Black Forest Hostel

I'd recommend this great hostel
I enjoyed to spend some time there: friendly and international atmosphere, good place, low price, clean, with large kitchen and common rooms; the staff were very friendly and location was very good.

Pretty good value and nice hostel. Clean bathrooms and helpful staff.
Scratch the DJH standard and give this hostel a go. Great character and relaxed atmosphere. Closer to the center than the other also. Full kitchen, fridge, games, and internet.

Relaxed and friendly hostel
I really liked this place. It's spacious but has loads of character. Great kitchen and showers. I spent new years eve here and would recommend it to anyone passing through this lovely part of the world!

Nice atmosphere
Nice hostel, friendly staff, and nice atmosphere. There is a big common room and a kitchen with enough equipment. We slept in a big three bed room. The beds were not so comfortable. And they don't give you sheets but a duvet. And even if you have your own sheets you need to rent the duvet because it is very cold. Everything was very clean. There were a lot of German students staying there, waiting until they find a room in Freiburg. It is very close to the centre.

Interesting, but not my cup of tea
The hostel is in a nice location, but my general experience of staying here was something like being a homeless person squatting in an abandoned warehouse. Certainly, you can meet some people here, but you will need to speak German because the vast majority of people are local tourists, people going to festivals and so on. It is not very well maintained (and by this I mean there are no carpets on the floor, no wallpaper on the walls, and other things you might expect) but for some people this would add character to the place. For me, it was a generally uncomfortable experience and one I wouldn't be anxious to repeat.

Chill
definitely a bohemian vibe in this place. if you're into hippie moms and dads with their hippie, dreadlock totin' kids, then stay here. So the worst part is you have to pay extra for sheets, but don't get put off by that. the rooms are super spacious, no bunks in my room. there's a huge lounging area with pool, ping pong, and books (mostly in german); a full kitchen with spices on hand; and space-age showers. it's a little hike from the train station but the city is cute and sightseeing is what traveling's all about. try the crepes near the church. yum.

Stayed here for five days, lots of good points including the great common area and large rooms, and it is in good walking distance from the centre. On the negative side, when we arrived the room wasn't ready until about 4 p.m. and we were left waiting around, there is very little street lighting around, and although most staff are lovely one or two are far from welcoming. Having said that though I would return if I was going back to this lovely city.

Very mixed opinion of this hostel. Normally i overlook certain things, as they are an inevitable part of the hostel experience, but was quite irritated by certain things about my stay here. Located in a quiet, friendly neighbourhood down below the beautiful mountain ranges of Freiburg, in walking distance to the centre of town. Good price (19 Euros a night). Relaxed and friendly vibe -- interesting artwork and murals on the wall. Well equipped kitchen. Large common area. Amazing, almost space age showers -- quite a novelty. On the other hand, very disappointed with the attitude of the people working at this hostel. Firstly, it's hard to know exactly how many, or who the, staff members there are, as there are a large number of people who seem to hang out in the common area day in, day out. Several times I had people come up to me out of nowhere and in a brusque manner instruct me on correct hostel protocol, when it was impossible for me to have known that i was doing something incorrectly, without identifying themselves as hostel staff. Was told off for using the washing machine without asking the permission of the staff. Upon arrival, another staff member had mentioned briefly where the laundry was, but did not inform me i needed prior permission or that i needed to pay to use them (there were no signs in the laundry indicating this either, which is usually the case at hostels). A staff member also left a very detailed note on my pillow one day instructing me on the importance of placing my duvet (blanket) inside the cover provided -- somewhat pedantic. Also chastised first thing in the morning for not paying for internet usage the night before -- hostel staff had previously said they would be at the reception desk until 12:30 a.m. if i needed to pay for my usage, but they were nowhere to be found. Finally, very unhelpful when i asked for their assistance in making a phone call after i had been misleadingly sold a phone card by a shopkeeper. When asked certain questions, they were not willing to give direct answers. Felt this treatment was based in part on my appearance.

This is probably the best budget accommodation you will find in Freiburg, and without a doubt the best hostel. It is very close to the downtown area, transit, and isn't in a sketchy neighborhood. It also has kitchen facilities (including a fridge you can use) and the staff is very nice. It is within walking distance of pretty much everything, so you can enjoy the Freiburg night life and walk back to your room. I've stayed in a lot of hostels and budget hotels, and the Black Forest Hostel is one of the better ones. Don't buy a sleep sack and carry it with you -- it's not worth the volume. Just pay a couple of Euro for sheets at the hostel.

I stayed here in May of 2006 for three nights. It was a good hostel with very good atmosphere and a very friendly vibe. It's a good place to hang out in the evenings and chat with other travelers. Exceptionally nice staff also made my stay that much better. While on one hand, the location is rather out of the way given the long walk from the train station with your backpack on, on the other hand this place is very close to a good internet cafe and just a couple blocks from the old town. The place was adequatly clean, although the shower drains needed a cleaning while I was there. Although there's no locks to the rooms, they do have nice big lockers you can lock your stuff in. Another minor gripe I had of this place was that the number of sinks and showers wasn't adequate for the number of guests, so you would fine a short line up in the mornings. If you're going to Freiburg alone, I strongly recommend this as the better of the two hostels due to it's good atmosphere. However if you're particularly picky about cleanliness and not too keen on meeting people, then you might consider the other hostel.

I've stayed in lots of hostels in Europe and this one was my favourite. It's funky and fun, and as a solo traveller I found it really easy to chat to people and make friends and found the staff lovely. The rooms were completely fine (and also light and comfortable with lockers) and the showers are indeed very cool. Its not part of some big chain, which I really like because it means its independent -- the staff are (friendly) humans, with personalities, and I liked the fact that they were actually German. The place feels like a lot of love and care has gone into the decoration and stuff, so it feels really warm. Its not brand new or mainstream like some bland Hostelling International place. And the kitchen is great -- it's clean, lots of space to sit and eat, and the cooking equipment is much better than most places I've been to. Look forward to returning.

This was my first time staying in a youth hostel, and this one was great! My friend and I just wandered in without a reservation, and we ended up having a great experience. It was very tastfully decorated, clean and friendly. There was a huge kitchen and a huge common room with a ping pong table that were fun for socializing. I'd definitely recommend it.

We definitely recommend staying here. Very clean, unusual setup because it is an old factory and the showers are out of Star Trek. Good social area and kitchen.

The hostel turned out to be great! The staff were friendly and the common rooms they had were awesome. I think the people that were staying there made our stay so much more fun, but it was overall a great place with great prices. I would definitely come back and stay again!

Well, I stayed here in July 2005 and I expected it to be a nice hostel after reading about it here. But I was disappointed. It was very empty and bare and I felt like I was sleeping in a warehouse. The staff were unfriendly, uninformative and unhelpful. They didn't know much at all about the local area. The "double room" is expensive and has two single beds pushed together, not a double bed. It's only really possible for one or two people to cook at a time in the kitchen. It was ok but not at all great.