a&o Berlin Friedrichshain

A room I strongly recommend avoiding. I usually prefer to make up my own mind rather than rely on negative reviews. In this case, that was a mistake. From the start: the automatic check-in didn’t work. Then came an unbearable smell of stale cigarette smoke, followed by a strong sewage smell from the toilet. I now understand why the windows were wide open when I arrived. Airing the room is almost impossible: it overlooks the courtyard on both sides. Open the windows and you have zero privacy; close them and you are stuck with the smells. The windows also don’t close properly, and with single glazing the noise is constant: conversations, music, staff, bottles, people coming and going… you hear everything. Comfort is just as disappointing: very hard mattress, poor-quality pillows, no storage space and not even a glass to drink from. Only a small fan is provided — I can’t imagine this room during a heatwave. The door doesn’t close properly. The bathroom clearly lacks proper cleaning and maintenance: dirty shower doors, an extremely grimy drain and visible grime. There are also large cracks in the walls, as shown in the attached photos. The room is very old and worn, although the property is maintained. The locker also costs €6. Worst of all, I saved only around €100 for three nights compared with the other hotel. Had I known, I would have paid the extra €100 without hesitation. €100 is simply not worth three nights in this room. Even for free, I would never choose it again

It's a decent hostel, certainly good enough for a few nights stay, especially considering the price. Also a very good location, lots of restaurants close by, and just a few minutes walk to U/S-bahn and tram stops.

Youth Hostel style place. Lots of young people around. If you love young people and can bear some noise at night, it is a nice place to stay.

Older building, but very clean! It was in a great area close to a metro station. Great neighborhood with nightlife and food options.

Good stay for 1 night enough, room was clean. Instead of Twin, we got family room, oriented to garden and not street, which was nice and calm. Self check in wasn’t working, machine couldn’t find our booking, but helpful staff assisted with the issue.