8848 Hostel

This review is only about the private AC room, not the dorms. The location was accessible and the staff were helpful, but the room wasn’t worth the price. It was so small that there was hardly room to walk once our luggage was in, and the cleaning was poor: spots on the sheets and dust all over the table. The bathroom was the biggest problem. It was filthy, the fixtures were covered in muck, and the water smelled horribly like rotten eggs. The smell filled the bathroom every time we flushed, then spread into the bedroom through a window-like opening in the bathroom door that also meant someone could easily look in. We couldn’t shower, wash our faces, or even brush our teeth with that water, so we used bottled water. The toilet roll was wet and hadn’t been changed. There was no hot water either, despite what we’d been told. They asked us to leave the hot tap running for a while, but it eventually ran out without ever getting hot. The hostel really needs to sort these problems out.

The restaurant food, breakfast included, was good, and the staff were friendly. They can arrange tours, but don’t pressure you to buy a package, which I appreciated. One thing to know: a dorm room is on the first floor with reception, and I’d recommend avoiding that room. Overall, it’s an excellent hostel and hotel.

The location is great, but I’d pick somewhere else for better service and a warmer room. It gets very cold in winter, and there aren’t enough blankets or comforters. The bed linens didn’t fit properly, and staff often didn’t answer calls because they weren’t at reception. The hot water was only warm, and we had to let it run for 15-20 minutes to get even that. The free breakfast wasn’t worth it: just two slices of sandwich bread, jam, and cold tea. The tea was cold both days. In the bathroom there was barely anything, just one small bar of soap for four of us.

The shared toilet is a little small, but otherwise everything was great. The place was clean, the staff very friendly, and one of them even got out of bed at 5 am to get me a taxi. Breakfast was enough for me: an egg cooked the way I liked, tea or coffee, apple slices, and toast. It was well worth the price. The location is good, about a 10-minute walk from the main street, with shops everywhere selling all sorts of things.