BeFree Hostel - Self-Service

It was nice and friendly Small room and a bit hot and noisy

The private three-person room is super big. Bathrooms/showers are small but tidy and private. Easily walkable to bus stops. QR code keys didn't work well on phone. We got stuck waiting on the outside of the hostel at 3am waiting for staff to help us get in, and the next day in a similar situation we had to walk over to the nearby affiliated hostel and the staff was very dismissive while trying to solve our issues.

Room doesn’t have a fan or air conditioner, and it’s summer, It was very hard to sleep, also trying to talk with them and they didn’t provide a solution.

I think having lockers in rooms will be a great thing. The beds are lockable, but I think having lockers in rooms can make things easy in keeping stuff and belongings organised and well kept. The luggage room was disappointing tbh. I think maybe having the same QR code for it will be good and even though i brought my own lock, the lockers still couldn't be locked, so I would suggest maybe change the lockers in luggage room and make the luggage room more secure. The toilet WC were clean mostly and even though its still a responsibility of people living there to ensure its cleanliness, staff should still several times a day come and ensure it is well clean. But nonetheless, my stay was very good and Im well satisfied.

The most disappointing part is that they have continued to ignore my messages and still have not refunded my payment. I cannot recommend this hostel based on my experience.

No lockers.

The room was small, but had everything essential for our one night stay. Everything from check-in to checkout was done on our phones, so very convenient! The rooms open with a QR code. The common spaces were cozy, although we didn't get to spend much time there. The walls are very thin, there was a big group of people who came in at 3 am and we heard everything they were saying (okay, they weren't very quiet, but still)

Nothing, there were no staff around, everything was dirty. No safety cameras, no ventilation on the building, extremely hot. there were no staff around, everything was dirty. No safety cameras, no ventilation on the building, extremely hot. My shoes got stolen I've never had an experience like this in the whole Europe, I've been to many hostels, it's a dangerous facility

the QR code key for the room

Everything was good n easy to access place. Room was too small but manageable for 1-2 nights , Soundproofing was bad

As far as budget hostels go, could hardly be better.

No option to lock / store luggage out of the way outside the pod. The pod is lockable though .it is difficult to move luggage up and down if you stay at the upper pod. The sheet provided for the bed was not big enough. The place is clean only for checking at 3 PM. So bathrooms are pretty dirty later in the evening. Running out of toilet paper. On busy days. It is a very busy place) lots of people and not enough bathrooms on the floor I stayed at. There are additional toilets in the basement where the kitchen is located though .It should be checked/ quickly clean/wipe during the evening. The Internet wasn't working for 4 days during my stay. Not ok these days when everything is online. At a self service place where you asked to check in online when you arrive. Excuse was the long weekend. However nothing was done the whole day on Monday either. We were locked out of the room because the qr code/ door were not working properly. There is an intercom connection to the hotel reception at a different location 3 min walk. Been told to go and get a new qr code even we told the staff that we are in sleep wear and slippers and can't come out on the street asked them to come help us and nothing. Customer care from the reception staff is probably below their pay rate . Even when I visited the reception later no customer care showed. I have simply been bothering them.

Rooms are tiny and cramped

I had very bad experience with this hostel. It is a self check-in hostel which means you have to register in their system to obtain QR code for access. They wrote me a message on Booking that they had sent me an email with the link to their system, but I didn't receive any email. I reported the issue, but the communication from them was very inattentive. After a few messages they assured me that I will 100% receive the email by 3PM on the day of check-in. Well...I haven't received anything and they took quite a long time to reply. I had to ask Booking to cancel my reservation (which they fortunately did). Apparently the hostel staff simply made a mistake in my email address, but instead of paying attention to my messages about not getting the emails and double checking the issue, they were just wasting my time and lying to me...Btw. There is a very nice hostel in the same price category near Praterstern which I eventually spent night at and can definitely recommend.

Facilities were clean, well stocked, well maintained. The night shift manager was a bit odd. He hung up on me when I was locked out of my room and trying to get in. After a redeye flight at 1:55 A.M. I just wanted to get some shuteye, but instead was ferrying back and forth between their branches, and waiting around a lot, dead tired, in the street. I used self checking hostels before but never had this much trouble. In the end the manager got me into my room at 2:35 A.M., 40 minutes later, but it was such a painful process I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone else. Another elderly couple was also struggling and in the end I think they just went somewhere else. Funny cuz you’d think after years in the game, this business would have streamlined their process by now. Funny thing is, when I failed to receive the second email (with the QR code), the day shift manager called me directly in the phone and warned me I wouldn’t be able to get in, and assured me he’d pass the message down to the night shift manager. So I thought okay, just a little hiccup no problem. Turns out it was a real hassle. In the end I got into my bed but had no room access. So at night I just peed in a bottle. And in the morning I had to beg roommates not to close doors, and beg cleaning ladies to open it for me again. The photo attached is of the printed QR code. And yeah it didn’t work…

The wifi did not work at all, we had the room close to the entry so, we couldn't sleep well and there is no reception so we couldn't request for another room or anything else.

The rooms were larger than expected and the beds were very comfortable, the kitchen is large and full of facilities, the bathrooms are clean and it's very nicely decorated. The foosball table is an incredible choice. The check-in process is a bit complicated and if you book more than one room you have to do them separately, the whole process completely again.

Room entry only with QR-Code on your phone (you get the QR code at check-in), so you need your phone plus sufficient battery to get into the room and hostel. QR-Code reader often needs 3-4 tries to open room door.

There were some problems about cleaning and heating.

Price was great. Worked well for a large group traveling together (girls and guys and couples bunked separately). Never had to wait in line for a private bathroom. Nice kitchen space. Quiet area. QR Code Keys were buggy and had a learning curve. We were not in the city center (about a 10 min walk from a train station though). Layout was WEIRD and the hangout spaces were not convenient.