Germany Hostels

Hey Pat, Easy Palace in Munich has always been good for my student groups/parents - big rooms, friendly staff, not a lot of drunks.

In Berlin we stayed at the Plus Hotel/Hostel, they have both dorm style rooms and affordable private rooms with ensuite bathrooms. You could potentially rent out an 4 person bunk room there. It's well located at an S-Bahn and U-Bahn stop, right inbetween the Freidrichshain and Kreuzberg. Not close to the Mitte, but with awesome bars and shops and restaurants nearby and of course in Berlin everything is well connected via U-Bahn. I haven't stayed at a hostel in Munich. For a group of 4 though, the Hotel Eder right inbetween the Hauptbahnhof and Karlsplatz has 4-bed rooms. We stayed in a 3-bed room recently, and it was great for the price. The 4-beds run as low as 99 euro. Given that most hostels start at 20-25 a head, it might only be slightly more expensive than staying at an actual hostel, depending on availability. I'd use booking.com to check prices there for your dates, I usually find the best prices through them.

Hi, Assuming that you'll be arriving in Berlin by train and if you want someplace right by Berlin Hbf., I would suggest Meininger Hostel/Hotel, ca. two minutes from the station, multi-story building. This place is more than decent. In Munich my only experience with a hostel is with Wombats, also a few minutes from the Hauptbahnhof on the Bayerstraße side...very satisfactory and convenient with an internet/call shop next door.

I stayed at this place once in Munich and liked it: http://www.the4you.de/ It's a hostel AND a hotel. Most of it is a hostel, but a few of the upper floors have hotel rooms that are spacious, very clean and comfortable, and have private bathrooms. But b/c most of the "4you" is a hotel, the prices are kept down/are VERY reasonable. Location is very good, too; on a quiet side street that's just a few min walk from the main train station, and also a very easy walk to the Marienplatz. Breakfast good, too, and served in a pleasant common room. In Berlin, this is not a hostel, but a great place Rick suggests in his guidebook, and I loved it:
http://www.pension-peters-berlin.de/en/index.php It's a typical "Rick-pick"; small, family run, a GREAT value, very clean and comfortable, and a great, central location (was around a 10 min to the Banhof Zoo). And the owners; woman named Annika and her husband, Christoph; could not have been nice/more accommodating. The guestrooms are spacious, comfortable and "cheery," as are the common spaces/breakfast room. Enjoy Berlin and Munich; 2 fantastic cities.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! I will look ionto them.

Pat, If you're indifferent to which area you stay in Berlin, most of the good hostels are located in the east to get more of the youth atmossphere: Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte, and specifically around Alexanderplatz, a good transportation hub. I don't recommend the few in Charlottenburg.