The Generator (Berlin) GmbH

A great place for a short stay. We are 'mature' travellers and although a lot of young people stay here, we felt quite comfortable in the place. We had a twin bedded room with a small en suite. Perfectly adequate for those who just need a place to sleep at the end of a busy day touring the city. So much to see in Berlin, we didn't want to spend much time in the hostel. A lot of school parties stayed there and a lot of the entertainment, etc was geared for the younger ones. It has a nice bar and 'happy hour' was very reasonable. The small beer garden leading off was pleasant. The room decor was rather striking, in-keeping with the bright green and blue of the communal areas - not everyone's taste but can be lived with. The breakfast was adequate and one bonus was that cooked food was available in the evening. There was easy access by different modes of transport into the city centre. For the price, I consider that it was good value for the money - you only get the Ritz if you pay Ritz prices.

I stayed on the bottom bunk at the Generator, and one of the first things I observed upon arrival was that someone had carved "suicide" into the bed above. Which was, as some might say, Not A Good Sign. The entire room was orange which is literally never okay, and the whole hostel was just really disconcerting. The canteen area freaked me out, everything was a bit unclean, and just the sheer SCALE of the place made me feel like I was in a Goosebumps novel. Or a juvenile detention centre. Sure, I've never experienced either of these things but hey, I've got as good an imagination as the next man and I want you to trust me when I say that R.L. Stine would have snapped this place up as plot material in a SECOND.
However, I'm making the uncharacteristically generous decision to give it 2 stars because a drunken friend who we irresponsibly packed off to the Generator in a taxi on her own without so much as a second thought distinctly recalled the next day being escorted somewhere by "men dressed in lime green". So unless she'd drunk herself into a hallucinatory state I am going to hazard a guess that these were hostel staff, in which case, well done guys, shame you couldn't have recovered her phone as well but hey, we can't have it all. You done good. Shame about the human experimental facility you're working in.

This is quite a good hotel for what it's worth. For young people, where you can get to know people from other countries, or as happened to me, i met people who live in the same area of my country as me. Not recommended for: -Older people. -Married couples. -Married couples with children. -Couples spending the night. You can choose to have a private bathroom (that's what i chose) or to share. It's 10mins from the centre (Alexanderplatz) if you take the tram. In short- recommended if going with friends.

The Generator with its 850 beds is the biggest hostel in Berlin. Everything has been kept very simple and organised at low cost, which is sometimes more than a apparent, in not a good way. Checking in and out is possible any hour of the day without too much bureaucratic hassle. For those who are restricted by budget and aren't too bothered by comfort - this is a good bet.

A huge youth-hostel right next to the S-Bahnhof Storkower Straße. You can stay the night here very cheaply - means you're staying in a 14-bed room though. For those who find it fun enjoy yourselves, it's not really my thing, I need my (beauty) sleep...

I found this hostel to be very good value for money. Yes, they do have a policy not to change bed linen or give new towels everyday, however if you request it they have no issue providing these services for you.

Beds are comfortable, location is perfect, the happy hour in the bar is very happy indeed. Unlike the previous review, I found the staff very helpful. On my last day I lost my keycard and was quite panicked over it, as places I’ve stayed in the past have either charged me or given me a telling off. Yet, the man at reception was very friendly and understanding and assured me it wasn’t a problem. They also posted some postcards for me, saving me the bother of searching for the local post office. To me they seemed very accommodating for the guests.

Of course, as with any youth hostel you have to expect a certain amount of “youths gone wild” rowdiness, especially with the young american travellers who are too young to drink in there own country. This does make a fair bit of noise, but is totally forgiveable considering I paid 16 euro a night for a private room.

I can remember it as if it was yesterday. A week with the class in the Generator. Prices and accommodation are fantastic. Although I thought the wardens at night were terrible. A bit of fun should be allowed. Then again I did also like them as the protect other people. Protection in terms of preventing fights or damage. If you look for accommodation in Berlin at an inexpensive price? Go to the Generator...

This Hostel is cheap but this does not mean the staff cannot be helpful. I arrived with a friend in a wheelchair and told them one of the tyres was flat! I needed advice about where to get an inner tube. The staff suggested a shop, which was handy and we fixed the problem, but the staff showed no concern for my friend. There was no asking about what his needs were. We was allocated a room on the 7th floor! What if the 2x lifts had broken down? There was a disabled loo on ground floor but was out of action and lock broken. Pictures of this are here for all to see. Not once during the 5 days did ant member of staff help or talk to my friends about his disability. They did not show him the stair lift and how it works either.
We could not go to our room because they said it wouldn’t be ready till 2pm. We got to the hostel about midday. Later that evening when we pulled back the sheets it was noticeable that the sheets had not been changed! There was 3x different coloured hairs in mine! The next day the cleaned our room after i requested it.
The breakfast was ok. Just rolls meats,cheese & yogurt plus fruit juices & hot drinks.
The evening meal was just BBQ fodder really with a simple salad cabinet.
The average age was 18. The hostel was constantly loud. The youngsters were rude and didn’t think anything of it to pinch the lift of my disabled friend!
The staff were very young and untrained. It was worthless to ask them about trains or suggestions for day trips.
the bar was lovely but very loud! I might not be able to judge ages well but I did feel they were serving booze to underage hostel users. And put it this way I wouldn’t send a 14 year old virgin daughter here on a school trip. I think the reader can guess why.

Some more pics will be downloaded when I get them develped.

Cheap but very impersonal hostel. A large complex with 850 beds (up to 8 beds in one room), mostly occupied by annoying English teenagers on a class trip (There is probably a generator in London as well). On the ground floor is a bar decorated in steal and neon, where the previously mentioned teenagers benefit from the cheap booze as well as the awakening sexual urges. All in all a rather poor experience, but for sure the cheapest accommodation in Berlin.