Popcorn Hostel

The bathroom was awful, and the shower had hair and mold. The bedding smelled strange, and the blanket covers were in two separate pieces, so good luck trying to keep clean. The room felt like it hadn't had fresh air for a week, even with the windows open. The floor was sticky, with dirt and other bits visible. Just disgusting. Stay away, or pay 15€ more and go somewhere nice.

It's a relaxed, easygoing hostel with clean, comfortable showers and a good price. I didn't run into many people during my stay, though I was busy exploring the city. If you don't need to be right in the center, it's a perfect spot.

I booked three days at popcorn hostel in Romania through booking.com, then got a rude message from the owner right away. He asked where my ID was, told me to read the first message properly, asked if I knew what automatic check-in meant, and demanded to know whether I'd read the “whole” message, which was ten pages long. I didn't understand what he meant, so I asked if I wasn't welcome and whether he could cancel if that was the case. He said I wouldn't be asking that if I'd read it. I wanted to say, who started this? Pay to fight. I told him he was rude and that he could cancel if I wasn't welcome. He replied, “Are you illiterate?” Then he said no cancellation was needed, that in Romania he had the right to call the police, refuse me entry to the dorm, and give no refund because he didn't think I was good enough for his hostel. He said I could leave a bad review, but asked where he should review me, said my review would sink into the sea because he'd write a dozen or 20 reviews for himself, and told me he'd review me when I arrived. I reported this to booking.com, pointing out that their policy mentioned fraud, intimidation, and invasion of privacy, and said they could stop or cancel the booking. I explained many times that it was a five-day, four-night stay, but they refunded only half a day's stay. They said the hotel wouldn't cancel, so they couldn't refund me, even though their policy says they have the “right” to cancel and stop threatening scams. Maybe three days is a small amount of money, but why should I pay to argue and get no service? I'm a righteous person, and I felt I had to respond to a big platform violating its own policies and allowing intimidation by anti-violent criminals. Please be careful. A big platform won't necessarily follow the policies it publishes.

The staff were friendly, it was clean, and I really liked having barbecues and unlimited free popcorn. The hostel is also close to the train station.