locks on the doors, however the hostel does provide small lockers for valuables. All of the floors are hardwood so they don't really look dirty, but a few minutes of walking around in your bare feet will tell you that they rarely every sweep or mop.

The bathrooms have a very large amount of mold in them, both on the walls of the showers as well as around the baseboards of the room. The staff is fairly good about mopping up the dirt on the floor, however no other cleaning appeared to take place during our stay. The bathrooms also do not have any windows so there is no ventilation and they often smell very moldy. Since there are only two bathrooms for forty people, and no separate toilet, there is often a long wait for the bathrooms. There is, however, a good supply of hot water and plenty of hooks to keep your things off the questionably clean floors.

Common Spaces

The common room is definitely the highlight of this hostel. With several couches, a table football table, a raised mattress area, computer with free internet, and projector screen for movies and video games, it's easy to see why this hostel is popular with the university crowd. This is where plenty of people spend the night chatting with new friends. The internet goes down quite often, but they do also have free Wi-Fi.During our stay there were many Polish residents coming to stay there, so it's easy to find a local to chat with about food or culture. The only downside to this is that the staff often enjoy chatting it up with the Polish guests and often non-Polish speakers are hesitant to join in. The entire hostel is nonsmoking.

The kitchen is another area that could use a good scrub-down. The sink is surrounded by mold and the cereal containers have caked-on crumbs and dust that show they haven't been washed in months. They do provide two types of cereal with milk, toast, jam, butter, coffee, and tea. And the best part is that they leave breakfast out until 1 p.m. so you can sleep in late without missing it.

Summary

Babel Hostel has many signs from previous years thanking their guests for their high ratings. Unfortunately their ratings are falling due to a lack of cleaning and a rather tired staff. Until they clean up their act, this hostel is a good bet if all you need is a bed to sleep on for as little money as possible. If you are looking for a clean and quiet place, though, this is probably not a good bet.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2008