Birmingham Central Backpackers

Great location 5 minutes walk from the coach station and 10 minutes walk to The Bullring Shopping Mall. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and booked me in straight away and showed me to my dormitory bed, showers, toilets and kitchen. My bed was warm and comfortable with a privacy curtain, locker and electric socket. Breakfast included apples, oranges, bananas, bread/toast with jams, marmalades, peanut butter, Nutella and tea/ coffee. It had a nice lounge area for chilling out with free tea and coffee anytime of day. Kitchen for cooking yourself with a microwave and refrigerator for storing food. Would definitely stay here again and thoroughly enjoyed my 6 nights here.

All good.

Close to a wedding reception in The Old Library. Complimentary toast, tea/coffee breakfast - as a hostel, guests do their own washing up. Cctv covers 2 parking spaces and the entrance. 24hr car park £3.80 per day until midnight within about 200 yards and free road parking from 6pm Saturday and all day Sundays. Clean rooms and clean shared bathrooms close-by. I think only one room has an en-suite.

I was happy, but some people may be worried about:- 1) Location is down side streets , though I felt fairly safe with lots of folk walking around late Saturday night. 2) Most guests appeared to be singles staying longer term, but managers have strict rules so that everything is in order.

This was a fantastic stay with great value for money. Staff were lovely and room was large. I booked a single room for so cheap it was only about 10 dollars more than a dorm!

The only thing is the location, whilst I felt safe for the most part, the last turn off the main road to the street the hostel is on is very dimly lit and very scary to walk at night alone especially as a woman. At one point a car stopped right next to me and I thought this was the end... it's only about 200m or less to walk this section but for this reason I might not pick again. I had read this in reviews when booking and I have to agree.

The booking and checking in process was really easy. The room I was in was located within a few steps of one of the bathrooms, both were really clean and had a fresh smell and feeling to them. The bed I was in was very comfortable and the surrounding curtain of the bunk was excellent for giving yourself some privacy and making it dark. The locker in the room was more than ample in size for the amount of luggage I had.

The only thing that would have made the experience even better was being told about either bringing a padlock for the locker or about the option to buy one, but once I knew about this the lovely man at the front desk sorted me out very quickly with buying one.

This was my 2nd time staying here, but my first time in the dorm rooms. I originally booked the 6 bed female room, but needed a bottom bunk, so they gave me the option to take the last one in the 15 bed dorm. I'm glad I did, because these beds have plug sockets and privacy curtains, which made the bunk blackout even when the lights were on. The beds were comfortable and I slept well with earplugs. The lockers in the room were pretty spacious, and the bathrooms and showers are some of the best I've ever used in a hostel, with good pressure and hot water, even during busy times, and a decent hairdryer. Breakfast and coffee/tea were also a nice touch. The common area is comfy, with lots of seating and plug sockets. The location is also great; close to the bus station, the bullring, and loads of great pubs and shops. The building is being renovated, but massive progress has been made since I was there during summer. The staff are great, and you can tell they take pride in the hostel. It is meticulously cleaned, and everyone is friendly and helpful. This will continue to be my go-to in Birmingham.

The 6 bed female dorm, which costs more, doesn't have curtains or sockets on the beds, just traditional bunk beds. The staff told me they're planning to upgrade them soon though, but it's worth keeping in mind when booking for now.

Staff were very friendly, and the hostel was exceptionally clean. The bed was comfortable, and it was great to have your own 'private' space behind the curtain. Having a plug charger in your own bunk bed is a great little extra, as well as complimentary tea, coffee, toast, condiments and fruit in the morning.

Although the cleaning was done to an exceptionally high standard, sometimes you would not be able to enter the kitchen for 3 hours to cook your own your food (between 11am-2pm). I understand that the kitchen facilities require cleaning on a daily basis, however 3 hours did seem a little excessive. Thanks.

Staff efficient, friendly and super helpful. I had a private twin room and was expecting it would likely be a bunk bed, but was delighted to find it was actually proper twin beds! There was even breakfast of toast and fruit included. The location was perfect for Dadi Freyr concert at O2 Institute (though there are currently roadworks that make it a bit tricky, but still only about 10 minutes walk away). I am a single woman of 60 and walked back alone immediately after the concert - there were plenty of others walking to their cars and I did not feel nervous. Parked in car park about 100 metres down the road for £3.50 a day, though one day is from midnight to 11.59pm, so I had to pay 2 days. Don't forget to check whether you need to pay the clean air charge too...if you do, it can be paid online, and like the parking an overnight stay will incur 2 days charge.

.

Really liked the common area downstairs by reception. I came late and left early and it was nice to have 24/7 reception. I did miss breakfast, so I cannot review that item. I liked the curtains on the bed that help with privacy and lights from other people. I liked being able to sleep in an all-female room. I ended up talking to a random person in the hall who had been here before and he said the place had gotten so much nicer and that the common area and reception were improved greatly.

The only issue I had was that the doors stick due to the doors expanding with natural humidity. I felt bad because I felt I disturbed the other people in the room when I came in late and left early.

The staff were really friendly and made me feel so comfortable here! All of the other guests were nice, free toast and fruit for breakfast was provided which was a lovely touch and they let me chill in the social area after check out so I didn't have to go out into the cold city any earlier than needed. I would definitely stay here again!

The pictures on the website need updating because my rooms bunkbeds didn't look like that (room 16) no privacy curtains so everytime the door opened everyone could see the brightness from the halls. The plugs were near the door none near where I was sleeping, I would've bought an extension lead if I'd have known.

Breakfast was included in the price and available for anyone staying in the hostel: toast, jams and peanut butter, some fruits and tea and coffee, milk and sugar were also provided. The room was comfortable. There were single bathrooms which I really liked. Excellent location close to the centre and the train stations. Sockets next to each bunk and curtains around. It was warm despite freezing weather. I got a female dormitory and the other travellers were really kind!

Some facilities could have been better, eg. there was no torch lights next to beds which would have been nice for reading a book. In the morning there was quite a mess in some bathrooms.