The Hostelz.com Review
Birmingham Central Backpackers hostel is a fairly decent choice for Birmingham. Its in a central location, not too expensive although can be a little messy and loud.
The Location
It is located sort of close to Moor Street and New Street stations. First time can be a little confusing walking around the Bullring shopping centre and walking under the railway line but if you follow Digbeth High Road you can't not find it. It is close enough to the major sights in central Birmingham and the stations make it easy to travel further afield.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The dorm rooms are fairly basic and there are a range of sizes - each with 6 or 8 in bunk beds - some also have ensuites but even if a 6-bed room is booked it is not uncommon to end up in a 8-bed. The ensuite and non-ensuite bathrooms are kept clean although the water pressure can be low and take a while to warm up first thing in the morning.
The locks on the doors can be a little temperamental. Getting in is not too much of a problem but getting out in the morning when the lock is jammed can be infuriating.
Common Spaces
The hostel is spread across two buildings. In the main hostel (58 Milk Street) there is a large common lounge with free wifi, a bar and also tables and chairs for breakfast. The breakfast is the usual basic range of toast and jam, tea and coffee and also a range of fresh fruit.
The hostel will store luggage after checkout if necessary. Hostelers seem to be a mix of international travellers seeing more of the west Midlands and foreign students coming to study at Aston University, University of Birmingham, the University of Central England or one of the colleges - so the common room can be a little rowdy laster into the evening and this may spill into being noisy in the dorm rooms.
Summary
The hostel is basic and its good location and cheap price make up for some of its weaker points. Its a good choice for anyone staying in Birmingham.
The Location
It is located sort of close to Moor Street and New Street stations. First time can be a little confusing walking around the Bullring shopping centre and walking under the railway line but if you follow Digbeth High Road you can't not find it. It is close enough to the major sights in central Birmingham and the stations make it easy to travel further afield.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The dorm rooms are fairly basic and there are a range of sizes - each with 6 or 8 in bunk beds - some also have ensuites but even if a 6-bed room is booked it is not uncommon to end up in a 8-bed. The ensuite and non-ensuite bathrooms are kept clean although the water pressure can be low and take a while to warm up first thing in the morning.
The locks on the doors can be a little temperamental. Getting in is not too much of a problem but getting out in the morning when the lock is jammed can be infuriating.
Common Spaces
The hostel is spread across two buildings. In the main hostel (58 Milk Street) there is a large common lounge with free wifi, a bar and also tables and chairs for breakfast. The breakfast is the usual basic range of toast and jam, tea and coffee and also a range of fresh fruit.
The hostel will store luggage after checkout if necessary. Hostelers seem to be a mix of international travellers seeing more of the west Midlands and foreign students coming to study at Aston University, University of Birmingham, the University of Central England or one of the colleges - so the common room can be a little rowdy laster into the evening and this may spill into being noisy in the dorm rooms.
Summary
The hostel is basic and its good location and cheap price make up for some of its weaker points. Its a good choice for anyone staying in Birmingham.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2007
Their Description
Birmingham Central Backpackers Details
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Birmingham Central Backpackers Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Pretty good. Fantastic hostel -- dinner provided; large movie screen with heaps of movies, wii, xbox 360 to help pass the time in the common room. Staff are very helpful and there is plenty of information provided. Showers and toilets are above average, and the beds were fine. But the location isn't so great -- the second building is a four-minute walk from the main building (common room, breakfast, reception), and both buildings are located in an industrial area about fifteen minutes' walk from the centre of birmingham. — Nathan , Australia (2009-04-08) Nice, cool nice hostel. walking distance from digbeth coach station. Tom, Kath, and Boss Ian are too good people to extend help. breakfast is good, night dinner is always there to protect your belly. kitchen is open twenty-four hours for you to cook your personal taste. — Umesh , India (2009-03-19) Very nice place I really enjoyed my stay here. The staff are amazing and very helpful. They helped us plan our trip around the U.K. to see a mix of tourist cities and some of those places that many people miss and also helped me look for apartments in Leeds as I am moving for college this Sept. And we really enjoyed those. The hostel offers services past when you leave. Any help you just have to email or phone and they are happy to help. The hostel has perhaps the best common room I have seen. Very bright and lots to do. Its nice they do not take the money and not bother about guest when they arrive. The common room has a large movie screen like a cinema, and hundreds of movies to pick. You get popcorn also. They have a bar with beers from all over the world, some are not cheap though but your regular euro beers are. They sell snacks and hot drinks also. The other part of the hostel has reading books, a nintendo wii, playstaytion 3 and I think they had an xbox. Also a pool table. They do quiz nights, and also BBQ (that you do not pay for). The rooms are nice and bright. We stayed in their POD room. I really liked this idea you get some privacy and a great nights sleep. The room we stayed in was nice and clean but not en-suite. They have lockers built into the PODs for each guest. They have a nice kitchen, a little small but has everything. Very clean. They also have an outdoor garden with more plants, flowers and lights than I have seen in the area. Like most things about this hostel it is over the top, which makes this place very homey. You feel like you are in college again and can relax after seeing the sights. The one downfall is the area. It is in the centre only a hundred metres from the National Express Coach station and only a few hundred metres from the Bull ring. While the location is great the area is industrial like much of Birmingham. It is not that nice until you walk into the hostel. Not much they can do about the area though. All in all I think this is one of the best hostels in the U.K. that I have been. — Tim , USA (2008-06-16)