Dominant Suite Studio Hostel

We spent two days in Bratislava at Dominant Studio, booked through SSSTAY. It was easy to find using the app, and the place is close to the main public transport hub. Reception was communicative and helpful, and while English isn't their first language, they speak it quite well and seem happy to sort things out with a smile. Our room, bathroom and terrace were clean. They could have been larger, but it was budget accommodation, and the beds were very comfortable. Nights were pleasantly quiet, with no traffic noise from the busy street. The scary hostel stories online really didn't match what we found; they seemed to be mostly unpleasant, unverified internet chatter. We ate a few times at the beer restaurant on the ground floor. It gets plenty of customers, perhaps because of the price and earnings squeeze, but the food was perfectly good and affordable. The local beer was smooth, with some unexpected flavors. Slovak and Czech beer tastes quite different from Dutch brands, which are said to be full of licensed gimmicks. You don't find this beer on tap everywhere, though, and the local brands surprisingly beat it in most places. The Wi-Fi signal throughout the building was also a really nice surprise.

I wouldn't recommend this place. The room is so cramped that there's barely space to walk once the suitcases are open. The balcony is shared with another room, and the owner lives there, can come onto it, and can easily enter your room if the window is open. The bathroom was dirty, and when we ran out of the toilet paper that was there at the start, none was supplied. There are holes in the glass wall, so anyone can see you showering, including the owner. The smell was awful.

The stay was insane and creepy, and I felt unsafe. The price is cheap, so I wasn't going to complain about dirt and clutter, but the owner lurks around and comes in without knocking. His adjoining “office” is next to the apartment, and he came into the room at night. If I hadn't been with male friends, I would have left immediately. There are signs about cameras, but they are hidden somewhere. He seemed to know right away when we were quietly talking on the balcony and looking at the view, then barged in to say it wasn't allowed. It's hard to imagine he could have heard us. We covered the mirrors because we were freaked out, and couldn't even use the shower because a glass panel leads to his “office,” with some conveniently placed peep holes. The owner has recently changed the place's name to hide awful reviews. Its former name is Pull studio, as shown in my photos. The awards he has given himself are fake. I mean, a room full of bunk beds featured in a honeymoon collection?

For one night, this was straightforward, good quality accommodation at a fair price. The room and bathroom were clean, and the owner was easy to communicate with, with no issues. It was nice to get a good night's sleep for a reasonable cost. The center is around 10-15 minutes away by public transport.