GZ Hostel Bonn

The place was noisy, dirty, and felt unsafe, with an unbearable cigarette smell and a crackhouse atmosphere. I couldn’t stay, so I left the next morning even though I’d paid upfront for four nights. The owner wouldn’t refund the remaining nights, refused to speak English with me, and was generally unfriendly. The listing on booking.com was misleading. Some rooms are below ground level, but there isn’t a single photo showing this. You have to keep the curtains closed, or people in the parking lot can see you clearly.

The building smelled strongly of pee as soon as I walked in. I saw the cleaner washing the bathroom, but the smell was still intense. The wifi was poor, and it was noisy. My window wouldn’t work properly, so I couldn’t open it, and tape was the only thing keeping it shut. Wouldn’t recommend.

The location near Tannenbusch Mitte station and Penny supermarket is convenient, but I had a terrible stay. Staff were rude and handled customers badly. They first told me each room had two keys, one for cleaning and one for guests. When my room was locked and I asked reception for the second key, another staff member said there was only one key per room. It felt like a lie, and left a terrible impression. There’s one key for each room rather than each guest, so if another guest has it and you don’t know each other, you can’t get into your own room. The main entrance door to the bedroom was damaged and took me at least two minutes of fiddling to open. There was one toilet and bathroom for four rooms, each with at least three or four beds, so it was usually occupied when I needed it. The kitchen was dirty, the oven was filthy, and there was no electric stove. Don’t be fooled by the website photos. Staff wouldn’t listen to my complaints about cleanliness in the room and bathroom, and nobody came to clean my room for a week. There were lots of mice outside. While sitting in the beer garden behind the hostel, I saw them running around at breakfast and dinner, sometimes climbing onto the next table. It was disgusting. Staff said it was the city’s problem, not theirs. People who don’t understand the bad reviews should compare this place with a hostel chain like a&o to see the huge difference in facilities, cleanliness, and service. I’d recommend spending a bit more for a better hostel and staying somewhere else. My experience confirmed the bad reviews. One star feels too generous, but I can’t give zero.

We paid 52.50€ for one night on 23rd November, so it wasn’t cheap. There was no heating, and we spent the night in coats and hats, barely sleeping while drunk or drugged people yelled and banged on doors all night. In the morning, we couldn’t even use the bathroom because some girls were vomiting there and guys were cheering them on from the hallway. The worst experience ever.