City Backpackers Hostel

This is probably by far the best hostel I have ever been to (I’ve been to 16 hostels in Europe, one in Canada, one in Singapore, and around ten in Taiwan). The beds are really comfortable, and the pillows are actually solid and not of low quality. The comforter is thick enough and really comfortable too. The only downside is you have to pay for sheets and towels if you didn’t bring your own.
The hostel is pretty big, and it’s a bit confusing at first because of how it’s structured. But at check-​in, we were given a map so it wasn’t too bad. There are codes on the room doors, the big main door that gives access to the hostel living area, and luggage rooms. These codes were all given to us at check-​in. There are also small slips of paper to hang on our beds to let the cleaning people know who is checking out when. Super good system!
Inside the room, there are beds of course, lockers that don’t have locks so bring your own, and a nice couch area (we stayed in a twelve person room; I don’t know whether the couch is only in bigger rooms).
There’s plenty of private bathrooms and showers, and it’s interesting that the hostel observes the Swedish tradition of taking off shoes inside the home. This is definitely the first hostel I’ve stayed at that does so. The showers are pretty nice and clean, as are the bathrooms.
There are also events every week organized by the hostel, and you pay to attend, although I think there’s a movie night every week that’s free.
There really isn’t anything to complain about at this hostel; I would highly suggest it. The location is great too; it’s super close to the central station, and it’s most definitely in the city center. Definitely my favorite hostel up to date!

Can I go back like… NOW ?
1. It’s pretty. Scandinavian style. The reception has bikes hanging on the roof.
2. It’s so so so practical: reception is open from 8 to midnight, but then you can come and check-​in on your own anytime, as long as you ask for the entrance code before. So yes, there’s an entrance code: it’s pretty safe. Even the guest staying there are clean people (at least from what i saw during my staying).
3. It’s really clean and comfortable: we had a 8 beds room. People were really nice, everyone had his locker so nothing was staying in our way. Beds are comfortable, blankets are warm enough. We have two floors: one upstairs with a mini living room where you can hang out with your band or whatever, there’s a vintage tv! Downstairs you have a huuuuuuuge kitchen, it’s clean, you have fridges by room, so your stuff is pretty safe. You have every tool to make your food properly.
4. It’s fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun. Upstairs, between the kitchen and the rooms, we have a huge living room, where there’s tv, apple computers (it’s free wifi btw), and all around the room we have couches. Everyone hangs in there, meets new people, drinks and gets drunk and then become best friends and go party together. Every night. Looks like you are on school vacations.
5. It’s close to almost everything! It’s on vasagatan: 10 minutes from T Centralen, the central station. On this road you can go up to the borough of Odenplan with a few restaurants, or go down the road with 7 eleven, Max, Burger King, a few pubs and clubs, after T Centralen you’ll get to walk a bit and you’re in gamla stan within 25min. walking. You’re near the shopping area aswell.
To end up with, it has been four fabulous days i’ve stayed there. I loved it. I’ve meet wonderful people. People from the hostel were really nice and helped us to get the best of everything, they recommended us some beautiful places. It was amazing.
Big plus: they have bikes to rent, they can give you free ice skates for 2 hours, they can give you extra blankets, they have private showers and hair dryers, + free sauna!

Maybe ’cause it was the first hostel of my life, but I think it AMAZING… It’s built such as an huge home, in which I’ve to go to shower walking through the kitchen for example, or to remove my shoes to get in… These are such few examples of House-​Situation that makes it comfortable. Rooms are clean, big and you can put your luggage in a safety cabinet! There is also Wi-​Fi area everywhere, internal garden and a 24hour reception. It’s also included first morning’s breakfast. The position is almost good and you can go to Vasa or Gamla Stan in fifteen minutes!
I love it, five star SURELY ;)

Friendly, helpful front desk. Meticulous cleaning staff.
Quirky hostel. Basement level a warren, takes time to get used to. Some private showers hidden.
Great location. Minutes from main shopping street (Drotninggatan) which leads to Gamla Stan (Old Town).

this hostel is ok
pretty clean and they have large lockers to store your stuff
location is alright too; a little bit of a hike from central station. not as close as some of the other hostels
the free pasta is ok; but its free… what do u expect
friendly people at the front desk
the set up is weird though; rooms are through another door, then you go outside and into another building

While not the best hostel I’ve ever stayed at, I really have no complaints.
The location is fairly central. I found it very easy to get around the city on foot from the hostel. There’s a supermarket close by, so you can buy yourself some sauce for the free pasta (though you can also buy some at the hostel). Cooking said pasta can sometimes be a little difficult as the kitchen is sometimes busy and dirty. On the whole though if you avoid the peak times it’s a great way to save yourself some money on food (hugely important, food is a tad bit expensive otherwise). That being said, the kitchen and common areas can be quite lively, which lead to some good times with fellow dorm-​mates and other guests.
The dorms were nicely arranged, giving some of the beds a good amount of privacy. The outlets were fairly accessible and there are lamps at each bed. The lockers were decently sized and not too noisy. The internet didn’t work in the dorm room (at least not the one on the ground floor).
It seems like such a simple luxury, but the wash closets are what really did it for me. They’re quite private, which gives you some nice alone time. The water is hot, there’s ample room for you to put your stuff without getting it wet, and there are plugins for hair dryers, should you feel the need to be doing something like that while travelling. During the chilly days of fall in Stockholm, a nice, hot, fuss free shower is so very welcome.

I was staying in a single private room for 3 nights. On the third day I was required to pack up and move to another single private room for some reason. This was kind of a hassle since they were both single rooms. Some of the people staying here at the time were not very respectful of the space. Trash and dishes were left around the common areas and kitchen. Two of the nights people were talking in the common areas until 2:30 AM even though ‘quiet hours‘ begin at 11PM. Hah.
I recommend the tour given by a local Swedish person (think it runs on Tues-​Thurs). It was a good insight into some history and different locations with a lot of good content included for the couple of hours.

For about 2 weeks, this was my little home. I have to say, as hostels go, this was truly one of the best I’ve stayed in. The price for such a privilege is definitely not the cheapest in town, but knowing the place will be decently clean and not as depressing as your run of the mill hostel — it was worth the price tag for me.
The location of the City Backpackers is pretty good, it’s about a 1 km, take or leave a few m’s, walk from the central bus station. It’s situated toward the northern end of one of the main shopping districts to S-​holm, which makes is convenient but the party will usually not be right outside your window. Pretty good Mexican taco place (it’s on basement level if you can’t find it) and coffee place down Upplands a couple blocks. It’s not a hostel for the partyers, but there is a social atmosphere if you want to meet some new peeps.
The accommodations are no frills but there are nice little touches that help to make it a bit more homey. As in most of Scandinavia, you need to bring your own sheets and towels or you’ll need to rent them from the front desk. They have anywhere from singles up to 8 bed dorms, and everything in between. All the rooms have lockers (you can buy a lock from the front desk) and I never had a problem with cleanliness in the rooms.
The bathroom sitch is pretty good here — there are the usual communal situations but there is a new section of the hostel with PRIVATE bathrooms so you can SSS (urban dictionary that one if you don’t know) in peace. It makes the hostel experience a bit more palatable when you know you can at least have a moment of privacy when you want it the most.
There a little touches that make this place more interesting than most. The rooms are all named for islands on the Stockholm archipelago and they offer free pasta, BYOS (bring your own sauce.) There is a little café that the hostel operates right next door, you can choose to order breakfast there, which includes a cheese or ham sandwich, coffee/​tea, and OJ. I didn’t find it worth the money once I found out what it was, cheaper to have something a bit better from the grocery store. But if you’re pressed for time or too tired, they do have breakfast and snacks at the café and at the front desk.
The one thing I will say is that while the service was pretty good, they only have one person manning the desk at all times, which isn’t enough. I queued for at least 20 minutes on more than one occasion. At least there was some excellent electropop music playing lobby to make it more bearable. This is Stockholm after all.