Marken Guesthouse

Poor cleanliness and lack of service are major issues here. We discovered two cockroaches in different areas of our room (one crawled out from under the bed, and another up the shower wall right after a shower) on the same evening. The front desk was closed and the only way to reach hostel staff after hours is by phone—but no one in our travel group had a working phone number in Norway. We sent an email but did not receive an answer that evening. As we head out at 10am the next morning, we noticed that the front desk was not open, despite signage indicating that the desk opens at 9am. The hostel's response to our email, which came more than 24 hours later, was dismissive and pointed fingers at us rather than acknowledging our legitimate concerns.||This hostel might be conveniently located, but save yourself a poor night's sleep and the stress of potentially bringing cockroaches back home by booking somewhere else.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! I had a terrible stay in City Hostel Bergen in August 2025 (14-16/8) as their staff did NOT send me check-in details prior to my check in, so I ended up having to stay in common area midnight. I was supposed to check in on 14/8 and the hostel claimed to send me check in details, such as lobby door password, my room number, room password, on my check-in date (14/8). For the record, the hostel replied me through Agoda message on 14/8 afternoon, so I was fairly certain they had adequate time to send me the check in details within business hour, prior to my arrival. I also asked them several times for the check-in details in the evening, but no reply was received. Reception was closed when I arrived after 10 PM, so I tried to reach out through phone calls (used multiple phones from guests in hostels as well) & phone texts, but staff did not respond. I still got no email/text from the hostel that night (checked spam folder too and I got nothing), not until the next day 15/8 8:27 AM ICT as shown in the photo, which was 3:27 AM in Norway time. It was totally UNACCEPTABLE that I had to wait overnight to receive these simple check-in details. It was sweet that a guest lent me her extra blankets for me to stay warm in common area over the night, as I did not know my room number and password. What's worse is I did NOT get any kind of apology or compensation from the hostel. They did not even care to reply me after I reached out for explanation regarding this matter. Totally disastrous management and poor attitude! I absolutely hope this won't happen to any other guest. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

I booked a place in a hostel 2 weeks before my trip. Usually, when planning a trip, you study a lot of information and may miss something. In this case, I didn't notice in the description that I was booking a place in a women's room, and only found out about the mistake at the reception when they refused to check me in. When I made the reservation, I provided my personal information, including my gender. The accommodation provider confirmed my reservation without verifying the information, which should have been done if there were any restrictions. They refused to refund my money. It was the peak season, so there were no available rooms, and I had to spend a lot of money on a different accommodation.

I made a booking a few weeks ago and received an email that simply said my booking was confirmed—but it didn’t include a confirmation number, date, or any actual details. I emailed them to clarify the reservation, but never received a response. I called today and was told they had no booking under my name. Now I have to dispute the transaction through my bank, which is extra work I didn’t expect. I also need to find and book another place to stay at the last minute. Overall, I’d recommend being cautious with this hostel based on my experience.

A good base for a trip to Bergen. A few minutes walk from the train station. My single room was reasonably sized and comfortable, with a nice view out to the hills of Bergen. Communal facilities were clean and did the job. Check in and check out straightforward.

Great location near train station and near shops, etc. Quiet and spacious room with a nice kitchenette. (We had a private double.) Easy entry to elevator, hostel, and room via code. It's a hostel so it wasn't fancy but everything was clean, comfortable, and well kept.

This hostel is a solid fine. And there is (often) nothing wrong with that. And there isn't anything wrong with it here.||It's a hostel. Basic, no frills accommodation in the heart of Bergen. Short walk to the train and bus station and to the heart of the city.||The hostel is in a building shared with offices and a pool hall on the first floor. The pool hall can make a lot of noise at night (or did while I was there). Otherwise it's fairly quiet and people are quiet too and keep to themselves.||Laundry is available with assistance from reception. Basic kitchen is available and well stocked but not well maintained (or the cleanest).||Wifi is very good throughout the hostel, no issues there.||Staff isn't super friendly or communicative though, including to the reception SMS number listed at reception. When I was there, we had the fire alarm go off four times in the evening and received no direction from the staff after of what caused it or if it would happen again. After the third time, people even stopped going out. In late May, staff is also only there until 6pm so you need to make sure to catch them if you need something.||I'm not sure what would have been the best tool to notify people that things were okay but it lead to a lot of confusion among guests and wasn't a good look from the staff.||Despite all of this. I would stay again because the cost and location are worth it.

Hostel is just okay. The beds are surprisingly comfortable, but there is no privacy. Rooms don’t have A/C or any fan system. The lockers were just big enough to fit my carry-on sized roller luggage and backpack in. However, shared bathrooms were dirty and not anything great. There is a full size kitchen for those wanting to cook food. They do let you store your luggage after check-out though for free, which was nice.

We stayed here for a night while in Bergen and there are some pros and cons with the location. Our choices were pretty limited being between Christmas and New Years but this choice did work. Pros: Great location close to the train station and everything else. Affordable. Clean. Mostly. After hours check in was easy. Free wifi that works. Cons: Even for a family room you'll pay to rent towels and sheets. Sheets were clean but we had to lay them in odd ways to cover the bed since the sizes didn't match up. Comforters that we put into the duvets weren't very clean. Lots of hair on them and yellow stains. The room was HOT. Sooooo hot. Opening the windows helped some. One elevator that is iffy, no stairs as an option. The room was tiny. It was for three but when we pulled the single bed open it was partially under the desk and you couldn't walk between the beds after that. The only place to put your bag was in the few steps of space between the bathroom door and the foot of the bed. For three people with 3 backpacks that's tough. Bag storage is free but was only available until 5:30. Yes, I had more pros than cons on this location but it was still a good choice for our stay. Just know what you're getting into. :-)

-Great prices! -Great location near train station/bus station/downtown! -Clean and organized! -Great kitchen and common areas! -Free wifi, free locker (with key) in room, free luggage storage (code changes daily)! -Good and clean shower and bathrooms! (My 10 bed room was a spacious suite with its own amazing bathroom and shower, however my 6 and 4 bed rooms did not have so much space or commodities.) -Amazing and quick communication from staff via email pre-arrival and in-person. -Offer to purchase breakfast buffet at a local hotel for ~130NOK (DO IT!-The buffet is amazing and soooo worth it considering the price of meals in Norway!) -Other guests seemed to be very courteous and mindful of shared space, lots of varied age groups, not just very young travelers. -No alcohol allowed on premises (with small exception in private room) so if this matters to you, be aware. I was so impressed with the facility, staff, and I felt like I got my money's worth and then some!

A simple, basic place to stay in Bergen. It's definitely a challenge to find somewhere affordable to stay in Bergen, but this can fit the bill. I stayed here just one night before I returned home. I tried booking on Booking.com, but had problems getting confirmation. However, I was in town a few days before and was able to go in person. Don't be too put off by the old, rickety, scary elevator that makes you feel like you might be trapped in it forever! Just get in and take it to the 4th floor. The reception is helpful enough. Hostel is basic. 4-bed dormitories, kitchen & lounge area, stark white hallways. Now, maybe I didn't explore enough, but I saw only 2 womens, 2 mens and one handicap toilet. This is NOT enough. Especially if you need a sink and mirror to get ready in the morning. Towels and bedding cost extra here, so work that into your budget unless you're traveling with bedding. The pillow was the lumpiest thing I ever saw in all creation and the bunks were a bit creaky. But overall, a fine, basic place to lay your head.

As far as hostels go, this one was pretty good. Accommodation is fairly limited in the off season and they were running a special offer if you stayed two nights or more in a 4 bed dorm. The room was clean and the beds comfortable, although bedding cost a one off extra fee (unless you bring your own although sleeping bags are not allowed). The reception is also only open very limited hours in the Winter season so there was noone to deal with any problems or to ask for information. This also meant there was no organised activity and therefore not a great amount of atmosphere. There is a main shower room with 6 individual shower rooms. I only spotted 5 loos, 2 men, 2 women & 1 disabled on the main floor, although there may have been more down another hallway. The limited amount of showers and bathrooms didn't pose a problem as the hostel was fairly quiet, but in the busy summer months, you may find yourself waiting. The biggest problem is the fact there is only 1 four burner stove in a very small kitchen. Even though the hostel was quiet, it was difficult to get into the kitchen to put things away in the fridge around dinner time and I felt like I had to dodge people to put eggs on to boil in the morning. With the cost of eating out being so high, I can imagine it would be a complete nightmare to try and make meals when the hostel is busy. If I return to Bergen, I would probably stay here again due to its cleanliness but I would be aware of the minimal amount of communal space.

If you want centrally located, reasonably priced and clean accommodation in Bergen look no further. They offer both individual and dorm style accommodation, linen is included in the booking cost, didn't appear to include towels however. A stone throw from Bergen train station, it's also only a 5-10 min walk to Bergen's main sights, and not far from a grocery store if you want to buy some supplies. The Guesthouse has a fully equipped kitchen with fridges for guest use. Bathrooms are shared, however there are enough of them so that there was no wait to use them, always a bonus. There is also free WiFi and reasonably priced Laundry facilities.

Loved my stay here! The rooms were lovely, and the location was ideal for exploring the city. This hostel has a cozy, old-world charm that just can't be replicated. I would definitely recommend this hostel to anyone traveling to Bergen.

Marken Guesthouse is a very clean and friendly hostel. It had a nice common area with couches that I stayed at even after I checked out. Private bathroom in the large ladies dorm, plenty of extra bathrooms in the hall. Just a few minutes walking to the marina. I would definitely recommend this hostel to friends!