Bru Bar and Hostel Reviews

Location is super
Our room was small and very noisy
Friendly staff

Hostel itself is pretty average with outdated beds and power outlets across the room. Where this place shines though is the bar downstairs.. Great live music.

Great place. The friday is heat free! Very good plan for small budgets.

Lots of room In the dorm, wifi works good during the day but bogs down at night, the wifi In the kitchen works better. Great price for the hostel! Basic breakfast

It's OK, the place could do a with a good cleaning and the staff a lot more training. Service was very slow and they weren't busy. They have a nice selection of beers

Worst hostel I've stayed in. Unable to sleep all night due to noise, the room next to me was full with lads drinking, who were making constant noise shouting and talking from 3am until 10am by the time I left. During this time I went down to reception and they said they would go up and check, they didn't. Most hostels have a quiet time after 11pm, obviously this hostel doesn't give a ****.

Also for the price paid to lie on a bed awake all night you'd atleast expect a towel and a locker in the room where you can use your own lock, nope they want you to pay extra and use their machine lockers.

Location and cleanliness no better than any other hostel in cork.

Also on top of that, the room was way too hot and no air con or fan to cool it down, opening the window to the room and there was a loud vent outside. Combine this vent with atleast 4 big farmers constantly shouting and the ability to hear water going through pipes everytime someone uses a tap and you're going to have a fantastic time.

Will not be back and will never ever recommend this place.

Near the center and good value for money
Some sewer odors sometimes

I think it is just OK, it's more of a place to lay your head in, not a hostel with an atmosphere in the traditional sense of way

Always an interesting low key gig here, even on a miserable cold and wet November night.

Friendly staff and perfect location in Cork. Great bar

Hi guys I stayed in the bru hostel for the last 2 nights very clean, Bathroom bedroom etc. But music playing till 5am keeped me awake most of the night. i had ear plugs which helped. I think the music came from a nearby nite club or the residents bar otherwise very good thanks guys.

The rooms were over crowded and the facilities were lacking. Also, certain members of the staff were extremely rude, especially a woman named Aoifa. The bar was good but it doesn t outweigh the poor conditions of the hostel. You definitely could not pay me to stay here again. Staying here is a total waste of your money.

Free live music every night from up and coming, local original acts. Possibly the only place on Cork to offer this. Amazing staff and a relaxed vibe. If you're visiting Cork: hostel upstairs, tunes and drink below.

A realy good and cheap Hostle, with a Pub downstairs. If you sleep at this Hostel you got Specialprice at a Pizzastore

Was here last wed night and enjoyed a great session of music lads playing were brill

Hostel + Bar ! Perfect when you enjoy too much Guiness or whatever.
Chilled place to meet up with new people who become your pubcrawl companion.
Standard hostel tho.

Very nice, cheap, and concerts bonus.
Hostel in addition to being a pub!
Do not hesitate to stop or stay if you go to Cork!

Bar and hostel in the same place, this is great!
The room is a bit small but cozy and clean.
They do not have an elevator, so if you're carrying a heavy suitcase this will bother you a little.

Fabulous, great music and nice atmosphere. Staff were genuinely lovely

The bar is not outstanding in any way. The hostel wasn't any better either. It wasn't built as a hostel in the first place and thus it's not that well fitted. Noises from the bar below (at least on the third floor) couldn't be heard, but any conversations behind the thin wall could. Keep in mind there's no elevator. Our four bed room was claustrophobic just the beds, rubbish bin and a small window which had to be open all the time so we'd have air to breathe. The air problem was more intense in the narrow halls and bathrooms where it was very humid. Location however is very comfortable, as it is in a 3 minute walk distance from the main bus station. Staff is friendly too.

Room acceptable for a hostel. Intact bath, large kitchen. Breakfast: cereals and toast. Instant coffee and tea. Nice staff and bar with live music from the room is nothing to hear.

Good hostel. Loads of rooms, good bar and nice staff. Walkable to the centre of Cork. Showers OK, one of the ones you have to keep pressing the button to keep it on and water temperature a bit temperamental.

Didnt try the breakfast.

Cheap and therefore very good value for money.

Stayed here for work for a couple of weeks, lovely and clean, great bar, great music, sound staff, the blonde manager was bang on! Kitchen was clean and loadsa room, great little spot!!

Staff are very nice, kitchen was great.
My battery ran out in my mobile phone when I arrived and I had no USB charger, the staff were lovely and had a spare charger behind the counter and allowed me to charge it up and were so nice about it.
There was a free band the night I stayed which was nice n cool even though there people wise it was quite that night.

Beds were comfortable. Not much street noise the night I stayed.
Location is very good and busses run regularly pretty much all day close by.

Great pub, with seating on the street outside which is a rarity in Cork. Also one of the only pubs in the city centre with a pool table.

Nice bar. Good beer, great bar staff
Now and again have live music if that floats your boat (not for me personally). I don't know anything about the accommodation but I always call there regularly if I'm out drinking in Cork. Good selection of beer and the staff are always great craic.

They tend to discrimate against heavier people and they tell them go home after all the expense of travelling. Then they are snide and subtle. No reasonable accomadation

Great downtown location. Room was sufficient and provided enough space and storage. Bathroom was well kept. Service was great and the people were very friendly! Stayed two nights.

Cramp and kitchen is in a mess. However, the price is affordable and they allowed store our bags after check out.

Very good hotel with shared and private rooms. But bring your own towel as they are not supplied. Nice breakfast room where you can chat to other guests.
Always lively, popular with stays and send but mainly older stags and hens.

Good bar and most nights good music.

Great place to visit and stay, great staff, good beer and great music at night.

Rooms clean and tidy but small. The breakfast it's a little poor. The bar downstairs is very cool

Unfriendly staff, no breakfast left at 9a.m., there had been no lockers in the room although it's written on the website. People in the room next to us had been noisy the whole night, there was no way to get sleep. But the most disturbing part was a staff member, walking into our room without asking while we got dressed. He fixed the blind on the window and also coloured a wall in our bathroom, which we couldn't use for hours afterwards. The most horrible hostel experience, I've ever made.

Nice hostel with clean rooms and good communal space. Great bar on the ground floor and super helpful staff.

Perfect hostel with everything you need and super nice staff.
It's cheap, so don't expect the Ritz either, but for that price there is only so much a hotel can di, and they're doing it.

Great music and private bath in room. Pool table downstairs and helpful staff. Be a pirate!

Cool place with wicked gigs going on a nice pool table and a super friendly staff!

It is a well located hostel in the center of Cork. The room I stayed in is well organized and the bathroom clean.

Equipped. There is the bar and the pool table. Great location. Too bad the bed neighbor snores like a dragon.

I can't say enough about the staff and hostel itself. It's a bar and hostel what more can you ask for! Great common room and facilities, full kitchen, breakfast, great music, (open mic night on Mondays was awesome!!), location and international travelers, all combine to make the Bru bar and hostel the place to be in Cork. After missing a bus they put us up last min for a second night, and went out of their way to make us Canadian's welcome. I'll recommend anyone coming to Ireland! #brubar You guys rock!!

Great live music every night. Friendy staff. Very well located.

Very clean and nice rooms. The staff is very nice and the directly connected bar invites you to good prices directly. There is also billiards, live music and a very good internet connection via WLAN. In the morning, a light breakfast is also provided.
Only the showers I found not good because there is no temperature control and I could only shower very hot. Towels are only available for a surcharge.

very clean and accessible, youthful and friendly staff

The aparement was large. Centre located. the view of the leif river with the bridge is pleasant. Nice tranquil oasis in centre of cork. Only thing to added extra pillows in cupboard would be great if 4 people stayed. we was 2.

Room is nice, and the entrance is direktly in a bar. We are at the 2nd floor and we hear no music. So thats perfect.

Sadly the hostel has no outdoor area whrn the weather is nice

Well received and map and explanations given about central Cork.

Not the best but definitely not the worst. Shared kitchen is really big so points for that. If you are passing by and want to save up to me money you can definitely pick worst places then this one. The pub is really friendly and they often have live music.

Dorms need more plugs. It's ideal otherwise, quiet in the rooms, but attached to a great bar with live music. but it definitely cost a star as I couldn't use my phone most of the day as a result. Right beside the White Rabbit if you're looking for good options food-wise, and Son of a Bun down the road does Cork's best burger.

Clean, cheap and the staff are nice. Its in a good central location, about 5 mins walk to Patricks street. Surprisingly good bar.

Good hostel+bar. Stayed in 4bed dorm it was okay it didn't have any space to open a big luggage but it would be too much to carry up to level 3 without a lift anyways. The facilities kept clean.

Very clean but very loud and very hot. Window fans would be a nice addition.

Nice hostel.
Live music nearly every night

Very decent hostel, nice friendly Staff. There is a bar downstairs with live music. The rooms and the building itself is quite worn out but clean and cosy. The bed was a tad to short for me and the room was lacking a table and chairs. The kitchen is spacious with a plenty of seats to eat.

Great hostel overall! The amenities are fine, but since I've been here there've been a few big groups of travellers who take up the kitchen and act like they don't understand English/just don't care when you try to find some of your own space.

Example 1: I had someone move my pot off the stove when I was using it as well as
Example 2: move my things from the seat where I left them in the common area.
Example 3: Literally sat in the seat that I was using, when my things were there already.
Example 4: Come in the groups and basically elbow their way to use the stove because... they're in big groups??

Edit: regards to management for reading the review. I will say that I met one person from Spain who said he had been living in this hostel on and of for 3 months. Not sure how the long-term policy works in regards to that, but I think exceptions are made and some of the long-termers took advantage of getting comfortable there. :)

Great Hostel, near to the City but the beds are a little bit too small for someone taller than 195cm. But the Bar is great and the Staff is awesome.

Great music and atmosphere. Always a chance to get on the pool table too.

No parking anywhere, more disliked the town of Cork than the hostel, staff were friendly but it's 5 Euro for a towel and you get 3 Euro when you leave.

It's time for a renovation. The halls smelled of smoke, the kitchen was dirty, the TV room (the only common area) was not inviting. The bedroom was ok at best, the bathroom and shower could have been cleaner. I will not stay here again and would not recommend it to others. There are far better hostels for basically the same price.

The free wifi was a little questionable in the bedrooms, but if you use the password they tell you doesn't apply anymore you can log into the locked wifi.
The bar downstairs is fun and has live music most nights. They also offer drink discounts to hostel guests which is great!

We visited this hostile last Wednesday the sixth, we enjoyed the check in process as the burnette woman at the desk was extremely hospitable and kind. She made us laugh, and made us feel very welcomed. The room we were staying in was clean, and had a very pretty view of the street. We were excited to hear the hostel had a band playing that evening, as well as drink specials for people staying in the rooms. We ended up planning our night around coming back to the hospital to enjoy the band and drinks, but when we got there there was a bartender with tattoos and blonde shoulderlength hair who made us feel stupid when we asked for drinks they apparently don t have. She did not even ask what goes in them, or offer to try to make them as any other bar tender would. Then after asking for a shaken glass of Liquor she makes it wrong twice (with a bunch of ice, like on the rocks) and doesn t even bother to simply ask how to do it, mind you she was irritated as soon as we came up to the bar. We understand busy night, as we work in the service industry as well. but this was no busy night, this was a rude woman. She then proceeded to mock the situation that just happened with her coworker, she made us feel very unwelcome and hate everything about where were staying. We planned on spending our money at this hostels bar all night long, and after feeling so unwelcome decided to leave and pay double the price of what we would originally like pay at the hostel bar simply because the bartenders were genuinely nice .

I stayed two nights in this hostel with a room of 6 people. I liked the following points about this stay:
-Price per night ( 18).
-Breakfast included: you can make yourself toast, drink milk or tea.
-Comfortable living-dining room.
-Very comfortable beds.

Cons:
-The inclusion of coffee at breakfast is missing.
-In the 6-person room there were only 2 plugs. One per bed should be included and also be next to it to prevent certain people from monopolizing theirs.