Hotel Zvezda

A good hotel.

The good points are clean bedding, decent towels, hot water all the time, a kettle, and a refrigerator. The photos speak for themselves. The rest was pretty bad. The rooms need a full renovation, the furniture is in terrible shape, the bathroom is awful, and the place is dirty and cold. The radiators were barely warm, and cold air came through the metal-plastic windows. The bathroom fan was very loud, and the soundproofing was terrible. It seemed to me they only swept the place once a week, and that wasn't enough.

Horrible in summer, it's unbearably hot. We ended up sleeping on the floor just to cool down. The window was held in place with straps, and there wasn't air conditioning or even a basic fan. We booked online, but the room looked completely different from the website photos. There's only one washing machine for the whole hotel, and using it costs extra. For that price, you could get better conditions even at the train station. The room doors were wooden with glass inserts and a little broken. It looked like the room had been renovated but left unfinished, unless there's another explanation for the bare ceiling. All told, it was worth about 250 hryvnia, no more.

The biggest safety concern was the third floor: it can only be reached by elevator, with no stairs. If there's a fire, jumping from the window seems to be the only option. They only take cash. There was no parking, though you could probably fit four or five cars nearby without security. I stayed three days, and the room was filthy and falling apart, especially the plumbing. The bed barely qualified as a bed, hard and creaky, so I couldn't get a decent night's sleep. With glass in the doors, every sound from the hallway came through. Cleaning was done only once before check-in. If you're there for a week, you're left to clean for yourself.