Easy One

We booked this hostel in January for a June stay, expecting to share a four-bed female dorm with three beds. Hostelworld showed each payment as pending on our bank account, but on arrival we were told the property hadn’t received the money. That wasn’t their fault, but we had to pay again when we thought it was already covered. Then, when we got the keys, we were given three rooms. We pointed out that our Hostelworld booking said three beds in one room, but were told we had booked three rooms. The receptionist was very helpful and polite, and offered to arrange a conversation with someone senior the next morning, which we appreciated. We ended up using only one of the rooms because we were worried we’d be charged for each one. The senior staff member explained the property now sells rooms rather than beds. The price was the same, but we’d booked a hostel experience and got what felt like a sub-par hotel stay instead. We wanted to meet other travelers in a nice hostel, but ended up in a cramped hotel room. When I asked why nobody had told us about the change, she said they didn’t need to since we paid the same amount. There were more problems. After a staff member used the downstairs bathroom, I went in and found a puddle of urine on the floor. The air conditioning in our room didn’t work, even after many attempts to look up the manual and figure it out, and it was 30 degrees. The bathroom doors wouldn’t close, making an already cramped room feel even smaller. Each morning around 7 a.m., a door alarm by the keycard scanner beeped continuously for hours. It was so loud we could hear it in our room down the corridor, and nobody turned it off. The workers were kind, and I can only thank them because we were probably difficult to understand and help, but I wish we’d been told about the change before our stay.

We stayed as a group for four days, and the rooms were very clean. The staff were supportive, and breakfast was good, with coffee and different kinds of juice. The location was very nice, and it’s only about 20 minutes to the city centre by tram. I definitely recommend staying here.

The rooms were okay, with four beds arranged as two stable, comfortable bunk beds. The toilet, shower, and sink are each in separate rooms. This hostel is part of a large four-star hotel, and check-in is at the hotel reception. Staff weren’t especially helpful or responsive, and parking costs extra. One tip: there’s free parking on the university campus beside the hotel.

I felt very unsettled in the female-only dorm. Although it was advertised as women-only, a man was allowed to book a bed in the same room, and his presence at night left us feeling uncomfortable and unsafe. When we raised it with reception at checkout, we got a casual apology and were told that “the man also booked the female-only dorm.” That response showed disregard for female guests’ safety and left me with the impression that security was lacking. I’d strongly advise against staying here if you need a safe, secure environment.