The Circus Hostel

This was a nice Hostel with a great vibe.

There were a lot of people interacting, there were fun events (tours, karaoke, etc.), the staff was really friendly!

They had a really nice (and modestly priced) café along with a bar downstairs.

I had a great time during my stay!

Everyone spoke English well.

very friendly and very nice staff running the front

the manager even bought everyone pizza because the elevators were not working the past few days

the rooms are very very clean

the hostel is located in a central part of town

The David Hasselhoff Museum is located in the basement and is probably the greatest tourist attraction in the known universe. It's also free to enter.

What a great place!! There are a few minor points here and there where they can improve, but otherwise 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.

Circus Hostel is head and shoulders above the average hostel. To quote the beau, "This is the coolest dorm room *ever*."

For the hotel experience, definitely go to the Circus Hotel across the street. To save a few euro and get to know your fellow travelers, the hostel is the place to be. Where else rents out iPads cheaply by the hour so you can surf the web on their complementary wi-fi? For the budget-conscious traveler who opted not to bring a tablet along, what a welcome choice! Every night has a different special in the downstairs bar or the adjacent cafe, like free gluhwine or all-you-can-eat spaghetti. I wish we stayed for spaghetti night what with all the Italians who came through during our two-night stay.

Service is fantastic, provided by upbeat, helpful people going out of their way to make sure you know the protocols (no curfew, bring your own towel or rent one for 1€, free whatever downstairs) and the various specials. Free walking tours embark daily and all sorts of special activities are happening, so even a traveler who feels like a fish out of water can jump in for a few hours or a whole day trip.

Bright, modern colours and jagged geometric designs decorate each floor. Rooms are surprisingly spacious and laid out nicely with all the IKEA-esque decor you could want. Large beds, combo coat-rack and drawers, an in-room safe (yes, it's true! Lock up your valuables!), and extra space makes this the university experience you might have wished you had. We ended up splurging on a private room and ended up on the fourth floor with a view over the tiny courtyard, nothing to really speak about, but a convenient location near the elevator and not too close to either the men's or ladies' lavatory. All fixtures are exceedingly clean from the hallways to the showers, which are always the least attractive facet of hosteling in my opinion. Kudos for the design that lets you store your clothing and personal items on pegs outside of the shower area. No lack of hot water, either!

My one quibble that I won't knock a half star off for: the walls are a bit thin so the parade of noisy 20-somethings drunk from their binge on the party circuit will be loud. Doors get slammed pretty often.

But seriously, you wouldn't realize this was a hostel by the neat and tidy layout. It really feels more like an apartment. Security at all levels prevents random entries: your room pass is necessary to access the elevator, choose a floor, open the floor lobby and hallway doors, and your room door. I felt completely safe at all times. The front desk is staffed 24/7 and the employees make a point to tell you to come down and ask for anything. Need to know where to buy socks at the last minute or where a laundrette is? Having trouble getting your wifi to work? They can help.

Also, Circus Hostel runs a blog with local events, recommended sites, and Berlin hotspots well worth reviewing.

I don't do this a lot in my reviews, but this place is FUKCING amazing! After backpacking for Europe for 23 days, there is no doubt in my mind that this was the Best one I stayed at.

I don't even know where to begin.
Staff - wonderful and helpful. 4.5 star on the service.

Beds- comfortable, not bunked, and spacious. ( I had a four bedroom, and I was actually very luck, I was given one with a balcony facing the street and their sister hotel.)

Rooms- Bright, fun, and clean. I honestly rank it between a hostel and a hotel room. It's in a class of its own.

Wifi- Yes it was available to use.

Storage in room- They don't have one big enough for a huge back pack, but they do have a locker in room that was big enough for me to store my laptop, phone and some other valuables.

Washroom: Clean, easier to use, shower was great. Hot and they had a separate space to hang your stuff.

Food: Not provided for free but for 5 Euros, the meals they provide is beyond amazing. Cheeses, hams, waffles, bread, boiled eggs, granolas of different sorts, fresh salads.

Hands down, best hostel I've stayed. And I would be absolutely crazy not to recommend this hostel. Please stay here, you will realize that this hostel is world class, and can't be beat. Extremely secure as well. Not only do you have to use your key card for your room, you have to do it for the hallway and elevator.

At the end, and this is my first this is a six star place. Period.

We stayed for one night here and I wish we could have stayed longer. This hostel is very big so it allows for you to interact with a lot of people throughout the day. Service is amazing (I had to call the airport and they let me use their front desk phone). Rooms & bathrooms are super clean and there's a lot of security to ensure that random people cannot walk into the hallways or your room.

There is a great basement bar for people to preparty before going out & a cafe attached to the hostel with cheap coffee prices. They have lockers to hold your belongings if you check in or check out early.

Yes!! Friendly staff, great location affordable. I will return. The only reason didn't put 5 stars was the noise. Not the people, but the SLAMMING of the doors shake the entire floor and the street noise can be a bit much. But, it's such a lovely, happy, accommodating space. I highly recommend it.

My stay at the Circus Hostel was by far the best hostel experience I had in Europe. The rooms and bathrooms were clean, the staff were friendly and helpful, and the ambiance was welcoming and comfortable.

I stayed at the Circus Hostel for a solid 7 nights in late September 2008. It happened to be the same time as the Berlin marathon, so that definitely added a certain degree of fun/craziness to the atmosphere. There was an eclectic mix of guests at the hostel, and by the end of my week there I had made a pretty nice little group of friends from around the world. It's two years later, and we're still in touch online.

I really liked the area that the hostel was in. The Rosenthaler Platz U-Bahn station is right across the street, which makes transportation throughout the city a cinch. I was travelling solo, so it was nice to be able to get to the hostel easily from the airport without much hassle. There are various pub crawls/walking tours that come through the Circus hostel to pick up guests, which is a great touch. Aside from that, the hostel is in a central location, close to restaurants, shops, and a must-check-out Sunday "Flohmarkt" (flea market).

I would love to visit Berlin again, and I will definitely stay at the Circus Hostel when I come back.

My friend and I shared a twin room with the shared bath in the summer of 2012. The hostel is very conveniently located next to the U-Bahn stop at Rosenthaler Platz. It is located near to several eating establishments, bars (including one in the basement of the hostel), and a laundry facility.

We arrived on a Wednesday, which is the night that the basement bar has a free keg of beer for all until it runs dry. There is a cafe on the main floor with a great breakfast special for 5 euro - coffee and a breakfast buffet with a combination of fruits, yogurt, cereals, breads, deli meats, hardboiled eggs, and cheeses. There are other menu options as well, but we enjoyed this one so much that indulged in it all three mornings that we were there. Thursdays are 2 euro pasta night.

Everyone who worked at Circus was friendly and helpful. The hostel itself is an inviting atmosphere to meet new people. There are yoga classes offered. The lobby has comfortable lounge seating and also an area with computers, though wifi is also free. DVD player rentals are available. Bike rentals are also offered. This is also a pick up site for daily walking tours.

I definitely felt safe when staying at this hostel - with regard to the area itself as well as the actual accommodation. There is secured elevator access to get to the rooms. There are safes in the room to keep your valuables locked up when not needed. The room was super nice - clearly recently remodeled - and the bedding was fresh. The windows opened, but when closed they greatly eliminated street sounds from below. The greatest drawback to this hostel were the thin walls. To our right, we could hear a man snoring quite audibly all three nights. On our left, two of the three nights we were disturbed by the noise of our much younger neighbors blasting Brittany Spears and talking loudly. If you're a light sleeper, bring ear plugs! If you're a social butterfly that likes to be up at all hours, you're likely to be in good company!