We had several very frustrating problems with the A & O Zoo Hostel in Berlin, Germany. To start, we found out that we had to do a bank transfer to place our reservation. We had to make a downpayment of about $175. I had to email them several times before they emailed me back to confirm that they received my bank transfer. In the email, they told me that I did not transfer enough money. I sent a few emails asking about the problem until they finally responded stating that A & O also charged about $30 for the bank transfer, which they did not tell me before I sent the bank transfer. This caused us to lose about $55 dollars just to reserve our hostel room because my bank in the USA and A & O charged for the bank transfer. Then, about a month after our reservation I received an email stating that our reservation was cancelled. We never asked for our reservation to be cancelled so I emailed the manager several times and I got no response. I emailed other employees and still got no response. So, about a week before our trip we called them in Germany to find out that our reservation was cancelled with no explanation. So, we had to reserve our room again.When we got to the hostel around midnight we had to stand in a long line for about 30 minutes before we could check in. Almost every time you wanted to ask someone at the front desk a question you had to stand in line for a long time. They need more receptionists. When we finally checked in, we were told that we had to pay the entire payment for our 3 night stay on our credit card because they had no record of our bank transfer. I showed them the email that confirmed our bank transfer and I was told that anyone could have written the email; therefore, it was unacceptable and I had to pay the entire amount right then if we wanted our room. I asked to speak with the manager who received our bank transfer and I was told that we could not until two days later on Monday morning after 9:00 am. (We were leaving that morning at 10:00 am to go back to the USA.) So, we finally got it straightened out five minutes before we had to leave for the airport. They gave me our downpayment in euros!!! I asked them to credit my credit card and I was told that they could not. I was extremely angry because that meant we had to take the money home to change to USA dollars, which meant we lost about $30 because of the exchange and commission charge. We had planned all of our trip to not have to exchange money after visiting various countries because of the loss each time money is exchanged. However, the incompetent people at the hostel could not credit our credit card and said that our only option was getting our downpayment in cash, which should have been taken off the total room bill in the first place! In addition, we reserved our room to make it to the Love Parade so we were required to stay at the hostel for 3 nights and pay higher rates. Even though the Love Parade was cancelled, they still required us to pay the higher Love Parade rates! This was quite a scam! Because of all of the problems reserving our room, checking in, getting our questions answered, and poor customer service, I definitely recommend finding a different hostel. I have been told that the Circus hostel in Berlin is very nice.
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(Review ID: 3230)
Clean, comfortable and great location, March 24, 2004
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Anonymous
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I stayed here a couple of nights in March. The place is clean, well organised, and has comfy beds. The showers lack privacy - the shower rooms have 3 or 4 showers with glass doors and you step out in to a communal area. Plenty of hot water although those annoying showers where you have to push a button for hot water every few seconds. The showers and toilets were clean and plenty of them. I was on the 4th and 5th floors so noise wasn't a problem. The location is superb - right opposite the station.
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(Review ID: 3231)
Clean, cheap and modern, February 8, 2004
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Anonymous
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The A & O Hostel is one of the nicest hostels I have ever stayed in. The location is great while rooms are spacious and modern. The staff were so friendly and helpful and best of all it was cheap - only 10 euros a night!Because I had not booked ahead, I ended up in a ten-bed dorm with shared facilities on the fifth floor. I was dreading my stay, but it turned out to be wonderful! Friends who had booked smaller rooms with private bath on lower floors couldn't sleep due to noise from the bar. But up on the fifth floor it was quiet, quiet, quiet! The bunks were new and very comfy. The modern bathrooms were virtually empty, as most rooms had private facitlities. And best of all the view from the room was just amazing...well worth my 10 euros a night.The only drawbacks to the hostel were the pricey breakfast and unsecure lockers. Otherwise, just great.
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3 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 3232)
Decent enough, February 5, 2004
Reviewer:
smileanddie@hotmail.com
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When I stayed here in September 2003, I found this a decent hostel. It is only 1-2 minutes from Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Zoo Station) on a major road junction. On street level it's a bit scummy, but this is the centre of the former West Berlin, so you are in a prime location. The staff are friendly, and there is a real international feel to the place. The rooms are large with up to 10 beds. One massive problem is that in the summer the rooms get very hot. I don't believe there is air-conditioning, and the windows cannot be opened more than a few cm or so. The showers and toilets are basic. There are two bars: one inside, and the other that opens onto a terrace that overlooks the train station. I would recommend this hostel. Sure, it's a bit more expensive than other hostels but you couldn't ask for a better location.
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(Review ID: 3233)
Noisy and Hot, October 3, 2003
Reviewer:
Lucy
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This is a large hostel which does make it rather impersonal. The dorms are a reasonable size with an ensuite. We stayed at A&O during the summer and the rooms were almost unbearably HOT. In addition our room overlooked the beer garden where music was played each night until late. The heat and the noise made sleeping close to impossible!!Breakfast is NOT included in your room charge but may be purchased for an additional fee. The hostel does NOT have a kitchen for guest use but there is a good size supermarket close by.There are a good number of internet terminals.Communal areas are good; a large beer garden, two bars and some inside seating.Best for those people who are looking to party, as getting to sleep before 2am is almost impossible!!
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(Review ID: 3234)
Short term stay only, June 27, 2003
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Anonymous
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There are good things and bad things to this place. Firstly, it´s clean;the staff are friendly, and the location is great, especially when you have a train to catch early in the morning. The bad things: No Kitchen! No laundry! See-through shower doors! The internet is down most of the time. There is a constant stream of school groups, so the place is always full of giggling adolescents who never go to bed, and run up and down the hallway. We have come to the conclusion that this place is great if you are only going to be in Berlin for a couple of days. Otherwise, put in the effort to move more than 30m from the train station, and find somewhere - there are heaps of places with better facilities, cheaper rooms and a nicer atmosphere.
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(Review ID: 3235)
Convenient and clean with good breakfast, June 10, 2003
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Anonymous
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This hostel is very close to Zoo station, making it very convenient if you're arriving into Berlin by train. The rooms are clean and comfortable, although some of the windows do not open which is annoying if you want some fresh air, not air conditioned air. The breakfast buffet is great. Unlike some places, they have quite a lot of different foods on offer. The bathrooms are clean with good, hot showers, although not very private. While they are split into male/female, the shower doors are pretty see-through and there are no private changing areas.
