St. Moscow Taksim By Emmy

We booked two rooms with friends and were able to leave our luggage in the spacious lobby. The service was friendly, and the place was clean, smelled fresh, and felt warm. For such a cheap stay, I’d recommend it. I’m sad to see so many bad reviews 😞

The staff were always polite, smiling, and seemed to care whether we were comfortable. The room was tidy and clean, and I really enjoyed the excellent breakfast.

I stayed at White Bolshoi Rooms from November 27 to December 23 and wouldn’t go back. I’ve never felt this uncomfortable in a place I was staying, especially during such a long visit. The owner kept asking me to cancel my Booking.com reservation, which was a huge red flag. I also strongly suspect many of the positive reviews are fake, something Turkish acquaintances told me is unfortunately common. They only take cash. I paid more than 700 euros in cash, which already felt shady. Then the first room turned out to be filthy and in terrible shape: mold everywhere, broken cabinets, a dirty kitchen, and a nauseatingly dirty toilet. When I complained, they offered to “clean it,” as if a cloth would make mold disappear. I asked for a room change or to end my reservation. The second room was just as bad, so I refused it. Exhausted, I accepted a third room, but it had its own problems. The lights barely worked. Replacing the bulbs took over two hours after I asked. I found small roaches in the bed. The Wi-Fi was unreliable the whole stay, and they never checked it despite my repeated requests. They initially said I could use the washing machine, but when I tried, one of the women working there was visibly hostile. The machine wouldn’t spin-dry. I used a translator to ask several times, but she showed no willingness to help, so I had to hang soaking wet clothes in the bathroom. The shower had no support to hold the head, so I had to keep holding it to wash. Nobody once asked whether I needed room cleaning during my almost month-long stay. It felt like they only cared about taking the money. It was noisy, too: people, including staff, constantly going up and down the loud stairs, staff and guests talking loudly at reception, and people in other rooms clearly audible. The surrounding streets felt dirty, neglected, and unsafe. Walking back after dark was uncomfortable and stressful, and the area didn’t feel welcoming. Any time I raised a problem, I got excuses instead of solutions. After weeks of that, it was exhausting. I can’t recommend this place to anyone looking for cleanliness, comfort, safety, or basic professionalism. Save your money, time, and peace of mind, and avoid White Bolshoi Rooms.

We knew a cheap rate might come with some compromises, but this was too much. The basement room was extremely hot because the heating was on. They did nothing, so we turned it off ourselves. The air conditioning didn’t work, and they’d given us the wrong remote. There was mold on the walls and a terrible smell. The shower hose was cut; they said they’d replace it, but never did. The bathroom floor stayed wet. The bed was noisy and uncomfortable, and we could hear the staff talking loudly at night as if they were in our room. The location is 10 minutes from Taksim, and the staff were friendly.