Guest House Pikapolonca

I wish I could give this place zero stars, but Google only allows so much, so it's a 1. The whole place stank and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. Reception was like a room for drying towels and sheets, with laundry hanging everywhere. The woman at the desk, who I guess was also the owner, took 30 minutes to check in just the two of us. During that time she watched TV and chatted with shady people coming in and out. The room was just as awful as that first impression and smelled so bad I felt like throwing up. The man who was supposedly cleaning it looked like a movie villain come to life. He started putting on a pillowcase, realized it was the wrong one, then ripped it off in disgust right in front of us. We couldn't even bring ourselves to look at the shared bathroom. We got out as fast as we could and booked somewhere else in Maribor. I know it's cheap, but seriously, don't make the mistake of booking here. I also ask the authorities in Maribor to check the place for safety and cleanliness. Worst hotel experience of my life.

Very low prices were the one good thing about this place, and that was it. The rooms were filthy, and the host was rude and unpleasant. The bathroom was especially bad: water all over from a leaking shower, and it looked like nobody had properly cleaned it in years. I don't recommend it.

We rented the apartment. Its mix of decoration styles and colours was unusual, but that wasn't a big problem. The comfort was poor: I've never come across harder beds in all our travels in the region, mostly Bosnia Herzegovina, and one bed was actually in the kitchen. The rest was quite okay. It was somewhat clean, with the most important kitchen utensils available. It's probably one of the cheaper places, but I wouldn't want to stay more than one night.

The apartment itself was nice, with lots of beds and a kitchen, but I've never had such an unwelcoming host. We called ahead to say our bus was late and we'd arrive later than expected, but they treated us like intruders. After eventually giving us the key, they shouted at us to get inside and wouldn't let us have a cigarette. I was cut off when I tried to ask whether we could let ourselves in. We felt like schoolchildren being told off for smoking outside. In the morning, a staff member came to our door three times before checkout time, demanding that we leave, and even walked into the apartment without warning while one of us was in the shower. We left feeling disheartened after such a rough first impression of Maribor and Slovenia.