The People - Strasbourg - Hostel

The location is decent, but the place didn't feel quiet or comfortable. After a long journey, I wanted to relax, but loud music from the bar vibrated through the walls until after midnight and made sleeping difficult. The bed was uncomfortable as well. It might be fine if you're out late every night, but I can't recommend it to anyone looking to unwind. We ended up booking somewhere else.

Fantastic location, and I had a good experience with the service. I arrived early and needed somewhere to leave my bags, and they let me store them until check-in. I value the communal side of hostels, but here there was no shared fridge or kitchen. You had to hand over your food for them to put away in the back. I couldn't find any group events, and from what I saw, people mostly kept to themselves. It's still a good hostel, but it felt like it was missing some soul for me, so I probably won't come back.

I booked a bed in an 8-bed room, and it was impossible to sleep because the wooden floor made so much noise whenever people walked around. The toilets were clean, but the shower didn't give hot water right away. The woman doing room service put the duvet on the floor, then folded it onto the bed. That didn't seem hygienic, with people walking over the wooden floor in their shoes. Breakfast didn't have enough choices, and everything was sugary and tasteless.

The location was okay, though a bit far from the tram, and the reception staff were friendly. There’s a fridge and microwave, and the beds have blackout curtains, a personal light, shelves, and outlets nearby. I paid €49 a night after booking more than two weeks ahead. I had to wait 15 minutes to check in because the receptionist was busy. Overnight guests don’t get free room lockers, only paid ones downstairs, and there’s no guest kitchen. I know not every hostel has one, but even cheaper places do, and a kitchen is also somewhere guests can meet. The shower setup was awful. There was nowhere to put soap, the overhead sprinkler ran for an unknown time after its motion sensor triggered and couldn’t be stopped, the water was only cool, there was no mat outside, and the cabin wouldn’t close for privacy. Saving water is fine, but more comfortable showers might actually mean people finish faster. The WiFi wouldn’t let me connect because it said the certificates weren’t from a trusted provider. You can only use the elevator to go upstairs, and it always means waiting. Maybe the staircase is kept for emergencies because this is a converted building, but the arrangement makes little sense. The rooms have almost nowhere to store things apart from the small shelves over the beds. I nearly fell while climbing up because there was nothing to grip at the top of the ladder. You have to hold onto another person’s bed. A handrail or an extended ladder would fix this basic design issue. I’d suggest the managers spend a night here themselves. The lower bunk was empty, too, though I don’t know why I couldn’t have it, and that didn’t affect my rating. The whole place gave me the impression of a money-making machine instead of a normal hostel. Would comfortable ladders, better showers, or room shelves really cost that much? Strasbourg didn’t seem much more expensive than other French cities, and in Switzerland I’ve stayed in much better hostels for the same price, even around holidays. It’s good that they reused the building instead of demolishing it, though I don’t know the property situation in Strasbourg.