Bab El-Silsileh Hostel

I wanted to be in the Old City near the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock. The location, right next to the Chain Gate, is less than 5 minutes to the Western Wall. The rooms feel like they are carved out of the Wallls, almost like a cave.it makes for a very unique experience. The staff was very helpful. I arrived exhausted from my 3:30AM landing in Tel Aviv. They gave me a room at 10:00 AM so I could rest. They also made fresh orange/pomegranate juice for me each morning, for 20 shekels, which was wonderful! It was very quiet at night, so I slept really well. I only had a tiny window, but the air conditioning kept me cool at night. The shower has very good hot water,which I really appreciated.

My only disappointment was that only Muslims are allowed to enter the Temple Mount grounds at Chain Gate. It took quite a lot of searching to discover the entrance from Western Wall Plaza, where non-Muslims are allowed to enter. Thare are a lot of soldiers and police out front guarding the Chain Gate entrance. They are quite noisy during the day, but that is not the fault of the Hostel. Some people might be bothered by their constant presence. I got used to it quite quickly.

Die Lage war sehr gut.

Extrem schlechtes Bett (konnte kaum schlafen) Sehr schwierig zu finden, der Gastgeber hat aber zeitnah reagiert als ich nach Hilfe fragen.

Mir hat besonders die Ausstattung gefallen. Außerdem liegt die Unterkunft sehr nah an der Moschee, was für mich ein großer Pluspunkt war, das Personal war stets bemüht zu helfen.

Es gab eigentlich nichts, was ich bemängeln könnte ich war mit allem zufrieden.

A historical place for an original Jerusalem experience. I would recomend

The location was good inside the old city near the Jaffa gate entering Temple Mount

I had a corner room and the ceiling, was constantly falling on my bed day and night. Someone was upstairs above my room with this very old rock wall and vaulted rock and cement ceiling …..and every time they would walk on the floor more cement debris would fall on top of the linens on my bed. (Photo) After thoroughly brushing off the debris each Night I had to sleep with a sheet completely over my head so that I was not getting the debris in my eyes or nose !!!!Every time I complained, the owner said that’s an old building and he wouldn’t do anything for me. He said that’s what you can expect. I was paying $60+ US per night. Everyone else in the place was paying $25 or $30. And had no debris falling on their heads. Upon arrival I was pointed to the shared bathroom. It was supposed to be for the three rooms without bathrooms. Unfortunately, the owner was allowing all of the workers and anybody off the street from his snack booth to access the bathroom. One day I counted 19 people in and out of the bathroom, which of course made it very dirty… after my complaining each occupant of those three rooms sharing that bathroom was given a key so that we could keep the door locked and nobody else would be allowed in there. Of course, I was unable to use the room during the day because of this debris constantly falling down. So anytime I was on site I was stuck in the living area, which was a very small hallway with a couple nice chairs and a settee. I Was never informed of the time for breakfast or where to get breakfast so for six nights I didn’t have breakfast…… the kitchen was filthy, and none of the garbage cans were clean or emptied in a responsible fashion. The front door was never locked and one morning at five AM, I found a Muslim man “stripping-down” in the entry hall and showering in my shared bathroom. He had no towels, so the entire bathroom was soaking wet, including the entry hall.

The hostel is centrally located yet relatively quiet, which made it easy to relax after a day of exploring. The other guests were great company and created a friendly atmosphere. The young guy in the reception was very kind, he offered me a bottle of water when I arrived, as well as coffee, and made sure everything was comfortable. I should also mention the nice breakfast in the morning.

The space itself is on the smaller side, and it would have been nice to have a stove in the kitchen for cooking, but overall it was a pleasant and convenient place to stay.