Central Hostel BG – A comfortable lifesaver

The backstory

Our flight arrived late, as we knew it would. It was dark and surprisingly quiet as we made our way by bus and foot through the snowy streets of Bergamo.

We had emailed our accommodation the day before, letting them know we’d arrive late. Normal check-in time closed at 10:30pm, but we knew they’d get in touch and cancel our booking if that wasn’t possible.

Other guests entered as we arrived, and let us into the reception area. No-one was there, so we called the contact number… And called, and called. No answer. We decided our best bet was to go somewhere else – and that’s when we discovered we were locked in.

It was 12:30am by the time we managed to wake enough people to find someone to let us out again: and we were back in the snowy streets with few options available.

We had seen an ad for Hostel Central BG and made our way there, hoping for a 24-hour reception. At 12:50 we arrived: the door was open, there was someone behind the desk! The receptionist, surprised as she was at such late-arriving stragglers checked us into a 4-bed dorm by ourselves. Reception was meant to close at 1am… We had made it in by the skin of our teeth.

The review

I have nothing but good to say about the staff: the receptionist who helped us get our bearings, thaw, and check in late, keeping reception open late to make it work, and the equally friendly morning staff.

The four-bed dorm we were in was spacious: each bed with its own power point, lamp, and towel. There were two desks with seating for four, and free wifi with several strong signals throughout the building. Our dorm had its own bathroom, once again spacious and clean. Not all hostels have these, but I appreciated the soap, shampoo, towels, and extra blankets — all supplied.

The hostel was well-heated, but the temperature dropped overnight and we did end up using those blankets. The next morning we realized there was a thermostat in our room, so we could probably have pumped up the aircon by a couple of degrees.

The three-story building seemed to have several hangout spaces on each floor, and the art prints hanging on every wall and faux-antique pots and statues added to a funky, friendly feel. Downstairs was a large movie lounge, small bar, and cavernous breakfast room. We only had the chance to use the latter.

Breakfast was big, but not quite satisfying, especially after we had got accustomed to the big, delicious brunches at AzulFit! There were biscuits, breads, spreads, cornflakes, yoghurt and milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate… I’d have loved to see some fruit or cereals in the mix, but I don’t tend to eat much in the morning anyway.

For saving us from a night at the train station or in an expensive big-brand hotel, I’d give them 10/5 stars; for comfort, quality and value for money, Hostel Central BG does as well as any hostel in Europe: highly recommended.

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