What a great place!! There are a few minor points here and there where they can improve, but…read moreotherwise this is a very nice place at a very good price. I stayed in the hotel last year, but decided on the hostel this year. The Hostel private room with a shared bathroom is light years better than the hotel across the street. Read on.
I got a single room with shared bathroom. I was a little afraid before arriving that the bed would be on the short side. It has a head and foot rail, but I was delighted that it's about 7 feet long. No problem there.
A couple of points:
1. It's not evident that you need to rent a towel for € 1 at the desk. Westerners might waste time searching for them; I know I did.
2. There are no phones in the room. This is understandable as it's a no frills place, but just a heads up to everyone in case this is important. The front desk was SUPER SUPER kind to come up and tell me I had a call from my work, though. That was amazing service.
3. Big problem: The doors slam loudly, including the door to your room. Going to sleep requires ear plugs for just this reason. If they could put some kind of rubber stop on the doors so they don't make the very audible clack when they close, that would solve that problem. I understand they do this to make sure doors close, and lock, but that slam is all night, every night.
So a very few and minor things to be mindful of. I love that the rooms are fairly large, almost 18 feet long, and 7 feet wide. Built in desk, clothes bureau, in-room safe.
The best compliment I can give them, however, and probably of unique importance to westerners, is the fan. Sitting atop the closet like an icon of gold was a little desk fan. I was overjoyed.
Last year (and you can read in my previous review of the hotel) I told the Hotel that I would pay dearly for the privilege of using a fan. Perhaps someone read that or the hostel is just run differently. Either way, that little fan makes an incredible difference, and was my new favorite child sitting on the desk.
I'm very, very happy the Hostel does not require a key card to keep the lights on. Their sister hotel across the way does however. This can be very dreadful for others sleeping in your room, and a bit of a pain.
My only suggestion is that they put a little sign in every room laying out the ground rules of how things work, such as the towels. I am an American, and for that I apologize, but I'm use to the way things work over in the western hemisphere, and feel a tad awkward in confessing I don't know about small things like towels. A little sign or paper when I check in with frequently asked questions would be very kind.
The showers are a little small, what you might call dorm showers. They're private and you have a door you can lock and all, but getting in and out of that tiny room might be uncomfortable for the newly arrived. However the showers and bathrooms were always clean.
Downstairs the staff is very nice, and they all speak great English. There's a nice cafe called Catz and Mouse with a darn good burger, the front desk has stamps, phone cards, and drinks for purchase. Book sharing in the lobby, a nice front patio, postcards, and just a lots of little things that really make it convenient.
I love the Circus Hostel and I'm definitely a fan. I will probably never stay at the hotel again now that I've experienced the magic of the hostel's private room with shared bathroom, but maybe next time I'll splurge the extra euros for a private bathroom. This is a great place to stay.
