Choco Home & Hostel
Cluj's highest-rated hostel (9.4) on Strada Horea — big rooms, personal lockers, and a host who actually shows up
Choco Home & Hostel on Strada Horea 29 is the highest-rated hostel in Cluj-Napoca — 9.4 over 152 Booking reviews — sitting between Piața Unirii (5 min walk) and the Mihai Viteazu market (4 min). Big rooms with personal lockers, a fully-equipped kitchen with washing machine and dryer, and an owner-host whose name comes up in roughly half of all reviews. From €20.
Choco Home & Hostel occupies a converted second-floor apartment at Strada Horea 29, on the main pedestrian artery that runs from the Mihai Viteazu market and tram stop down to Piața Unirii. The location is genuinely central — 5 minutes' walk to Piața Unirii and the St. Michael's Church, 4 minutes to the Mihai Viteazu tram stop (which connects to the train station for €0.50), and 8 minutes to the Hashtag bar street.
The hostel sleeps roughly 18 across 4-, 6- and 8-bed mixed dorms plus a couple of small private doubles. The rooms are unusually large for a Cluj hostel — Booking reviewers consistently use the phrase 'big and tall beds like I have never seen in a hostel'. Each bed has a personal locker, reading light and curtain. The shared bathrooms are clean and modern (renovated in 2024 per the host), and the kitchen is fully equipped with a stove, fridge, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine and electric dryer — the laundry setup is the killer feature for travellers on long Transylvania loops.
The ground-floor lounge has a small bar (a residual feature from the previous Choco-themed café concept) where the host makes chocolate cocktails on request, plus a board with chocolate sample tasting on the house. The little garden out back has a clothesline, a couple of chairs and a smoking corner.
The operational signature is the host. Across 152 Booking reviews the host's name (or 'the guy') appears in roughly half — 'lovely', 'kind', 'helpful', 'supportive', 'remembered me on day two'. The 9.4 rating is the highest of any hostel in Cluj-Napoca, and the consistency tells you the host is genuinely the operating system.
Reviewer consensus across 152 reviews (9.4 average): the host's warmth, the unusually big and tall beds, the location 5 minutes from Piața Unirii, the washing machine and dryer combo, and the personal lockers in every bunk. Common notes: the small scale (18 beds) means the dorms book out 4-6 weeks in advance for July-August, and the lack of an in-house bar crawl means social-evening-seekers may head out to other hostels' organised events.
- 01Cluj's highest-rated hostel — 9.4 over 152 Booking reviews
- 02Unusually big and tall beds — the consistent praise across 50+ reviews
- 03Personal locker, reading light and curtain in every bunk
- 04Washing machine AND dryer — only central Cluj hostel with both
- 05Host name appears in roughly half the reviews — 'lovely', 'kind', 'remembered me on day two'
- Cluj's highest-rated hostel (9.4)
- Big and tall beds with personal lockers
- Washing machine and dryer combo
- 5 min walk to Piața Unirii
“The process for check-in was smooth and easy. The staff was friendly and helpful. It has the washing machine, air dryer and dishes to cook.”
“Big and tall beds like I have never seen in a hostel. Big room well heated up during the cold days and with lots of sun. 5 min walk to the city center.”
“All you could want from a hostel. Friendly, helpful staff, close to transport, city centre and station.”
- Piața Unirii and St. Michael's Church (Biserica Sf. Mihail)5 min walk
- Mihai Viteazu market and tram stop (line 1 to train station)4 min walk
- Hashtag bar street (Strada Piezișă) for student nightlife8 min walk
- Cluj-Napoca train station (Gara Cluj-Napoca) via tram 18 min by tram
- Tailors' Bastion (Bastionul Croitorilor) and the medieval wall7 min walk
- Central Park (Parcul Central) and the lakes10 min walk
