Family Pension

We found drinks waiting in the room, and the beds and shower were fine, with plenty of towels. The pension also has two kitchens for making tea and coffee, with coffee capsules and tea bags provided. It’s at the end of a steep street by the woods, in a quiet neighborhood. The walk down Kolmá street to the Hot Spring Colonnade takes about 10 to 15 minutes, but it’s steep. When I called with a question, someone answered right away and sorted it out. Just be aware that sound carries from neighboring rooms because the insulation isn’t very good.

Getting into the pension was a hassle from the start. The access code didn’t arrive right away, nobody there could answer my question, and Booking.com only replied hours after I contacted them. It was difficult to retrieve the key, and there were no instructions for doing so. I’d paid well before arrival, but after I clicked the owner’s “activate voucher” link, 520 euros were taken from my account. The manager sent so much unnecessary information, with inappropriate characters, that I couldn’t even open the message in the mobile app. Once payment had been received, they stopped responding completely. The room was spacious, but had lots of insects and large spiders, and there was nobody at the hotel to deal with my concerns. A hotel can’t be run entirely online. Someone should be there at the hostel to help guests.

The apartment had everything we needed at a great price, including a well-equipped kitchen and great coffee. Netflix was a nice extra. It’s within walking distance of the center and right by the hiking trails, and there’s a cool beer bar on the same street. We’d highly recommend it and plan to come back in the Fall.

The stairs felt dangerous, especially going up to the top floor, where it was hard to stand upright. Getting up to the parking beside the house was difficult, and parking cost extra. The bathrooms weren’t good either, with poorly made toilets and showers that were hard to use. The floor felt like it was moving. Also, not all the house photos are real.