Suisse Guest House Apartments

I had some nice conversations with the other guests, but I wouldn’t stay here again. The beds and bedrooms were good, though there were centimetres of dust under the beds. The kitchen is tiny and serves as practically the only common room, apart from the hallway couches. During my two-night stay, the kitchen bin was emptied only once and overflowed with rubbish. The toilets also serve as showers; one shower overflowed and one toilet seat was broken. The hostel is separated from the Suisse guest house by at least one door, with the secretary behind it. That made it really hard to communicate, so you could only ask questions when you happened to get the chance.

Even though our Airbnb reservation went through, the receptionist wouldn’t let us in, saying there was no room. She also refused to let us use the Wi-Fi to book somewhere else. The staff member was extremely rude and unprofessional, so I can’t recommend this place. The central location is odd, too. The entrance is creepy and hard to find, and there were some teenagers smoking weed nearby.

The dorm itself was fairly good, but the kitchen was poor and the toilet smelled bad, with no ventilation. I also found this place unsafe, with risks of scams and violence. When I arrived, the staff member showed me the wrong beds twice, and both were already occupied. I had to move my luggage between beds and lockers twice. She spoke only a little English. The staff and owner seemed to set a trap to get extra money. Before checkout at 11 a.m., I had cleared a bed and locker. One staff member said I couldn’t stay in the hostel after checkout, while another said I could stay until 6 or 7 p.m. Another guest had already been allowed to stay until 7 p.m. without paying extra. I was confused, and then a staff member asked me for 150 lei for overstaying. When I asked whether the owner had told her to charge me, she didn’t answer. I felt she was cheating me to get pocket money, since there was no stated price for this. The owner came over and said, “I have had a business of the hostel for 8 years. every customers has left the hostel before 11:00 a.m. You are the only guest who would leave over 11:00 a.m.” There were no official rules about staying late, and no price information for guests to see. They asked me for money after 11 a.m., when I had already stayed past checkout. Be careful. When I tried to explain that there was no notice or explanation of the rules or price, I said I’d wash my dishes and leave within 20 minutes. The owner told me, “HERE IS NOT NGO. NO PAY.GO AWAY.” Then he tried to punch and hit me with his fist. I’m an Asian girl, and he’s tall and big. He used his physical size against me. For a good time in Chisinau, I recommend choosing somewhere safe.

The place was clean, the price acceptable, and it’s near the centre. The staff were nice and helpful, and there were enough utensils. The admission experience felt strange, though, and about half the property was the boss’s home. It was difficult to get in touch with them because you had to call.