A&O Berlin an Zoo

I thought this place would be an actual hotel but its a hostel. the room that i booked for three people actually had 6 beds. we were told we paid more so that we had the rooms to ourselves. I would have perferred that it were an actual hotel. . .since the name of the property said hotel.

I stayed one night because every other hotel in Berlin was sold out due to Fashion Week Berlin. The rate for the night I stayed was about 42 Euros (2.5 Euros extra if you use a credit card), which was a fair price for this room in Berlin. But had I stayed another night the rate would have jumped to 85 Euros which would have been outrageous. The property serves as both a youth hostel and a hotel, the difference being that the "hotel" rooms are VERY small with private closet-sized shower/WCs and hostel rooms accommodate 6 people who share a dormitory type shower/WC. As all common areas of the property are shared, expect an ambiance of being a chaperone for a high school group or living in first year college dormitory. The sound of loud music and screaming teenage girls is inescapable everywhere, but seemed to get completely quiet by 1 AM. The hotel/hostel lobby is on the second level above several sex shops, shabby eateries, and souvenir shops (all very typical of the areas which surround most European train stations) and the location is adjacent to the Zoobahnhof station, which is good and bad. The "bad" is that the surrounding square is rather seedy (though not seemingly dangerous) and loud from both street noise and from the trains which traveled all night on the tracks literally just a few meters away from my room. The "good" about the location is that you are at the hub of many major bus lines and a major S-Bahn station, so you have quick and direct access to most of the major tourist attractions and the X-9 express bus to/from Tegel airport is just outside your door. Also, the propertyt is just steps away from the zoo, aquarium, and heart of the Kurfurstendamm. Plentiful Internet terminals (priced fairly) are located in the lobby, and WiFi is available in all rooms for 5 Euros for 24 hours (very fairly priced for Berlin). Breakfast might be included for some rates; it was not for mine, and so cost 6 Euros for a cold buffet of cereals, juices, cold meats, etc. -