Royal Hotel

I had an excellent hotel experience.

The receptionist kept telling me stories about not knowing how to use Booking.com, while repeatedly raising the price and offering me a room different from the one I'd booked. A young, middle-aged man sat beside her and kept intruding into personal matters. Even after I asked him not to, he tried to dictate what should be in my documents. He called me his neighbor although I'd already said I wouldn't live with him. After I shut the door, there was commotion outside under the window, with inappropriate comments. Then the receptionist scratched at the window. Soon she and a stranger were knocking and shouting, “Food delivery! Meat on skewers!” I didn't open the door. I had apparently been thinking about calling the police, and then heard someone say, “And I'll tell you there were $1,000 there.” While they were briefly distracted with the administration, I got away to a safer place, completely unaffiliated with the Royal Hotel. The young, middle-aged man immediately ran after me, trying to stop me and asking, “Where are you going?” I was already off their property, with people all around.

I’m giving this place a one because it didn’t meet even my basic needs. I’d come to Kharkiv to see a masseuse, and after the massage I had oil on me, so I needed a shower and somewhere to sleep. It was already 10:30 PM, and I was looking for a place near the massage location. This is where I ended up. They charged me 950 UAH, although the price online was 850 UAH. I couldn't find the price posted anywhere. I don't know whether the administrator kept the difference or the rate had gone up, but I didn't get a receipt. The first room was clean and looked nice, with a balcony, but there was a hole in the wall opposite the entrance, possibly from a bullet. I couldn't find slippers, so I wore my own and went to use the shower. The shower door was falling off and hardly any water came through. I went down to the receptionist, a woman in her 40s, and brought her to the room. She ran the taps for 3 minutes while I was there; the water barely dripped, then stopped. She quickly put the door back in place, as if she already knew about it, without accusing me of breaking it. When I asked for another room, she said the next one, with a bathtub, was free. We checked the water together. It ran at medium pressure, so I agreed to move there. That room had 2 pairs of slippers in plain sight. But when I tried the bathroom, the pressure was almost nonexistent. I tried anyway, and after 2 minutes the water stopped before I could even wet my body. The administrator downstairs couldn't tell me why there was no water or how long I would have to wait. I went to bed with the oil still on me and got their bed dirty. I didn't sleep well. There was some kind of wooden barrier in the middle of the bed, and the blanket was too short for my height of 186, leaving my feet uncovered. I spent the night curled up with the blanket laid diagonally. A steady, rhythmic noise came from the corridor all night. At first I thought someone was having sex, but from 2 am to 6 am at 1 pace seemed unlikely. Something just needed to be covered so it wouldn't stick. I slept 4 hours and wasn't satisfied. In the morning I wanted to shower, but there was no water again. I had drinking water with me, which at least let me brush my teeth. As I was dressed and leaving, I met another administrator, who was 18 years old. At least she said I had to wait until the others finished showering and then the water would come back, but by then I was already leaving. There seemed to be Wi-Fi, but the administrator said there wasn't and didn't want to give me the password. She eventually told me the password, but I never got connected. The room had only a bed, wardrobes, a table and chairs. This HOTEL 4!!!!!! stars doesn't provide kettles, a microwave, or breakfast. The towels were clean, but the foot mat in the bathroom was dirty and black. I don't recommend the place for sleeping, resting, or washing. I recorded a video showing the water problem but don't know how to attach it. If the owner or anyone else is interested, I'm ready to send proof of what I've written.

We booked a room for 2 days, Friday and Saturday, in Saltivka, about 10 minutes from Studentska metro. We ended up paying 1500 hryvnias, which was far too much for this kind of “hotel.” I'd call it a hostel. Our room was number 5, right across from the entrance door. It was horribly cold, with a draft coming in around our feet. People smoked constantly in the neighboring room, and the smell came into ours. Water drained poorly in both the toilet and shower. There wasn't a hair dryer at first, but we asked for one later. It was strange that for a “hotel” there was no mini fridge, kettle, heater, or air conditioner remote. It was so cold that we were genuinely freezing. The room itself was clean, the sheets and towels were bright white, and we didn't notice any dust. Dear management, please take these issues into account and equip the rooms properly. The price is far too high for these conditions.