Name: City Backpacker/Hotel Biber
Address: Niederdorfstrasse 5 8001 Zürich,Niederdorfstrasse, Zurich, Zurich, Zurich, 8001, Switzerland
Rating: 7

Smoke-free property

Heating

Terrace

General

Non-smoking rooms

Family room

Locker

Rooms

Laundry

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Vending machine

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

German

English

French

Languages Spoken

Sun Deck

Recreation

No parking

Parking

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Zurich Town Hall

Lindenhof

St. Peter Church

Grossmuenster

Fraumuenster

Zurich Zoological Museum

Kunsthaus Zurich

Paradeplatz

Zürich Hauptbahnhof

Bellevue Square

Swiss National Museum

Opernhaus

SIX Swiss Exchange

Helvetia Square

Lake Zurich

Zurich Zoological Garden

Zurich Airport

Swiss Transportation Museum

Lion Monument

Glacier Garden

Bourbaki Panorama

Loewenplatz

Saint Peters Church

Lucerne Arts Museum

Lucerne Congress and Events Centre

Rosengart Collection

Lucerne Town Hall

Chapel Bridge

Mill Bridge

Jesuit Church

City Backpacker/Hotel Biber

Zurich

For a place with such a central location, this place is remarkably desolate. Yes, there were some room restrictions because of the coronavirus, but still, the overall feel was pretty empty.
But, there are some good things. The location cannot be beaten, and there is a decent kitchen and bathroom. 
A big minus, but that is actually not to be blamed on the place, is the overall parking nightmare in the city

Kinda okay; somewhat desolate

I guess the best part about this hostel is the location, location, location. Bang in the middle of Niederdorf (Zurich's twisty turn-y old town), it is walking distance from the lake, the munsters and good food and drink. The hostel by itself is a bit rundown. My bed had no charging point nearby and there is just one bathroom per floor. The kitchens on each floor are small and barely functional. There is one lounge near the reception and one rooftop place to sit, but both are small and cramped. The reception is on the 3rd floor, so keep that in mind if you're walking here from the train station with a backpack (like I did!). The staff were nice. I guess the lack of space is the price one pays for the location, so one needs to be okay with that.

Great location, average stay

The hostel is located right smack in the middle of the Old Town, so really its location is hard to beat. It’s about a 15min walk from the central station. Only thing is that reception is located on the 4th floor and my room was located on the 5th - there isn’t an elevator - but this was something I was aware of and okay with after reading previous reviews. The hostel is surrounded by multiple restaurants and has a pantry on each floor available for cooking. The room itself was comfortable, albeit a little stuffy without keeping the window open. However, one downside of keeping the window open was the noise - but noise is to be expected for such a location so this wasn’t much of an issue. 

One thing I really didn’t like was the extra 3chf charge for sheets. Found this really archaic; stayed in 7-8 other hostels across Switzerland and this was the first time I had to pay for sheets. Strange but really enjoyed my stay otherwise! 

Great location!

The hotel is centrally located. I stayed there from 24.8.2019 to 27.08.2019. During weekends hard partying takes place in the narrow street below with consumption of hard drinks, smoking marijuana and with loud music. Even at the 4th floor dirty smell of wine and marijuana/weeds can be experienced till late in the night. No toiletries are provided. Bed sheets and towel are provided with a charge of three franc each. No AC/ Fans so it is terrible during summer seasons. If budget and location is the only consideration then this hotel can be recommended.

City Backpacker Hotel Biber

There was a strange feel to this hostel. To get to the check in area, we had to climb several flights of stairs through the back of restaurant kitchens to the hostel reception which, to be fair, was well signposted. We arrived about 9pm and no one was at the reception so we had to phone through to get checked in. The sheets weren’t provided for the beds so we had to rent some (rookies). The rooms were a little cramped and were quite hot throughout the night with little ventilation. The bathroom was clean and the shower worked perfectly. An odd hostel which really didn’t stand out for us, but still did the job with a good location. 

Bang average 

Centrally located in the heart of the city . Easy accessible from the Train station. Most of the bus stops , eating joints, Tour bus stop are 3-4 minutes away. Friendly Staff. They have Pantry at each floor so you can enjoy your own meal . Clean and spacious bathrooms and toilets . I stayed for 3 nights and over all had an excellent stay with them. 
If you are reaching early morning, Please book your bed from a day in advance so that you can get your bed as soon as you reach. I did the same thing and i got into my bed at 8 am .

Value for Money

This is quite an old trip but because I’ve been using TripAdvisor more and having good experiences, I feel the need to share 1 bad experience I did have so as to be of use to others travelling to Zurich and prevent them from having a similar experience: 
When I arrived at this hostel, I had to climb a couple staircases up to where so called reception was, where no one was there. It was the middle of the afternoon, after 2pm I think. I waited for a while but really did not like the overall feel of the place, especially with no one to greet me. It had a tense, dull atmosphere. So finally I decided to leave and find another hostel. I however was still charged the money as I had prebooked on my credit card. It was about £50, and I emailed and explained the situation and complained. After a thread of emails, it finally ended with their refusal to refund the money and the following message: 
“If you can't afford "extra wasted costs" than you should wait for more than 8 minutes or just look around and ring the bell. We are not willing to refund any money. You didn't left any note neither tried to contact us on arrival day. So this case is closed.”
The loss of money was one thing but being treated and talked to this way was insult to injury. Needless to say, I would not recommend this place. It is not nice and it is not even very cheap! 

NOT GOOD

Needs renovating but it's a good location which is usually very expensive to stay.  We stayed on the 4th floor which I counted 92 steps up to, so we were usually out of breath with burning calf muscles by the time we reached our room lol.  Staff are very friendly and knowledgeable.  I think the rooftop balcony really makes this place.

Good value and location

Pros:The best part is it is close to city center railway station, bus stop of Zurich. Very good economic option for friends/bachelors came to explore the city. Rooms are clean, tidy, beds are good. They also have a kitchen which we can use. Its in the market place which can be explored even at late night.
The best part was 4 out of 6 boys were from India, so happened to be Indian hostel campus in Zurich!!! (You can make new friends).
Stay was safe.
Cons: Reception is on 4th floor, so you need to carry your luggage without lift till there. Compared to other hostel stays in Europe (Geneva for example), the rooms are small to accommodate 6 people.
Overall a good, tidy, economical place to stay (rather sleep at night as we often roam around the entire day and hardly had time to spend in the room).

Cheapest option especially for bachelors came to explore city

Hostel located in center of Old Town, by walking distance to main attractions point. Close with plenty of bars and restaurants. Room is clean and comfortable. In the night there's may be some noise from the downstairs bar. Hostel without lift and please consider this if you have big luggage 

City Backpacker/Hotel Biber

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