Fodorite018

Hoping to get personal suggestions of any hostels in Munich. We have hotels booked for other dates of our trip, but the night before we fly out, we are fine with a hostel. Basically we just need a clean place to lay our heads for our last night, and want something central to the train station so it is an easy trip in the morning back to the airport.

So if anyone has suggestions of places to stay, I would appreciate it

marvelousmouse

any objection to being by the train station? I stayed at Wombats and it was definitely a well equipped, friendly place. The only thing I didn't care for was that they tend to nickel and dime you, but they have enough perks that that doesn't matter much.

marvelousmouse

Lol. Just saw that you wanted to be by trains! My reading comprehension is apparently not so good. Then yeah, definitely wombats! Pretty much a two minute walk to the station. Best thing about it

Fodorite018

MM--I was hoping you would reply I was going to go back and read your trip report to see where you stayed lol. I will look at Wombats. Yes, just need a clean place for the last night. Turns out that last night is during some international trade fair so I need to get something booked. We changed our dates to Sept so that we could attend a wedding, but thankfully we were able to keep our other hotels. I have two questions though. Are the lockers big enough for a 21" rolling bag? If they have rooms for 4 (which is our preferece, do you know if the door locks ?

movie2015

There are a bunch of hostels right around the train station. Wombat's is one, but there's also Euro Youth Hotel (https://www.hostelz.com/hostel/1116-...h-Hotel-Munich), and the 4You Hostel (https://www.hostelz.com/hostel/1115-...--Hotel-Munich) is really cheap and quite nice.

marvelousmouse

Yep. Most modern place i stayed at in Germany. Has those hotel key cards. You need it to access elevator to rooms and also, I think, to get into your floor. Great security. Security is generally my number one concern and I was really impressed by wombats in that respect. You can hang out in the comfortable lounge before you check in and after you check out, but you can't access the rooms without a key card.

Do you mean the room lockers or the storage lockers? Because unfortunately I did not see the room lockers, I was in a single. I'm pretty sure the main luggage lock up was an actual luggage room but could be wrong.

But curiously, a lot of the hostel room lockers in Germany were closet style- somewhere to hang stuff, maybe shelves, and most came with their own keys rather than using your own padlock which is what I've see before. If you go to tripadvisor, and page through the pics of the hostel, you'll see the room lockers, and that's the kind I'm talking about. Generally my carryon doesn't fit in those because the wheels stick out too much, but yours might if it's one of the smaller ones.

marvelousmouse

Also to add to what movie 2015 said, that whole street/area is littered with hotels. So if you can't get a suitable room at wombats or another hostel, I'd just google map it and wade through all of the neighbors. I'd say it might even be cheaper that way, but maybe not because it sounds like you want four beds?

marvelousmouse

And remembered one thing to add, sheesh. If any of you are picky about mattresses, maybe go for the traditional hotel. Wombats, like many of the hostels I've stayed at so far on this trip, does those foam pad things even in the private rooms. Comfortable enough, but you can still feel the difference if you know what I mean!

Fodorite018

Thanks! I will go look at all of these.

MM--I reread your trip report and had to laugh at your comment about the hostel and your comparison to downtown Seattle We live up there as well as Portland, so know it well. DH grew up in downtown even. So location won't be an issue at all for us. DD and DH are kind of picky with mattresses so good to know. I am keeping all options open, whether hostel, apt or hotel. I just know with the trade fair I need to get on it.

movie2015--Have you stayed at either of those?

marvelousmouse

Mms- it's really quite funny, but I was a bit worried about places like the areas around the train stations and Rome in general. Some folks on the forums make it sound like a haven for pickpockets and vagrants and scam artists. But the scam artists and vendors and beggars have worked hard to make me feel right at home. So kind of them. But really, it's just like walking in downtown Portland or SF. Except possibly I'm less worried about getting shot. But the beggars do have better game here- I feel like if there was an international society of scam artists, North American panhandlers could work out some kind of exchange with the Europeans and really build their skill set

I can certainly see how some people would be taken aback though if they didn't spend much time in the major US cities. A good friend of mine from college did a weekend trip to Seattle with me once and she thought Belltown, where we were staying, was a risky neighborhood because of the panhandlers. Haha. Made a mental note not to take her to pioneer square. But in fairness, I think Seattle was the first big city she'd been to as an adult- anywhere else, it was likely family trips where they were either in their hotel or car or at a tourist site. It's a bit different to walk and use transit around a city. I tend to pick destinations where I won't have to drive so this is my idea of fun, but I know that a lot of the westerners I grew up with do the opposite- they pick places they can take their car.

PalenQ

check Let's Go Europe -a guidebook writ by young folk for young folk traveling on a low budget - it gives objective IME descriptions of hostels and youth hotels -more client oriented than official HI-hostels - bars on premises and more private rooms though official HI hostels are moving in that direction to stay in business too.

HI hostels can be full of young school groups at times- youth hotels are more for young adults.

amazon.com but just check your local library or remaining bookstores like Barnes & Noble.

marvelousmouse

One thing you should know about the HI hostels is that some require a membership- one of Munich's does for sure, although that wasn't the reason I didn't stay there- it wasn't a central location. So it can be extra money.

I've found that anything with above 90 percent rating on hostelbookers or hostels.com is reliably good. Once you get into the 80s, you're usually seeing missing amenities, and 70s or below is a crapshoot.

Interestingly,both the his in Reykjavik and Nuremberg have a bar. That surprised me- often HIs are not alcohol friendly but I figured that was a cultural thing. Is it a more recent development, then, Palenq? A way to stay competitive?

I only know of one HI without private rooms, though. They're really common, at least in the states, because while they are family friendly, they usually have a pretty high minimum age for the dorms, which I've always been greatful for. Rooming with teens is a bit awkward as it is, wouldn't want to room with a young kid. Too many potential clashes.