Hostel Invictus Hostel

This was the worst hostel I’ve stayed in, and I wouldn’t recommend it. The staff were unfriendly, the mattresses and pillows were awful, and the bathroom was dirty and smelled bad. My room was basically a very narrow hallway, extremely cramped and nothing like the photos. There are lots of bars nearby, so the neighborhood was very noisy. I also had to pay a “tourist tax” on top of the price shown on the website. For the total I paid, I could have stayed somewhere much better.

We booked somewhere else because we didn’t feel secure here. The reception was locked, our calls went unanswered, and suspicious people were walking along the floor outside our room. I watched them while my friend stayed inside, and they only turned around when they noticed me watching. People also came into our private room even though we’d repeatedly said not to. Once, while I was in the bathroom and my friend was on the bed, someone walked in claiming to be looking for reception, then stared at us. When a staff member finally came to check the door, he struggled to open it. An uninvited person entering your room doesn’t feel like someone being nice. There are people living there, and they aren’t always safe. Two young women alone could never feel comfortable in this environment. We can’t recommend this hostel. The poor management and lack of security took away our privacy and peace of mind.

The location was great, and the reception staff were very kind and helpful during our one night in a 12-bed room at Invictus Hostel. But after getting home I found about 30 bites on myself, clearly from bedbugs, and it completely ruined the stay. I contacted the hostel, and they said guests might bring bedbugs in their backpacks. Honestly, that sounds like an excuse. You don’t get around 30 bites from a single night if the problem wasn’t already there. Really disappointing.

I’m leaving early, and this has been deeply upsetting. The room looked nothing like the photos, and guests can apparently walk in through the balcony where smoking is allowed, which felt very unsafe. The general atmosphere was bad too, with people seeming to come mainly to get drunk and vomit under their beds. Agoda showed one price, then there was a city tax on arrival, which felt unfair and annoying. The two employees I dealt with seemed to care only about the money. The staff were rude and acted as though guests were a nuisance. The cleaner openly spoke badly about guests behind their backs. There was also an older man who couldn’t behave normally. I rang the bell five times at 8:00 PM because I couldn’t find my card with the code. Instead of opening the door, he stood next to me repeating “Your card,” like I was a child, even though he knew I was staying there. It was embarrassing and disrespectful. I had heavy bags and wasn’t allowed to put them temporarily in the storage room, despite an empty cabinet, and my room was right at the top. There was zero willingness to help. Another staff member was able to help two other Korean guests, though. Do yourself a favor and stay far away. Do NOT book here.