Gardenview Room

For travelers trying to save money, this is a decent option, and check-in and check-out were easy using the Masterlock key retrieval. I was apprehensive when I learned my husband had booked it for our three nights in Stavanger for us and our 18-year-old son. On the way there, my son read out some very negative Google reviews, which didn’t help. It’s essentially a hostel with about six rooms. Mostly young male backpackers or bikers were there when we arrived, though a few couples came later. The property is old, as expected, but our room with two single beds and a bunk bed was clean, and had a small shared balcony. The bedding was fresh and clean. Towels cost extra, but we brought our own, so I can’t comment on them. Everyone shares the kitchen, which stayed fairly clean while we were there. We didn’t cook proper meals, so I can’t say much about the appliances, but there was lots of fridge space and a large freezer. It’s all old, but basic and functional. The bathrooms and toilets were pretty clean too. I think some people confuse being old with being dirty. I used the shower once and it worked fine. We had a car, so the location worked for us, but without your own transport I’m not sure how easy it is to get into town. It’s an hour’s walk, though there is a supermarket within walking distance. I’m not sure I’d come here alone as a woman. I’m not saying it’s unsafe, but I’d personally feel apprehensive sharing bathrooms with strangers on my own. The walls are thin, and we could hear phones receiving messages in the next room, but the people staying there were fairly quiet.

After we canceled, we realized the Booking listing used fake pictures. I’d call it a scam, and it wasn’t worth any amount of money. We had to find another hotel on the same night we arrived because we simply couldn’t stay here. The place didn’t meet basic health standards: our room was tiny for three people, dirty, smelly, and clearly hadn’t been cleaned. There were hairs in the bed, and only one roll of toilet paper. The building itself was dirty too, with random items like car seats lying around.

The kitchen was filthy, as if someone had splattered food all over the walls, so we didn’t prepare anything there. We value our health and sanity too much. The urine smell was so strong I was gagging while I peed. The sheets were extremely soft and discolored, and there was a dark stain on them that nearly made me cry. The bathroom looked as if it had been soaked in everything except cleaning products. The ad pictures were clearly fake, and the locks outside the doors made us feel like we were going to get kidnapped. The man was very nice, but wanted us to wear slippers, which we politely refused because we don’t like foot fungus. Outside the room we heard heavy footsteps, and you could hear everything in the hallway, so there wasn’t much privacy. We watched the movie “hostel” in bed and felt like it was predicting our stay. If you like food poisoning, foot fungus, and the smell of urine, I recommend this 5/5. Otherwise, spend your money on another “hotel”.

The biggest issue was that the place didn’t match what Booking showed when we reserved it. Some of the photos online weren’t from this property. We were three people in a tiny room with two bunk beds, and it was genuinely dirty, not just a cheap place with basic standards. There was hair on some beds, the toilet paper had the texture of something that had been wet, and the toilets and shared areas were dirty too. We left and asked Booking for a refund. Then the owner or manager called and said we had to accept it, because “this is Norway and for this price you are not getting anything better.” I’d say run the other way.