Kulikovskaya Hostel

The only thing going for this place is that it’s close to the train station.

Just one word: ewwww.

What a terrible “hotel.” We booked a room with a 2:00 PM check-in and asked if we could leave our luggage earlier. The room was in some kind of entryway and dirty. It had a double bed with bedding like my grandmother’s, and the mattress was still unpacked, apparently because someone followed her advice to leave it there rather than waste it. There was no running water, hot or cold, supposedly because of renovations. They said the room had been renovated. I won’t argue, but it was probably 15 years ago. There was one pair of reusable rubber slippers, like my grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s. The TV didn’t work; there was also a mini-fridge and air conditioning, though I don’t know if that worked. They wanted 1050 UAH for two nights, which was catastrophically expensive for those conditions. We decided not to stay and got our money back immediately after canceling the reservation online.

The service was good, the people were pleasant, and the price was reasonable for what we got. The deluxe double room had one large bed, a big flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, a kettle, a fridge, and a washing machine. The pillows were uncomfortable, there was no remote for the air conditioner so the room felt chilly, and the light on the right didn’t work. We could only use the shower because the bathtub leaked. There weren’t enough towels, and the quality could have been better, but the price was fully justified.