Heart of Gold Hostel & Capsules Berlin
A solid choice for budget-conscious travellers seeking a social hostel experience with the added privacy of a capsule, particularly appealing for its central location in Berlin.
Heart of Gold Hostel & Capsules Berlin offers a unique blend of hostel sociability and capsule privacy in a prime central Berlin location. Guests sleep in modern, enclosed pods equipped with individual ventilation, lights, and shelves, providing a good degree of personal space. While the capsules offer privacy, some guests note issues with ventilation leading to warmth and noise from other rooms or movement within the bunk structure. Shared bathrooms are available on each floor, though their cleanliness and supply levels can be inconsistent. The hostel fosters a social atmosphere, particularly around its bar, but lacks quieter common areas. Its excellent location, close to public transport and attractions, makes it a convenient base for exploring the city.
♀ Reviews mention a female dormitory and a guest who reserved a female room, indicating dedicated female sections.
Stations & airport.
Distances measured from the hotel. Walking times assume a gentle pace with a backpack.
- Oranienburger Straße75 m1 min walk
- Oranienburger Straße96 m1 min walk
- Oranienburger Straße174 m2 min walk
- Oranienburger Straße118 m1 min walk
Eleven dimensions of capsule life, read from 9,087 reviews.
Noise & sleep
Noise is a significant issue, with complaints about noise from other rooms, upstairs movement causing capsules to shake, and loud external doors. The bunk bed structure also contributes to noise when guests move.
“There was not only too much noise coming in from other rooms and upstairs, but also the capsule was shaking harf every minute due to somebody walking upstairs.”
“Small detail but the bunk beds could use a bit of a fix up. Everytime someone (me included) was moving while on the top bed there was a lot of noise.”
“I couldn't sleep very well because the place wasn't as comfortable in some aspects. Also the outside door was very loud and one got spooked everytime it was closed.”
Pod comfort
Guests appreciate the modern design, privacy, and amenities within the capsules, including ventilation, light, hooks, and shelves. However, a recurring issue is insufficient ventilation, leading to warm conditions inside the pods, with some guests needing to leave doors open.
“Capsules were very warm”
“Good quality beds: capsules offer so much more privacy and are modern, with ventilation, light, hooks and a little shelf and mirror inside.”
“Not enough ventilation of the capsules. It is hot so we need to sleep with the door open. And not enough storage inside to put things on.”
Privacy
Guests consistently praise the high level of privacy offered by the capsules, noting good security and the modern design contributing to a sense of personal space within a hostel environment.
“A lot of privacy for a hostel, also location is great”
“Good quality beds: capsules offer so much more privacy and are modern, with ventilation, light, hooks and a little shelf and mirror inside.”
“Security was good.”
Cleanliness
Cleanliness receives mixed reviews. While some guests found the rooms and bathrooms clean, others noted issues with bathrooms needing more regular cleaning, wet floors, and occasional dirtiness in common areas, though staff were quick to address problems.
“The bathrooms need to be cleaned more regularly (often wet floors and ran out of soap).”
“Generally as clean as a busy hostel can be and the team dealt with unexpected problems in a fair and fast manner, which is always appreciated.”
“A bit dirty”
Shared bathrooms
Shared bathrooms are generally available on each floor and can be locked individually, which is appreciated. However, there are frequent complaints about cleanliness, wet floors, lack of soap/paper towels, and some instances of broken toilets. Some guests also found the number of showers insufficient for the number of people.
“The bathrooms need to be cleaned more regularly (often wet floors and ran out of soap).”
“I’m sure, I reserved a female room with private bathroom but they said you have a normal room with shared bathroom and didn’t try to help me to have a better situation, because there were 5 men in room and had an unpleasant smell also the restroom didn’t have any paper towels or hand soap…”
“Unfortunately we got on that day when the toilets got broken, we stayed on the top floor and had to use the toilet by the bar on the ground floor.”
Luggage storage
The hostel offers free luggage storage, which is a positive. However, some guests reported issues with insufficient space for luggage, leading to bags piled up, and lockers being too small for backpacks.
“👍🏿 free luggage storage”
“Did not have place where to leave luggage, so there was a huge mountain of bags just by the entrance. Lockers where too small to fit a backpack.”
“Luggage storage and clean kitchen with PLENTY of refrigerator space!”
Staff & check-in
Staff are generally described as nice, friendly, efficient, and accommodating. However, there was one complaint about incredibly slow service at the front desk when a guest was locked out.
“The staff were nice, nice vibes and great location.”
“Incredibly slow service at the front desk when I was locked out of my room”
“The localisation is perfect, the staff is efficient and super friendly ! They were super accommodating. Free towels. Beds were confortable!”
Location & access
The location is consistently highlighted as excellent, amazing, and very convenient. It's close to metro stations, supermarkets, restaurants, and within walking distance to many main attractions, while still being described as quiet.
“The location is amazing - lots of restaurants nearby and different parts of the city are very walkable.”
“The location was very convenient. Close to the metro station, super markets, coffee shops and restaurants but quiet nonetheless.”
“Excellent location”
Atmosphere
The hostel has a social atmosphere with positive vibes, often centered around its bar and happy hour. However, the common area being primarily a bar means there isn't a calm space for relaxation in the evenings.
“The common area is a bar and rooms very small so nowhere calm to relax in the evening.”
“The staff were nice, nice vibes and great location.”
“We had a great time, was a very social hostel with a good atmosphere, friendly staff and a great location”
Value for money
Guests generally consider the hostel to offer good value for money, with the experience often exceeding expectations for the price, especially with amenities like 24-hour tea and coffee.
“Good value for money”
“Good quality for price”
“everything was above average for the price”
The honest drawbacks, from guests.
- noise from other rooms and movement
- insufficient capsule ventilation
- shared bathrooms can be unclean or lack supplies
- limited calm common areas
Space Night Capsule Hostel
This is a solid choice for budget-conscious solo travellers seeking privacy in a central Berlin location, provided they are prepared for the inherent noise levels of capsule accommodation.
Five Elements Hostel and Capsules Frankfurt
This hostel is best suited for budget-conscious travellers needing a very short stay near the main train station, provided they are comfortable with a challenging surrounding neighbourhood and can overlook significant cleanliness issues.