Rooms Cristal Roche

Rooms cristal is right in the heart of Rijeka, so I didn’t need to spend extra on taxis. I was there in winter, when the climate in Rijeka can be quite harsh, and the receptionist kindly gave me extra towels and helped with the heating. She also waited when my bus from Zagreb was late after I messaged her about it. I was very satisfied and would recommend staying here. The only thing an introvert might find difficult is hearing the cleaning ladies talking loudly in the morning while they clean.

The room was clean, comfortable, and really spacious. Finding the place on the street was fairly difficult, and climbing to the fourth floor without a lift was a bit of a nuisance.

There’s no lift up to the fourth floor, but we knew that and it wasn’t an issue for us. The parking offered on Riva street is in zone 0 and costs 7 HRK an hour. A few streets farther out, zone 1 is 4 HRK hourly, or 32 HRK for the day, with no charge on Sunday. The accommodation was very noisy, and the Wi-Fi barely worked. It’s five separate rooms off a shared corridor, and the corridor door is so flimsy that you hear everyone coming and going. It felt like being in a shared apartment with no privacy. Our room faced away from the street, so we didn’t hear traffic, but there was another weak door into what was probably a service room. A washing machine started near our heads at 7:15 in the morning. The funniest surprise was a pigeon nest in the bathroom ceiling, with the bird making noises right by our heads. Payment was cash only, in EUR or HRK.

For what they charge, this place just isn’t worth it. I’ve stayed in three other places in Croatia for only a little more money, and none came close to being this bad. The room looked like its furniture had been picked up off a street corner. The bed was thin and springy, and I found two hairs in the sheets. The walls were dirty, and the room smelled of smoke and chemical air freshener. The shower barely got hot, its door leaked, and there was no towel or rug for the slippery tile floor. The towel provided was tiny and so worn through it must have been 30 years old. Do your research before booking.