Generator Berlin Mitte

This hostel is having an identity crisis. Generator doesn’t know if it wants to be a hostel or hotel. While this may sound like a minor issue, it’s a huge problem.
Generator, while nicely designed with a clean, minimalist aesthetic, fails to serve the main purpose of a hostel: to be a chill, social place to lay one’s head down after a day of exploring and meet other travelers on a budget.
There is no proper common room, which is a fundamental component for a good hostel. Outside food and drink is forbidden, and unless one wishes to spend a small fortune at the hostel’s open-​to-​the-​public bar and café (which are frequented by anybody walking by on the street, making it impossible to determine if a patron inside is also a guest at the hostel) there’s no place to socialize.
If one is traveling with a large group of friends or wants a private room that is only slightly cheaper than a hotel room, this is probably ideal. But backpackers and adventurers, expecting a normal hostel environment, looking to meet new friends, should stay away.

We had the pleasure of organizing a company event at the Generator Hostel Bar. The staff was super friendly and helpful, supported us in organizing a big group event last minute and were there for us all evening. Everybody enjoyed it very much and we can only recommend the staff and facilities! Plus the bar is super nice and chill.
Can only recommend!

Worst hostel I’ve ever stayed at. Has no desire to provide a reasonable experience, opts instead to force you into its overpriced bars and cafes (outside food or drink is not allowed). A terrible experience in a wonderful city. Avoid at all costs.

For me, it’s the best friendly place in Berlin. The place it’s cheap and clean (if it will not be, they will come soon to change it). If you need an help for the city they are more helpfull. You could have a party in the bar on the week end, have a breckfast in the breakfast that is also one lounge-​room (more nice and quite). If you don’t like this breakfast you could choose also something special in the bar.

I had to stop in Berlin for 24 hours on Christmas due to the timing of flights. Thought it’d be more fun to sleep in the city center so I could go to the nearby Christmas markets. I was wrong, as jetlag had other ideas for me.
I had a private room at Generator and it was a little TOO comfortable as I laid down to take a nap and pretty much slept throughout the night. I was worried the hostel was going to be noisy and I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but it was fine.
Totally bummed I didn’t get to hang at this hostel longer as it seemed to be really nice and fun. Staff I interacted with was very friendly. I’ll have to come back for longer than a day.

This spot was impressive. My first time at a hostel… and I would call it more of a hotel for groups. The place was very clean and had a cool flair.
It’s located in the old east Berlin and there’s lots to do nearby. Couple of bars and restaurants close too. The bar in the hostel was surprisingly good on sat.
The breakfast is 5.50 and isn’t bad. The rooms were small but a great price for the 4 of us we had 4 beds and out own bath.
I would definitely recommend this place!

Stayed here in September when we were over in Berlin for the marathon. A fair few of us were here spread over several rooms.
Pros: —
Entrance is open 24 hours and the desk is manned
Breakfast buffet is good at € 4.5 if paid for in advance
WiFi is strong in the building
Bar and Restaurant
Decent size luggage room
Separate Toilet and Shower rooms
Quiet in the rooms
Cons: —
Our room was tiny, in a room with 4 bunk beds, the gap between the beds (that you need to walk through) shouldn’t be narrower than the door to the room.
A couple of our lights were missing bulbs, we asked for them to fix but nothing was done from Friday checkin to Sunday Check out.
Shower room has no curtain, it’s a wet room, consequently anything you have in there is probably going to get wet except for one small corner.
Luggage room, although the size is good, they’re happy to give the key to anyone to get in…
I’d stay there again, just not in room 26 which was tiny. Definitely smaller than rooms that other people were in.

El hotel esta en el barrio judio de Berlin. Calidad /​precio esta muy bien. En el propio barrio tienes varios monumentos a los que te puedes desplazar andando y a 50 metros la estacion de metro para poder desplazarte a cualquier otra parte de la ciudad.

The Generator is a pretty damn good hostel despite some flaws.
The good:
1) It’s centrally located in Mitte next to two metro lines (the two Oranienburger stations).
2) Rooms were clean and in the quad, the toilet and showers were separate so less fighting for the bathroom.
3) The staff is extremely helpful and there’s always someone at reception at all times.
4) The bar downstairs is extremely convenient for reasonably priced drinks during happy hour (5 to 7pm), or just to pregame. There’s also a café.
5) We were here around the World Cup, and they definitely went a long way to foster a communal atmosphere. They set up lounge chairs and showed the games in the courtyard and played them on the TVs in the bar.
The bad:
1) It’s loud at night, which is especially bad if your room is street-​side. Bring earplugs if you have an early flight. The police and ambulance sirens definitely don’t help.
2) The shower in our quad felt like a prison shower. No real separation with the floor so water gets everywhere, and not much control. Decent water pressure though.
3) Towel rental is € 6, but you get 2 back of you don’t steal it.
4) While we were there, the clientele definitely skewed toward bro-​ey males. Then again, maybe it was because of World Cup.
5) There are strict rules against eating or drinking in your room and if they find out you did either, you get a hefty fine.
The ugly:
1) The city was doing a lot of construction on the block while we were there, so it smelled a lot like hot sewage.

The best hostel I’ve ever stayed in! Super hip, clean, & a great hostel to meet ppl as it has a bar. It’s also in a central location and the Metro station is right around the corner.
The room was super clean, each bed has it’s own individual light & outlet. The bathrooms are also clean and stocked with toiletries. Staff is nice and welcoming.
The breakfast was ok, it’s basically bread, jam, salami, cheese, yogurt and cereal.
I really like how the hostel has it’s own café, bar and outdoor area. It’s a great place to hang out even if you’re not staying here. I would definitely stay here again.

When I look into a hostel, I’m looking for different things than I am when looking for a hotel. Chief among them, does this place create an environment to meet other travelers? And secondary but nonetheless important, is there an electrical outlet next to my bed so I can easily charge my phone securely? Finally, is there a place to safely store any valuables?
What worked here?
1. The rooms are impeccable and nice. Each bed had a storage unit (awkwardly placed under the beds) but it was huge. What’s more, there were outlets at each bed as well as little lights (grant it, mine did not work).
2. The location was great. Walking distance to a lot, easy public transpo to everything else.
3. Bathrooms in the room, and a separate shower room from toilet room. Makes life a lot easier.
So what wasn’t so great?
1. So here is the deal, this is perhaps one of the nicest hostels I have ever stayed in. It felt, in many ways, like a hotel. And that, in many respects is where it falls a bit short. As a solo traveler, it was near impossible to meet new people. I tried hanging out in the common spaces but most everyone was traveling in groups and the communal spaces were so gigantic it just made it hard to cozy up to folks.
2. The beds, contrary to what I read a lot, weren’t that comfy. If you’re 6 feet tall, these suckers are short. So I felt cramped trying to find a way to fit in my bed!
That’s really the biggest complaint. It’s a comfortable place. It’s smartly designed, I just wish there was a way to make it easier to meet people!
Advice: Skip their paid breakfast. So not worth it!

The hostel is spotlessly clean and has a really friendly collection of people at front desk.
The room we stayed in was a six person dorm and was in a immaculate condition with a private toilet and shower too. Luckily there was five of us so it was cool being with friends. I guess the German lad who took the sixth bed must have felt a bit daunted!
The dining area is really cool too with wooden benches and a laid back vibe. Food options to suit most but they definitely don’t go in for the greasy spoon vibe over here which to my mind is a very good thing.
The area we’re in (Oranienburger Straße) is fairly quiet but not too far away from the main city centre and besides trams and trains will get you anywhere fast.
Definitely recommend staying here. We booked in advance and it only cost us € 44 each for two nights! Great value for money. The train from the airport to here was also only € 3.20 :)

This hostel is a perfect proof that it’s not enough that you have a tidy building with some cool-​ish cartoon figures on the wall. Not if the staff is stiff or even impolite and the 4.5 EUR breakfast is made of the cheapest possible ingredients, the porridge isn’t even thoroughly cooked and they have watered down the fresh juice in the juice machine.
One morning we missed the breakfast time by one minute and the guy turned us away. It was disappointing but we were late, so ok. We thought we’d get some juice or tea from the machine at least since the food wasn’t available and we still had paid 4.5 EUR for it beforehand. The guy shouted at us «Don’t you guys speak English?! Don’t you understand it’s closed?!» and to be sure we understand, he shouted in Spanish as well. That was just unnecessarily impolite. So we left the juice we already took standing on the table.
The room was clean and nice.
But no matter if you have fancy hipster living room lounge downstairs and funny drawings on the wall to raise the coolness factor, I wouldn’t return to this place nor recommend to any friend of mine. Because when you’re on a holiday, you want to enjoy your stay. And this hostel staff failed miserably in creating a nice atmosphere, even in the reception during check in.
They also try to sell you breakfast at the discount price of 4.5 EUR when you check in, otherwise it’s 5.5 EUR. They only serve it until 10 and it’s not worth it. Once you discover this at the first breakfast, you regret paying anything for it for the remaining days. Berlin is cheap when it comes to food so find a nice café instead.
For a nice stay in Berlin, take your money elsewhere.