Hotel Nika

The room was the best part by far. The bed, desk, nightstands, rug, and sofa were really impressive, much better than I expected for the price in Kyiv. The building exterior and corridors looked very uninspiring when I checked in, so I thought the stay might disappoint. The bathroom is dated but does its job, and you can hear water running through the pipes whenever someone flushes. Although a common cooking area is advertised, there were no utensils, just a stove and microwave. Breakfast isn’t included, but the complimentary coffee and croissant are okay. The WiFi password is posted in the common area, not the rooms, and the WiFi was faster than my Lifecell mobile data.

I’ve spent three years in Kyiv, and there are far better hotels for the money. I won’t return, and I’d suggest looking elsewhere. As a British traveler, I checked whether they could accommodate English speakers, and Nika’s website said they could. At check-in, the front-of-house woman abruptly said, “No English,” then spoke fast Russian and rudely asked for my passport and payment. She told me where the room was in Russian and left me to find it. I made my way up poorly maintained stairs to the fourth floor and found a very Spartan room. The ensuite was tiny. There was a kettle but no mugs, tea, coffee, or anything like that. The bed had two flat pillows and a paper-thin duvet; the decades-old carpet was at least clean. There was no bin, and one light kept flickering. There was no WiFi in the room either. When I asked about the signal using Google Translate, the woman sighed and said I could connect in the lobby. I explained patiently that my room wasn’t in the lobby, and she claimed there was no signal because too many guests were using it. Guests slammed doors and laughed loudly into the night, and the busy road outside brought its own noise. Around there, people set off fireworks at 1am, there are drunken revelers and motorbike racers. There’s a convenience store nearby, but no cafes or restaurants worth mentioning; there’s also a bus depot and fire station close by. The room was clean-ish, but the decor was extremely basic, the lighting shabby, and the towels felt like sandpaper. Coffee and a croissant were offered for money, not as included breakfast. Staff were unfriendly, the building run-down, and the location not particularly convenient. You can also hear people in other rooms, and doors slammed all night. I especially wouldn’t recommend this to foreigners.

Good value for one person. The beds were comfortable and the staff communicated well, though the bathrooms were much too small.

I went there in winter and the heater wasn’t working anywhere in the hotel. I hadn’t checked the reviews beforehand, so take it from me, don’t go there.