Urban Elephants Hostel

The hostel is in a great location and was generally clean by hostel standards. However, I only stayed for two nights and was bitten by bedbugs on the first one. I chose not to notify reception and handled the cleaning myself because the staff gives off 'unsupervised teenagers' vibes and lacked professionalism. I was looking for a friendly but respectful environment, but one of the staff members tried to flirt with me in a very invasive way on my first night. I just didn't want to deal with them after that. It has potential, but if it's not meant to be a party hostel, they definitely need more professional staff.

Great location and overall clean for a hostel, but my experience was disappointing. I got BEDBUGS bites on my first night but didn't feel comfortable approaching the staff; they seemed like unprofessional, unsupervised teenagers. Furthermore, a staff member was inappropriately invasive and flirted with me, which made me want to avoid management altogether. I wanted a friendly atmosphere, not an unprofessional one. If this isn't a party hostel, they seriously need to reconsider their staffing

I got eaten by bed bugs my first night as shown in picture below. The staff was unhelpful, it took them over 5 hours to do my laundry and when I asked if there was any alcohol spray or disinfectant to clean my things they offered me air freshener…. they were very clueless and unprofessional. The place is just a dirty party hostel that you should avoid.

Bed bugs in room and bed. Staff didn't seem worried and didn't offer to let me use the washer and dryer in hostel which is fine, but they also didn't offer to compensate me for having to spend 11€ to wash my stuff at the local laundromat. Also, cash only is a bit of a nuisance but that's not the staff's fault, however, I was told by the staff that the city was mostly cash everywhere, but this was the only place in the city I used cash.

I got bitten by A bedbug while I was here (room 12). Told the staff and they took it seriously straight away. I got moved rooms immediately to a different floor, they helped me move my bags there and washed my laundry as some of it could’ve been affected. Obviously it’s bad it happened, but the staff reacted immediately and came up with solutions on the spot (mind you, this was at 1am). Other than this, the hostel is good and the staff is amazing! Just make sure to check your bed well

🛑 ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. I got eaten alive by bed bugs. Not just a few bites — I woke up covered in them, itching like hell, couldn’t sleep at all. Told the staff — they didn’t care. No apology, no room change, no action. The room smelled bad, sheets felt dirty, the whole place feels like a health hazard. This isn’t a hostel — it’s a biohazard trap. If you want to take bed bugs home in your backpack and spend days scratching yourself — go ahead and stay here. Everyone else: stay far away.

Bedbugs killed the vibe :/ Having experienced bedbugs before and reading about it in a few reviews has already left me sceptical and unfortunately I had to wake up to bites from bedbugs after two nights in the hostel (in room 12). Even though I think that this is enough of a review, I will still write pros and cons. Pros: - free towels - good atmosphere - friendly staff - activities - great location Cons: - BEDBUGS - super small room - small lockers (only for the most precious stuff) - noisy street

BED BUGS!!! We stayed in room 14 and got at least 20 bites each in the night, have seen a couple bugs on our clothes since leaving. We arrived and were assigned a room and beds but when we went to our room there was someone in the bed and no other beds available in the room. They were able to put us in a different room which ended up being very lucky considering the first room got broken into and robbed in the middle of the night.

This place is a joke, one of the rooms got robbed, I was devoured by bugs all night, and someone drank my beer out of the fridge, they told me they can't control what guests do. It's clear they don't care to. Now we are trying to get rid of bedbugs. Go elsewhere.

HABÍAN CHINCHES!! Me picaron. Mucha suciedad y el voluntario estaba borracho. Nefasto.

Chinches y suciedad.

chinches y suciedad

Most of the faults with Urban Elephants Hostel is probably nothing to do with the volunteers and staff, who are awesome. Upon entering, I was greeted enthusiastically by the volunteers, and Rio gave us a quick tour of the premises. The volunteers take time to organize activites throughout the day, including Slovak lunch, themed dinners, and pub craels Rooms: The dorms are... functional. It's messy and no thought has been put into the look, but the mattresses and frames are solid. Lockers are provided for free, which seems to have become rarer in favor of 1 Eur lockers, but you have to bring your own lock. MOSQUITOES! I woke up itching all over my arms and experienced a moment of sheer terror, as I thought my turn with bedbugs had come. Luckily, I come from a tropical climate and quickly recognized them as mosquito bites on my exposed arms. What happened was that the room got stuffy at night and windows were opened, letting in the largest mosquitoes I've seen. There's always one accompanying me on the toilet, even after I've squished the last one. Because of the combination of heat and mosquitoes, I barely got 3 hours of cumulative sleep. Bed: It works. Feels like an innerspring mattress that is rather firm and supportive with no layering. Privacy curtains are not provided, but you can drape a towel from a hanger to form partial cover. The sheets, pillows, and duvets are clean, though they smell of detergent. Washroom: Toilets are gender segregated, though showers are not. There is only 1 toilet for men, but there were no issues . Showers were spacious and I never had to wait. The design was dated and a little grim, but I felt they were pretty clean, kudos to the volunteers! Pantry: I didn't cook in the pantry, but there was a large dining space and lounge to eat and socialize! Location: the palace and some castle ruins can be walked to! There is also a great Langose Bar 10 mins away on foot, along with a plethora of supermarkets. Devin castle requires public transport though. Community: seems like a semi-party dorm, and I did read about a sister dorm nearby that was a party dorm. Half our dorm was coming and going during the night, which made falling back asleep a little hard. However, this is expected of shared living!

bed bugs...

The best thing about the hostel is the location but that is about it. I arrived and was greeted by a receptionist with an horrific attitude which he continued to exhibit on every interaction after this. This feeling was also shared with a lot of other guests I spoke to. Staff seem more bothered about hanging out with their colleagues as appose to helping and interacting with guests. Hygiene wise, I'm pretty sure they have bed bugs. I and other room mates were covered in bites.

I travel the world for work and have stayed in millions of hostels but nowhere worse than this place. DISGUSTING. BED BUGS. BROKEN FACILITIES. DIRTY. RUDE STAFF. LOUD PARTYING TILL 5am. NO RESPECT FOR RESTING TRAVELLERS. Discussed my issues with reception and no respect or consideration was taken into account, not even a sorry. There was zero refund for checking out early after my concerns were raised. Totally unacceptable, would not recommend even for a cheap stay.

Choose a different hostel or hotel. My friend and I woke up with weird bug bites all over our bodies. They lock you in and scold you if you're up and want to exit before 7am. I was asked why I was up that early. Well, I'm an adult and can do adult things. They don't communicate they're cash only; and frankly their age policy (also not well explained) is discriminatory and I'm mad we gave them money. Look at their HostelWorld reviews carefully. Just find somewhere better to stay. I've been in 8 hostels and this was by far the worst one.