Birka Hostel

Birka Hostel came to my rescue when the hostel which I had booked - Craaford Place - turned out to be unsuitable (and still has 50 SEK of my money); it was an excellent choice! It's located very close to Hotorget metro station and some of Stockholm's main shopping streets, meaning that there is no shortage of shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and anything else one might need locally. At the same time, it is less than 15 minutes' walk from the central rail and bus stations and 20 minutes from the Old Town (with the palace and Parliament buildings en route), so ideally located. Free tea and coffee is provided and the optional breakfast, although not spectacular, is good value for money.

I had one major issue, which is that, on the night I stayed, there was some sort of security issue which seemed to involve some of those staying in my dormitory; as a result, security entered the dormitory three times in the early hours of the morning, taking a different person each time (presumably to get an account of what happened); on the third occasion, there were raised voices. As a result, I got no more than two hours' sleep, although, of course these were (I hope!) exceptional circumstances. My other issue was that the dormitory had only double power point - which, as the person using it had a large multi-adaptor which obscured the second point, I could not use; however, the disruption mentioned above did have one advantage, in that I was able to plug in my 'phone at 4am before going downstairs to make a coffee and have a cigarette. More toilets and showers on each floor would also help.

Location is nice. Room was as described, small and private, comfortable.

WiFi does not work in rooms, you must sit in the common area. Because I did not pay for the breakfast option the staff member tried to not let me sit in the common area to use the WiFi one morning. There is no stove for cooking. My room had a window but it is street level so it must be closed all the time.

Excellent location within 10min walking distance (or one subway stop) from the central station. Also very inexpensive for just a place to sleep and shower, recommended if you want to check out the city for a few days.

The shower looked a little run down but we only stayed one night so we never used it. Also, the window blinds were broken which could be an issue during the summer months.

The WiFi in room 212 literally didn't work on the bed. At all.