Taksim Square Hostel

The mold, especially in the bathroom, was the bigger concern, and cleanliness overall wasn’t great. We also found dead bedbugs, which is why we canceled the booking. The manager said they’d take it seriously and clean everything, but reviews on Booking suggest this had happened before. It took us a while to find the place because the Google Maps pin is off. Look for the reception in a corner house.

I was traveling solo and liked the place. It’s a cheap hostel, the host was welcoming and nice, and the rooms were okay. Cleanliness could be better, but it was fine for me on my own.

Good location, but there really isn’t service. It’s a shared house, not a hostel. Guests have to do the cleaning themselves if they want it done, including the bathroom, dusting, and changing the sheets.

I booked because it was late and I just needed somewhere to sleep. Instead, I’m writing this from bed after 1 a.m. because the place is that bad. I left in the morning, and one of the lower bunks was still empty. The room is a dirty, open basement space with no doors. The bathroom was dirty, the ceiling pipe was leaking, and there were little dust bunnies all over. The motion light in the outside hall shines into people’s eyes whenever anyone moves, since there’s no door or curtain. People came in talking loudly at 12:30 a.m., and others were still talking and laughing by the building entrance after 1 a.m. The area isn’t very nice either. I booked online when it said five of the eight beds were available. The manager refused to give me a lower bunk, saying they were all reserved. I kept pointing out that the beds had shown as empty online 30 minutes earlier, but he seemed to think I didn’t understand and used Google Translate to repeat it. They say you get what you pay for, but I got way more than I bargained for.