Even though a tram line trundles along a main road outside, with the windows shut we hardly noticed any noise. They prefer you pay by cash, otherwise if you use your credit card they jack up the price in order to cover the admin costs. The on-site restaurant is a decent-looking curry house: http://www.shanti-bremen.de. Breakfast cost 8 euro extra per person, but we made a beeline for the nearest bakery each morning.
There is nothing fancy about this place, but it had more privacy and amenities than a hostel perfect. It was perfect for a cheap sleep near the beerfest although families, high-powered businessmen and romantics may want to keep looking!
The hotel is a 2-minute walk from Bremen Hbf. The train station area is not the most pleasant spot in town. It opens out onto a transport interchange with trams, bus stops and social undesirables. The city centre is about a 5-minute walk the other direction, over the river.
In the immediate vicinity you've got a curry house, a Back Factory bakery (great for breakfast), an Irish pub and a gay kino. In fact, there was a red light district of sorts in the precinct around the station if you get bored...
In season, the Freimarkt fairgrounds are directly behind the train station, on the other side. However, this is the main entrance and it was so overcrowded getting onto the grounds that we took a different exit and walked the long way back.
