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.
Five Elements Hostel and Capsules Frankfurt offers a budget-friendly stay with enclosed sleeping pods, providing a degree of privacy for guests. While the pods are generally considered spacious, a recurring issue is the insufficient ventilation, leading to uncomfortable heat, particularly during warmer months. The hostel cultivates a social atmosphere with a large common area and various activities, though loud music in the evenings can sometimes detract from relaxation.
Cleanliness, especially in the shared bathrooms, is a significant concern, with many guests reporting them as dirty. The property's location is a point of contention: it's exceptionally convenient for Frankfurt's main train station, but it's situated in a red-light district known for drug activity, which many guests, particularly solo female travellers, find unsafe. Staff are largely praised for their friendliness and helpfulness, and the hostel is seen as good value for money.
♀ One review explicitly recommends solo female travelers choose another option due to the unsafe neighborhood.
Stations & airport.
Distances measured from the hotel. Walking times assume a gentle pace with a backpack.
- Taunusstraße115 m1 min walk
- Central Station184 m2 min walk
- Station221 m3 min walk
Eleven dimensions of capsule life, read from 4,793 reviews.
Noise & sleep
The capsules themselves seem to offer decent noise isolation from external street noise, but opening them for ventilation negates this benefit. There are no specific complaints about internal dorm noise.
“The area where the hostel is located can be quite noisy, but in the capsule I didn't hear anything.”
“It was also quiet inside which is just as well as the street outside was very noisy.”
“Summer its bit warm, you open the window, then its noisy outside.”
Pod comfort
While guests generally find the pods to be spacious, a significant recurring issue is the inadequate ventilation, making them uncomfortably hot, especially in summer. Some guests resorted to sleeping with open capsules due to this.
“The capsules are unvearable in summer. The Ventilation was not sufficuent, so we had to sleep with open capsules. The other dorms have no curtains, so there is no privacy.”
“The capsule was quite big. I believe any tall person would fit. To catch your sleep for 1 night, this is an okay place.”
“The pods were actually better than expected. They are quite big inside- bigger than a backpacking tent! It was also quiet inside which is just as well as the street outside was very noisy.”
Privacy
The capsules offer a good level of privacy, with electronic locks on both dorm rooms and individual pods. However, non-capsule dorms lack curtains, offering no privacy.
“Lot of privacy in the capsules, which is really appreciated.”
“The other dorms have no curtains, so there is no privacy.”
“The security of the hostel was good. There are electronic locks on the dorm rooms and on the pods.”
Cleanliness
Cleanliness is a significant and recurring issue, particularly in the bathrooms which are frequently described as dirty or filthy. There are also complaints about stained bed linen, even when paying extra for covers.
“Bathrooms were sometimes really dirty”
“The Bathroom was filthy most of the times.”
“More clean required”
Shared bathrooms
Shared bathrooms are a major drawback, frequently described as dirty or filthy. There are also reports of an insufficient number of showers (only two for men per floor) and sometimes only one bathroom per floor, leading to queues and inconvenience.
“Bathrooms were sometimes really dirty and I think most importantly the location.”
“From a facility point of view, there are only two showers (for men at least) at each floor, which means that sometimes guests need to go to the other floors to take showers.”
“The Bathroom was filthy most of the times.”
Luggage storage
The hostel provides big lockers under the beds, but guests need to bring their own padlock or borrow one from reception, which can be an inconvenience if a specific diameter is required.
“My lock wouldn’t lock the locker. It needs a padlock with a specific diameter. You can borrow one from the reception.”
“Big locker under the bed, bring a padlock.”
Staff & check-in
Most guests praise the staff as incredibly friendly, nice, helpful, and caring, with a good front-desk presence. However, one review noted a negative check-in experience where staff seemed disengaged, which was particularly unsettling given the surrounding area.
“Staff are really nice and showers are nice.”
“Nice front-desk and many places to sit outside own bedroom”
“Staff was incredibly friendly and genuinely seemed to care about this place.”
Location & access
The location is consistently described as a double-edged sword: excellent for proximity to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station), but situated in a notorious red-light district with drug users, dealers, and prostitutes, making many guests feel unsafe, especially solo female travelers.
“It’s on me for not looking it up but the neighbourhood the hostel is located in is the red light district of Frankfurt. Definitely a surprise. If you don’t mind the crackheads and the prostitutes, it’s a good location (close to the HBF)”
“Very close to the train station”
“The closeness to the train station is both a good and a less good thing.... The neighbourhood is bad with drug consumers and dealers wandering around all day long. I don't recommend spending much time in the streets.”
Wifi & working
One review explicitly states the WiFi is great, but there's no further discussion on its suitability for work or dedicated work areas.
“WIFI IS GREAT....”
Atmosphere
The hostel fosters a social atmosphere with many activities and a good vibe, featuring a big, nice, and comfortable common area where guests can meet others. However, loud music (techno) played in the evenings at the front desk can be disturbing and hinder conversation.
“Social Hostel with a lot of activities and good atmosphere.”
“There is a nice lounge.”
“Common area is big and nice.”
Value for money
Guests generally consider the hostel to offer good or excellent value for money, describing it as affordable or dirt cheap, especially for short stays. The price point is often seen as commensurate with the experience.
“Price wise it’s definitely worth it. We took a room for two and it was dirt cheap and pretty comfortable.”
“Get what you pay for, staff was incredible.”
“Excellent value and great location”
The honest drawbacks, from guests.
- unsafe neighborhood
- poor bathroom cleanliness
- inadequate pod ventilation
- loud music in common areas
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