Hipstel

We were very happy with our four days here. The staff were helpful, and everything was well organized and clean, including the toilets and showers. The rooms and kitchen had all the equipment we needed. It’s a great base for seeing the monuments, just a 5-10 minute walk from the main street, Derybasivska. Small shops and minimarkets are close by too.

I spent a couple of days at Hipstel Hotel in Odessa at the end of September 2021, and I remember it fondly. The staff were very helpful, and I liked the clean rooms, comfortable mattress, hot shower, and lovely kitchen. If I come to Odessa again, I’ll stay there. I recommend it.

The place was really clean, but my experience went downhill after a great first impression. The beds are big and have curtains, which I liked at first. Then I noticed the upper bunk has no barrier at all. It’s about 170 cm off the ground, so if you move around in your sleep, I’d strongly avoid the top bunk. A fall from that height could easily leave you with a broken bone. The luggage lockers are like high school lockers, built for books and school bags rather than suitcases. Only the smallest standard carry-on could fit, so anything bigger was out. They’re set beside the beds, which are about 100 cm wide, while the lockers are only about 60 cm wide. It looks awkward, but the bigger issue is that they could have chosen lockers meant for travel luggage. I can put up with guests snoring or talking, since that’s expected. But the receptionist was so loud at the front desk that I could hear them in the room, and that really bothered me. The most uncomfortable part came when we were leaving. They charged extra to store our luggage. I’ve stayed in plenty of hostels, and this was the first time I’d been charged for that. It felt arbitrary because the fee wasn’t written anywhere, not even in the extra charges section of the paper they asked us to sign. If guests have to sign an agreement about charges, all the fees should be listed there. You can’t just spring a charge on people that was never mentioned. The amount was small, and the hotel won’t care much about it either, but the whole situation was frustrating.

The staff were friendly, especially Aula, who treated us like family 🤍. The dorms, bathrooms, and showers were clean and attractive, and there’s a kitchen. You can leave your luggage before check-in or after checkout for free. It’s a centrally located hostel, and overall it was good. Finding it can be tricky, though. It’s inside an old building with no outside signs, especially confusing if you arrive at night. The light by the entrance was broken, and they should light it up. Ten beds in one room feels like a lot, and it can get hot. There is air conditioning, but they don’t turn it on because of the electricity bill 😕. There’s no space for luggage in the room, either. Only one staff member speaks English; the others use Google Translate 😅.