Aliaksandr H.
The location and the chilled music and artwork gave the hostel a nice feel at first. The building even reminded me of my high school, and I posted about it on Instagram. It was clean, and the furniture seemed new. Still, with no other hostel competition in Bursa, the prices felt high enough that a hotel room could make more sense. I happened to get a four person room to myself, but that was just luck. On my last day, I decided to stay another night in Bursa. There was no staff around, and the coffee shop was closed on Monday. At 3 pm a man came over, and I only then realized I didn't know the checkout time because nobody spoke English. When I said I was staying, he told me the price had gone from 600 to 700 lira, though the new rate wasn't posted on Instagram or the website. It felt like a scam, but I paid. That night another guest had been beaten at the bus station. A girl helped us bring his things to the common area around 10 pm, then we went for a walk. When we returned at midnight, an aggressive man showed a phone translation saying we'd broken hostel rules, would be kicked out, and would get our money back. There'd been no written rules, and at check-in we were only handed keys, with no English explanation. He yelled, took our phone, and looked through all our messages. After about 20 minutes, we were allowed to stay the night. Then at 1 am that same staff member was loudly watching videos and talking on his phone, making it impossible to rest. The next morning, my friend, who speaks Turkish, talked with a man who started lying about what had happened. I came away thinking staff might deny problems or lie about them. Communication is poor, and their issues become yours. I was stressed, shocked, and panicked, stuck at night in an unfamiliar city with nowhere to live for reasons nobody explained. I barely slept. The hostel's "Coffee & Chill" slogan did fit the first two days somewhat, but this is not a place that should be called a hotel for international tourists. You said you would refund me, so please return the money for my three nights.
