CoolTour Hostel

The low price, central Pest location, and easy check-in and checkout were the good parts. But entry felt too easy, which made the place seem unsafe. A 12-bed room was very cramped, and the bathrooms were tiny and somewhat dirty from so many people using them. The beds and blankets didn’t look clean, as if they weren’t changed or washed between guests. Two American girls had an allergic reaction after the first night. With bars and restaurants all around, outside noise also made it hard to sleep.

For a quick in-and-out visit, this is a decent hostel, and the late check-in worked well: I arrived around 2 am and coordinated it with the local bar. The place is nicely equipped, though the rooms felt too small for the number of beds. The area was crowded and busy, and with rooms facing the street, outside noise made it hard to sleep well. I also wondered if it was one of the safer parts of Budapest.

The beds, sheets, and pillows were in awful shape, like they’d survived both world wars and could tell us what happened in Budapest in 1945. The place wasn’t clean enough, and the beds need replacing and the rooms need cleaning. I started feeling itchy on the second day. When I got back to my place, I took three showers using only bleach.

It was okay value, though the quality was below average, and I might stay again. The staff were friendly and the location was good. They didn’t mind that someone overslept checkout by three hours, but things felt disorganized. They lacked change and sent us to their bar, where we were refused an exchange, so we had to buy something just to get change before checking in. The washing machine was broken, the coffee ran out on day two, and some bathroom things were broken, including locks, a light, and the showerhead. There are only two lockers, and they won’t hold your things for the day after checkout. They said at check-in they’d take our bags, then didn’t when we checked out.