Backpacking in Denmark: Staying at the Downtown Hostel in Copenhagen
August to September 2015 saw my third visit to the Danish capital city of Copenhagen. I’ve stayed in a few places down the years in Denmark and Sweden as well as having toured Christiania, Helsingor, Malmo, Ladonia and Angelholm, but this was my first time to stay in a central hostel in Copenhagen. Naturally, I chose the Downtown Hostel Copenhagen, not just because of name and reputation, but because it is part of the group of Europe’s Famous Hostels and is in a good location for central Copenhagen. Here are five reasons why this hostel was cool and why you should stay here if you are aiming to stay downtown.
The Downtown Hostel, Copenhagen
1.It’s Huge
The thing about the Downtown Hostel is that it’s huge. I was in a 6 bed dorm on the top floor (Room 516, bed 5). This means there are always people to meet here, it’s a happy vibe and perfect for a solo backpacker.
Staff at the Downtown Hostel in Copenhagen, Denmark
2. The Main Bar and Down Under
A social vibe is evident here. Lots of cool people to meet. I roomed with five others including Holly from Paisley in Scotland and a Dutch lady called Susannah. I met a load of people at the bar which has a Happy Hour from 8 – 9 pm and good offers on all the time.
The bar by night at the Downtown Hostel Copenhagen
There are two cool bars here too – the upstairs bar on the ground floor is a great place to chill out and you can also escape the street scene in the Down Under bar which is in the basement.
The bar by day at the Downtown Hostel Copenhagen
3. Free Dinner
I’ve stayed in loads of hostels with free breakfasts but not as many with a free dinner. If you thought there was no such thing as a free dinner then think again – this place has a free dinner every night at 6.30 pm – but get there at 6pm and pick up your plate and fork as we all know – cheap backpackers like a bargain or a freebie and the free food soon goes. We had a vegetable and bean dish with Falafel during my stay and it was tasty. The free dinner is served in the Down Under Bar.
Stampede for free dinner
Free dinner in Downtown Hostel in Copenhagen
4. Location
Downtown means downtown. Everything cool about Copenhagen is walkable from the downtown hostel. You are 20 minutes from hippy Christiania, 20 minutes from Copenhagen train station and less than that from the main streets and sights of the city.
Downtown Copenhagen – touring the sights
Backpacking in Copenhagen – Little Mermaid Statue
5. Organised Events and Tours
The Copenhagen Downtown Hostel is sociable to the core – nightly events like open mic night are organised. Day tours are also organised and there are always people to meet and hang out with here.
Events on at the Copenhagen Downtown Hostel
In addition to all this, rooms have fast WifFi, the bar sells food most of the day, the staff are awesome and the overall vibe is positive.
Loving my dorm room at the Copenhagen downtown hostel
Here are the details for booking the Copenhagen Downtown Hostel:
Copenhagen Downtown Hostel, Vandkunsten 5, 1467 København K, Denmark
+4570232110, [email protected]
Here are some videos from my time in the Downtown Hostel in Copenhagen:
Brilliant hostel, very into getting to know people vibe.I didn’t bother with the dinner as I arrived just before it both times and was more interested in getting out after I dropped my bags off. The deal with the dinner as far I could understand from the woman was everyone goes grabs a plate and sits down for 30 mins, this is when you start to meet and talk to other people and then dinner is served. Both nights I stayed there I was in bed for 10 and back out by 10:10pm and heading to the pub, first time with girls in my dorm and the next time with English fellas, both them nights spent in the hostel bar at an average at £3.50 a pint you couldn’t go wrong.
As Jonny says it isn’t too far from the main attractions, Tivoli gardens etc not too far away, this was my 4th trip to Copenhagen and I still aint seen this mermaid but I seen the underwater ones this time.
Chrisitiana I didnt walk too from the hostel as I had a 24 hr subway pass, which covers trains/buses and subways for 24hrs in the Copenhagen wider area which I thought was great value for 80 dkk. Especially handy if you can’t be bothered walking and you have a return trip to make to the airport.
Only downside to the hostel and its probably more to do with the guests than the hostel itself, people who don’t even attempt to dry the floors in the shower room/ toilet. Many times I walked in for a late night pee and by the time I realized my feet where soaked, bit of respects due from others I would say.
Haha good overview Michael. The pizza in the hostel bar is also good and a decent price for Denmark – gutted you missed the free food though – that’s something I always like to snap up as a cheap ass backpacker! Safe travels. Jonny
Free dinner at a hostel? I didn’t think that was even possible! But, I guess it makes sense if you are trying to attract backpackers to a country as expensive as Demark. Plus, it makes it easier to meet fellow travellers since not everyone gets up early enough for breakfast. Thanks for the tip!
Ray recently posted…The Day I Got Free Tickets to an Indianapolis Colts Game
Hi Ray. I have had free dinner at quite a few hostels down the years. It happens often. When I backpacked in Australia, hostels would often give you one free beer per day and a hot dog/burger at night. A hostel in Uruguay also did a free dinner in 2010 and it’s happened probably 20 or more times down the years. In Copenhagen, you are right – many backpackers don’t make it out of bed for breakfast! Safe travels. Jonny