Slottsskogens Hostel

Quick summary: very clean, quiet, well-maintained rooms and common areas. Excellent on-site staff - professional, friendly, and very helpful. Location is great in an attractive residential area near tram and bus stops, and many shops and cafes. Quick trip into central part of town. Very good buffet breakfast. Private rooms with shared bathrooms are spread out between two buildings. The property now also has a few rooms with private baths and an apartment. I base my review of what I expect of a well-run hostel, not a luxury hotel, but the staff could not be better at a 5-star place. Note: I am not the usual hostel visitor, so please know that this is a very nice, quiet, clean, comfortable place. If I can be comfortable here, you can be comfortable here. We returned here with a group of college students after a few years' absence from COVID restrictions. In the interim, the owners made the place even better with a few upgrades and renovations. The rooms are varied in their size and number of beds, with mostly 2-4 beds in a room. No huge rooms with people you don't know. Each room has many useful amenities. From my past experiences, each room has: Clean, fresh, comfortable beds, pillows, duvets with nice bed linens Excellent individual bedside lights -- THANK YOU!! (I can't tell you how many 5-star hotels I've been to that have lousy bedside lighting.) Good towels for small surcharge Open-side closet with sturdy hangers, some shelving, and a small toiletry shelf Full-length mirror Desk (with three small drawers) , chair, good desk lamp Lots of wall hooks for coats, robes, etc. TV with a few stations, both in Swedish and other languages, primarily English, with Swedish subtitles Blackout curtains work well Umbrella to borrow (or buy for an attractive souvenir) As mentioned, the owners have been hard at work with renovations and added amenities in some rooms since last we visited. I think my room, #527, is now positioned as a more deluxe room than standard. Compared with past visits, this room has: NEW - mini refrigerator and microwave Hair dryer The bathrooms have cubicles for toilet and shower that can be locked. There are additional sinks in communal areas. Additional toilets are here and there around the properties. Other public rooms include a well-appointed kitchen in each of the two main buildings, including multiple refrigerators; comfortable lounges; good breakfast area with an outside terrace in nice weather. Excellent housekeeping throughout. They've freshened the decor since we first came here many years ago with creative touches in the hallways and artwork that evoke northern woods with birch trees. Okay, I also love the cluster of midcentury lighting fixtures in the lobby area of the annex building. Both buildings have a nice rack of travel brochures. This is an excellent neighborhood for visiting Goteborg. The trams (nearest: Olivedalsgatan), bus lines, grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. are a short walk away, and the downtown city center is a short ride away. The neighborhood is very attractive - you wouldn't mind living here on a regular basis. The restaurants and cafes on nearby Linnegatan are set up to have many outdoor tables in nice weather. Very good cold buffet breakfast for a nominal charge. A variety of breads, meats, cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, fish (sometimes), vegetables, pickles, yogurts, jams, cereals, juices, teas, and coffees. They have every variety of milk, it seems - cow, soy, oat. There is a laundry room for a nominal charge, and a sauna that is scheduled around "men only," women only", and "both" on a schedule. Staff throughout is very friendly, helpful, and professional. We relied on them to make some local contacts, info, and travel arrangements and calls for us. As it seems in much of Sweden, English is well understood. They know the city well, so take their advice and make use of their knowledge. While I hate to promise for them, the staff has organized socializing events for the guests -- walking tours, going to a nearby karaoke bar, etc. So - if we can have this much comfort and fun in the middle of January, you can image how much we'd like to return in better weather! We look forward to a return visit.