Station - Hostel for Backpackers

Staff was really nice. The location is perfect too.I would like to come back

The location is perfect. Just 5 minutes walk from the Hauptbahnhof. You can buy for 10 € a wonderful buffet breakfast. For lunch and dinner they have good meals. The rooms are very safe with single beds on the ground (not station beds to climb up). Bathroom shower is big and good. Best place to stay in Cologne Central for little money.

Easy accommodation near the train station

Sadly I had a terrible experience at the Station Hostel. I booked 3 months in advance for a private room for a 2 night midweek stay during my trip to Germany. The location is absolutely fantastic, just minutes from the main station. Check in was friendly and efficient and I was pleasantly surprised when I got to my room. Super clean, the bed was extremely comfortable, nice big windows allowing plenty of light. Small desk and a lovely compact small toilet and shower. Bedding, towels and toiletries were provided and a modest €1 is charged per extra towel if you need more than one. The common areas on the ground floor are lovely and the bar / restaurant is cosy and very welcoming. This could have been such a pleasant experience. It wasn’t the hotel that ruined it, it was the groups of teens staying in the rooms around me. I had room 409. Rooms 410,411 and 412 had students in them who partied and misbehaved until well after 4am. I got absolutely no sleep for doors slamming, furniture being thrown about, shouting, swearing, screaming, running and fighting in the hall ways, banging on walls….. it was absolutely AWFUL. They behaved like animals with total disrespect for any other guests trying to sleep. Sadly the staff leave at midnight and so there isn’t anyone there to deal with noise complaints and people can simply behave as they wish. I left to go about my day the next day but felt tired and came back to try and have a nap in the afternoon, however the party had started again and I brought it to the attention of the young man on reception. He told me he would talk to them, but it made little difference and the torture continued. I had no option but to check out and try to find somewhere else to stay for the night. Given that there was a convention on in Cologne this week, trying to find anything in the city for less than €170 per night was near impossible, but I couldn’t bear to spend another night there without sleep. The young man on reception was apologetic and kindly refunded one night of my stay as a gesture of good will. It was appreciated and not at all the fault of the hotel, but the total disrespect shown by this group of guests ruined my stay and cost them a future customer. This kind of behaviour should not be tolerated and I’d always imagined there was a mutual level of respect in hostels, especially as people share rooms. Clearly not in this case. If you want to rest at any point during your travels, I’d only advise on this hostel as an absolute last resort. I cannot fault the cleanliness of the room. Nor can I fault the staff, they’re lovely, but the guests staying in the 3 rooms next to me absolutely ruined my trip. A total disappointment.

Bathrooms were dirty and rarely cleaned. Bedroom was okay