HI - Youth Hostel Nikolaus Glockenhaus

Did not book, just showed up. St. Nikolaus, ha ha, let's rename it St. Ridiculous. What a goddamn hole! Staff cannot speak english, no one can tell you who the boss is or who is in charge. So instead I was greeted by a rather feminine and obese German man who kept raving on about how there would be some colossal party that night. Walked in, dining room smelt of ass and cigarette smoke, shady character sitting in the corner completely mute just staring at us. Other people staying there were also complaining. Tried to have a shower, was told that we would have to push the button five times before hot water would start coming out, we pushed it about twenty. After about fifteen minutes we decided to ask for our money back as this was just completely unacceptable. Shower floors were covered with grime, probably the remnants of some sort of dirty std disease. Water in sinks would not drain, the rooms were just as bad. Very cold, blankets were absolutely rancid, stains all over the curtains, floors looked like they had been shat upon. Need I say more? Alright, I can't help myself so I will. This hostel seems to be located in the seediest part of Innsbruck, run by the sort of people who should be running a goddamn brothel in Thailand. We were coaxed through the doors with promises of a party and were under the impression that the hostel was completely packed with other like minded travelers. Instead we were sharing with four other men, one who had a foot disease. Fat man charged us 15 euros per night, but the same night quoted 26 euros for a bunch of boys who wanted to stay. Can anyone say dodgy? We finally approached german man, lets call him heindrich harmut jerk, we asked for our money back in the nicest possible manner, he refused and said "not possible!" in an overtly rude manner. He just walked away and refused to speak with us. So, we left. Do yourself a favour and do not sleep here! You will catch something, honestly, that or you will probably wake up in a concentration camp with all your belongings flogged. Screw this hostel, I would rather sleep on the goddamn street. I wouldn't even let my dog sleep here. Sure, if you guys are in Austria to hang out with a bunch of forty-year-old Germans in a cesspool, breathing in constant cigarette smoke, and you are content with not showering, then rabid st. ridiculous is for you! I hate this hostel. What a joke.

Very disappointing, dirty, only one of three showers worked. I don't think the sheets had been changed from previous occupants. Owner was pleasant enough, only took cash, and I understand why. After seeing room we wanted our money back, but his policy is no refunds. You could probably do better somewhere else.

Dirty showers (and only two of them), constant smoke stench, seedy characters in the bar playing darts, the mouse, the lack of security, average breakfast, and I dont even want to think about the sheets. However it was the only place in Innsbruck and the other people staying there were really cool -- the best I met through Austria.

I should have trusted my instinct -- I don't trust websites with too many exclamation points. I should have slept in the street -- even though it was pouring rain, it would have been a more pleasant experience than this awful place. Maybe I'm biased because I stayed at a really fantastic hostel the previous night but everyone I met here agreed that we were in the lowest depths of hell. My first five minutes there were an early indication that I should have high-tailed it ouf of there. The "reception" was a dank, smoky, crappy pub with scary-looking individuals playing darts and listening to Abba. The owner/manager/whatever, Reinhard, a cranky old expletive, just stared at me until I finally asked him if I could check in with him. He complained that I had arrived too late and that he only kept my reservation until seven-thirty, even though I had expressly told him in my phone reservation that I would be arriving at eight-thirty (and actually arrived earlier than that). He assigned me a top bunk, even though I had also told him over the phone that due to a leg injury I would require a bottom bunk. I repeated this info and insisted on a bottom, so he put me in a room in which there were no others that night. The next morning at about eight a.m. someone burst into my room without knocking to inform me that I would have to switch rooms. People kept coming into my room repeatedly over the next several hours, which I couldn't prevent because there are no locks on the doors. I'll say it again -- it's filthy, the mattresses are all broken, the bathrooms reek, the showers -- those that work -- are inadequate and filthy. The entrance and parking lot says it all -- it looks like a vacant lot from some sort of horror film. The only way this place stays in business must be because church groups stay here. There are lots of churchy rules at this place, like no smoking and no alcohol in the rooms, which is complete hypocrisy because, hi, it's a pub with a few dank bunks thrown in! The rooms reek of smoke twenty-four/seven, which can be a real problem if you have allergies. All in all, avoid this place like the plague. I wish I'd been smarter and read the reviews on this website before booking.

In fact, I want to give zero star (if I can ). I stayed in a room with six beds but actually I got one more roommate, that was a mouse! Besides, the bedcover thing was so dirty and have a strange smell. The shower room was another disaster, the "hot" water only last for three minutes and the shower room in fact was extremely terrible! One of the staff (a fat man) was really rude and unfriendly! I am sure that it is better to sleep at the train station than in this terrible hostel, at least I don't need to pay eighteen euros to share the room with a mouse.

The location of the place is good and they have a bar, but that's about it for the positives. Otherwise, the place is a complete dump. I don't think they ever clean it. They don't wash the bedsheets between stays. The showers are really dirty, and there is virtually no hot water. There are no lockers, and the place reeks of cigarette smoke.

Just got back from a weekend stay at the St. Nikolaus, and what a truly remarkable experience it was. We were in Innsbruck to give our dear friend a proper job of a send off as he enters married life. But sweet Jesus the St. Nikolaus didn't disappoint. Having read other reviews on this site, Team Stag were a little sceptical but the St. Nikolaus delivered. As expected the rooms were a little rough around the edges but this was more than compensated for by the owner's daughters, the Iglu bar and of all things an auction. Extradordinary scenes! Sadly the auction comes as a result of the hostels forthcoming closure (demolition to be followed by construction of new apartments).

I thought this hostel was great! The staff are a bit blunt, but still friendly enough. The rooms are spacious and warm, and the washrooms are okay (not the cleanest, but okay). The breakfast is really good, and you can get dinner there for a decent price. There is Internet, although it is rather expensive, and it's best to find another Internet place in the city (there's a good one by the train station). I would stay here again!

Not a great experience. The room I stayed in smelled quite bad. The bed sheet (that's what they call them) hadn't been cleaned; well, that's how they smelled anyway. There were no sheets really, just a blanket covered by a material bag thing that constantly comes off during the night. The stained sheet thing you slept on is, well, disgusting. One day I saw one of the staff simply remake the bed with the same blanket that someone had slept in the night before. The staff, who seemed to run and own the place, were kind of nice but at times seemed rather oblivious to the term "customer service." I was charged €1.50 for a mug of milk just after breakfast, even though you can buy a carton for the same price (we couldn't because the supermarket was closed on Sunday), besides the fact they give you free milk at breakfast. They also wanted €22 or a passport as a deposit on the key used to get in after hours. they quizzed me if about whether I was definitely going to be back after 1 a.m. before they would give up the key. The place is full of cigarette smoke and smells of it constantly. You can pretty much smoke where ever you like — we saw a girl smoking whilst she vacuumed! The shower door is semi-transparent, so there's not much privacy there. Don't even look under the beds. I found a ski pass from 2003 along with a lot of dust. The breakfast on the first day was sub-standard but improved when a 70-person group of tourists arrived. The presentation of the hostel from the outside is dismal, junk all over the place. Don't even bother trying to get into the place before 5 p.m., even if they are there in the morning and you knock they stand by their opening time of 5 p.m. There's only two showers for seemingly 150 beds or how many they have. The operation is generally unorganized; they had my partner and I arriving on different days. People who are not staying there sneak into the dorms and stay in the rooms; the rooms are not locked. There's little or no security during the day, as all the staff leave the premises from about 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. Internet access is only available from 6 p.m. (what the??) and is expensive — 15 cents for 1 minute. The positives were it's location and vicinity to the city, much better than any of the other hostels. The bar has a pleasant atmosphere and is cheap. The seasonal workers who do the cleaning and run the bar are very friendly and make you feel welcome. Breakfast was good once they got it right. The food from the kitchen is nice and not too badly priced. There are supermarkets, bars, laundry, cinema and restaurants on the same street about 50 meters from the hostel. The bus stop is directly outside the hostel and runs from the train station. The water in the (working) shower is hot and there are three or four toilets. It's pretty cheap.

One very manky hostel!!! The problem is that there's not much of an alternative and Innsbruck is a nice place. The breakfast was good; I hate to admit it. But the place smelt bad — it had the fragrant aroma of sewage. It was dirty. The people who run the place are obnoxious. I did meet some cool backpackers, though.

I've never been in a place so poor, well, apart from the breakfast. The owner is an arrogant person. 1. There is a lock out from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.!! 2. At 10 p.m. you are maybe drinking a beer outside (which you bought there) and the owner comes and tell you: "Didn't you hear me? I'm closing, you have to go, go, go!" Incredible. 3. When you arrive, he gives you a paper with a lot of rules to respect, such as: No Money Back, and others. For example, if you don't pay when you arrive, he keeps your passport until you have paid. 4. No lockers. He told me "this place is safe." Maybe the place is, but are you sure about the people sleeping there? We are not, and he is not, he just doesn't care about your stuff. 5. Using the Internet is quite expensive, about fifteen euros an hour (yes, you read right). 6. It seems that you do him a favour to be there. 7. He doesn't give you the bill. 8. There are only three showers for maybe 60 people. 9. If you want to be made fun, go here! 10. Definitely don't go here.

Hahah, this was a joke. Probably the most minging accomodation I've ever been in (made even more conspicuous by its location in beautiful Innsbruck). The bedcover thing I was sleeping under smellt as though it'd never gone anywhere near a washing machine, and the blood stain on one side was pretty ominous. If you're in the main bunk rooms (No locks, cool travelers in female dorm...the male one stank. Bigtime. Full of..ermm...well, good question.) then go upstairs for a shower. There's locks on the doors up there. However, we were very pleasantly suprised by the breakfast--excellent quality and lots of it. So if you're not bothered about sleeping in an unsafe dirt pit, then this hostel may not be so bad!!!