Pension Berolina Backpacker

Stayed 11-14-05 till 11-16-05 and returned two weeks later for one day. I had a nice stay at the Berolina. The biggest positive was the price. The biggest negative was some of the guest, (maybe due to the great price it can attract some scallywags). It is pretty well kept up although it's in an older building. The showers aren't disgusting but I've seen cleaner. The beds feel clean. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The hostel is near the red light district which could deter some people from coming but I don't think it is grounds for not coming here. I never felt unsafe there. One sketchy experience was while there with a friend we were up late talking -- like 3 in the morning -- and this car drove up and this girl got out of it. She was pretty hot actually. Well she comes in and goes upstairs. We didn't think anything of it, except her boyfriend was waiting outside with the car still running. We went upstairs and I caught the girl coming in/going out of our room. I asked her if she was lost. She said "oops, this is the wrong room." So she went down the hall. We went back downstairs and she came back down with more stufff than she went up with -- i.e. she was stealing stuff out of the rooms. She walked quickly out and got and the car and drove off. None of our stuff got stolen, but if you stay just be wary of your stuff. And for Berolina, make sure you be more thourough about getting all of the keys back from the previous guest -- who knows she could have made a copy. In summary, it's quiet (for the most part) since there is no real central meeting area, if you can ignore the brothels, it's actually in a nice neighborhood. There is no internet but there is a cheap internet shop just down the road with some cool Turkish dudes. There's good there's not so good -- I've stayed at better hostels and I've stayed at worse.

Great hostel with super cheap rooms. Our room was large, clean, and spacious, with lots of light. Very cheery, also with TV, and the beds were so comfortable. Bathrooms are shared, kind of small, but clean, although I'd probably wear flip-flops. The location was great...right across from U-Bahn station, only a few stops from Zoogarden stop, about an 8-minute ride. this was the nicest AND cheapest place we stayed on our tour of Germany.

This is a clean, quiet hostel slightly outside the city center. It is a large structure, a former hotel, with high ceilings and long winding corridors. Many rooms overlook a central courtyard, and the simple rooms are well-lit and welcoming. The bathrooms are clean and single-sex, with acceptable water pressure in the showers but no private changing area. The desk is helpful and provides various services for additional fees: one internet station is available, and the kitchen may be used for a fee per person per day. There is also a key deposit. The reception is closed from 11 pm - 8 am, but room keys open the main door, providing 24 hour access. Smokers congregate in the courtyard at night, and groups sometimes overwhelm the lobby area; this seems mostly to be a place where people hang out with the friends they came with, rather than a place to meet new people. It is possible to walk to the hostel from the Zoo train station, though it is about an hour on foot; the U-Bahn is a better bet, or the bus. The surrounding district is ethnic and perhaps slightly seedy. There is an excellent organic bakery and an awfully organized grocery store nearby, but mostly what you will need is public transit to get you into the downtown. The U-Bahn is probably the best way even to sights in the Charlottenburg area, such as the Egyptian Museum and the Schloss Charlottenburg.

Was here in December, '03! We woke up the receptionist at midnight by banging the window because we thought it was shut, but it's a good place to stay. 24-hour reception is good, plus satellite TV in the rooms is a bonus.