Popular with young backpackers, this five-story hostel with an elevator features sleek common areas, with a well-maintained front lobby area with lots of sofa seating and a pool table for guests to use. The decor scheme is borderline industrial, with dark parquet floors and neutrally hued chairs and tables, a theme that continues in the bar and lounge, with its black chairs and exposed red brick walls. Only the breakfast area strays from the theme, with its prominent beiges and browns and soft recessed lighting. 

Smart Stay City Hostel is located right by the Goetheplatz U-bahn station, a five-minute train ride or 20-minute walk from the city center. The city's famous Hofbrauhaus beer garden is a 10-minute drive or U-Bahn ride away. Getting to Nymphenburg Palace takes about 40 minutes by public transportation. The sprawling Englischer Garten, home of the Bayerisches National Museum and a host of cafes and restaurants can be reached in about 40 minutes on foot or 10 minutes by taxi. The BMW Museum is a 25-minute U-Bahn ride away.

It's 20 minutes on foot or nine minutes by train to the central station, with connections to other major cities across Europe. Franz Josef Strauss Airport takes about 40 minutes to reach by taxi, but the journey is expensive and budget travelers are better off taking line 1 or 8 of the overground S-Bahn from the central station. The trip takes around 45 minutes. 

This hostel offers both single and double private rooms with en-suite bathrooms as well as beds in four-, six-, and eight-bed dormitories. Bedding is provided, but towels are not. All units have a similar decor scheme, with parquet floors and light-wood beds (bunks in dorms) along with plain beige walls without any wall art to speak of. Bunk beds in shared rooms have lockable drawers (one per guest; travelers should bring their own locks or buy them from the front desk), but otherwise don't offer a lot of extras frequently found in hostels, such as privacy curtains or individual lights and outlets. Each unit has its own small bathroom with dark tile floors and walk-in showers. While small hairdryers are provided, toiletries are not. There have been some complaints of odors in rooms and numerous complaints of bed bugs from past guests of this hostel. 

Features at this hostel are geared toward budget travelers and include a 24-hour reception desk with a phone that guests can use for a fee, free Wi-Fi, a luggage room, and internet terminals for guests who don't have their own devices. 

Breakfast is included in room rates and is served buffet style, while packed lunches can be purchased for a small fee. However, many travelers opt to cook for themselves in the hostel's communal kitchen, which features basic cookware, a microwave, a stove, a kettle, and a toaster. 

Other features include foosball and pool tables, a lounge with cocktails for sale, cigarette and soft drink vending machines, and coin-operated washing machines for laundry. There's also an underground parking lot for a fee, though space is limited.