Shanti-Hostel

Woke up covered in hundreds of bed bug bites and they were crawling all over the walls and bed. Reading reviews on this hostel, it’s been known for months they had bed bugs but they did not tell me at check in. Worst hostel I’ve ever stayed at and I hope they close.

They have bed bugs….. not worth it. Staff is really nice, but the bed bugs will ruin your holiday

The owner Zeynep was the loveliest person ever! She was so warm and welcoming and made sure everyone had a pleasant stay. However, I got badly bitten by bed bugs even though the hostel is cleaned daily. Disinfecting just isn't enough when dealing with bed bugs. Otherwise I really enjoyed my stay.

il personale è stato molto simpatico e gentile, ma purtroppo c’era mancanza di igiene ed erano presenti cimici da letto, mi dispiace!

The owner is lovely, super accommodating. She is very friendly and gave me some food she cooked when I arrived. She also gave me a tent someone had left behind! The property is very homey and comfortable. I would’ve given a 10/10, however, in the middle of the night I was greeted with bed bugs. Since reception is not open during the night, I spent the rest of it in the common room and was joined by a couple who also had bed bugs. Turns out the majority of beds that night had them and the morning was a bit chaotic when everyone else awoke.

Ended up leaving and not staying for the intended nights. Only good thing was it was close to the bus station, although wouldn’t want to walk the streets in the dark and the area is a bit dingy. The vibes of the place are a bit off. There were bedbugs. Some other girls found quite a few on the bed and curtains in their room and left straight away. My room seemed fine until a girl found some dead ones near her bed, staff acted really weird when we told them about it and said that the bugs found by the girls earlier were also dead (they weren’t, they were on the curtains and moving). Thankfully we got a refund, but not ideal to have to leave in the dark. The beds were also very creaky and any slight movement rocked the whole bed. Bathrooms were not well kept and water would go everywhere from someone showering.

das Hostel hat leider ein großes Problem mit Bedbugs und scheint nicht wirklich was dagegen zu tun. Ich hatte ein Bett gebucht, am Abend hat man nichts gesehen aber morgens sind die Bettwanzen an der Decke und den Wänden herumgelaufen. Uns wurde die Nacht nicht erstattet und als wir sagten, dass sie wirklich was gegen die Bettwanzen tun müssen wirkte es nicht als würden sie das Problem ernst nehmen.

スタッフが親切だった。The staff were kind. 過去のレビュー(2025年11月6日、2023年12月3日、2023年11月18日など)やGoogleマップのレビューには複数の南京虫の被害の記載があります。このホステルは南京虫がいる事を知りながら未だ根絶出来ていません。予約した8人部屋ではなく4人部屋に案内されました。事前にリクエストしていた下段ベッドに空きがないという理由でした。4人部屋は何故か私1人でした。南京虫がいる部屋を宿は把握していてなるべく使わないようにしているのだと思います。スタッフの方はとても親切で南京虫さえいなければとても良いホステルなので残念です。体中痒くてとても辛いです。 Past reviews (November 6, 2025, December 3, 2023, November 18, 2023, etc.) and Google Maps reviews mention multiple bed bug infestations. This hostel is aware of the bed bugs but has not yet eradicated them. I was assigned to a 4-bed room instead of the 8-bed room I booked. The reason given was that there were no lower bunk beds available, which I had requested in advance. For some reason, I was the only one in the 4-bed room. I think the hostel is aware of the bed bug-infested rooms and tries to avoid using them as much as possible. The staff were very kind, and it's a shame because it would be a very good hostel if it weren't for the bed bugs. I'm itchy all over and it's very painful.

bed bugs :( i saw one on the wall next to my bed the first morning and told the staff, but all they did was steam clean the bedroom and common room, didn’t offer a room change or a refund. when i left a couple days later i found bites all over my body.

Sehr nette Angestellte! Es gab Bettwanzen.

Es sind immer noch Bettwanzen vorhanden...Hatte nicht den Eindruck, dass dagegen vorgegangen wird.

I stayed up stairs in the 4 bed dorm and got 20 bedbug bites all over the back of my neck. Didn't realize all of the bedbug reviews until i checked in so I was hoping for the best. Now I have to walk around self-conscious the final week of my trip. The owners were really nice but considering they knew people were going to get bit in that room and they chose not to say anything is pretty bad. Needs a professional insect extermination before reopening

Achtung! Habe hier übernachtet und sowohl mein Kumpel als auch ich hatten viele Bettwanzenbisse am nächsten Tag. Wenn ich 0 Punkte geben könnte, ich würde es tun. Es gibt sogar Hinweise darauf, dass das Personal vom Befall wusste, denn es waren Dispenser für ätherische Öle im Raum verteilt, die wir für gewöhnliche Raumdüfte hielten. Es war die erste Nacht unseres Urlaubs und diese Erfahrung hat unsere Zeit in Nordmazedonien deutlich getrübt. Meidet dieses Hostel!

Really nice staff, very welcoming and a good vibe overall. Only problem is that it was our first night of our vacation and we immediately got bed bug bites all over our bodies. Stayed there only one night.

Joining the club and adding another BEDBUG review. I would like to note I was here in Septemeber for one night and was plagued with bites for a long time after. most annoyingly, I sent an email explaining this to them and saying I wanted to email and not say it publicly...no response. Clearly not interest in fixing and now its a month later and still bed bug reviews. DO NOT STAY HERE

The hostel was nice and the staff were friendly and helpful but we had bed bugs in our room on the first night. There were also bed bugs in the room nextdoor. We were moved to another room outside the main building and we didn't find any bed bugs there but I got a few more bites so I'm not sure if they were in that room as well. Kitchen facilities were good and the vibe of the hostel was nice. Bit of a walk from city centre and wouldn't feel safe walking alone at night.

I've been told by other travellers there are bed bugs. I didn't see any but my friends stayed upstairs and saw many. May want to avoid.

location is nice very close to the bus station, grocery store and not far fromthe city center as well. the staff is very friendly and very helpful. Common area is very cozy and very easy to meet and talk to people. i liked everything about this hostel except for bed bugs. Like few past reviews, myself and others that i met on the travels got bed bug bites at hostel. if they can fix this issue, it would be an amazing hostel.

Property was in a nice location to the city and the staff were helpful. However, I woke up in the morning with 60+ bed bug bites. I understand that this is a problem that a lot of hostels face but I feel like I need to let other travellers know to be a bit cautious when travelling here in the next few weeks.

Got a lot of BED BUGS bites there. they are facing some problems with them and apparently couldn't solve the problem. anyway, they provided me a free laundry and moved to another room.

Shanti Hostel is absolutely amazing! The location, the atmosphere, the staff/volunteers, all were great - I truly loved my stay there. BUT I got bitten by bedbugs, and also found one on the wall. The staff was very helpful, took the situation serious and did everything they could to help me out. But yeah unfortunate situation.

Spent the first night of my Balkan trip here in August 2023 and still have nightmares from it. Got several bed bug bites for which I later needed medication because of how big they got. I moved to a hotel the next night and there I found a bed bug on my luggage(!) even though I had never put in on the bed but in the middle of the room. After that I had to do several rounds of washing and going through my stuff to make sure there’s no other. Furthermore to enter the rooms you have to walk up a very narrow staircase above the reception. The only positive is that the staff was nice and tried to explain a lot during checkin. However they denied existence of bed bugs and said they were just mosquito bites.

There were bedbugs and they didnt even refund. İt is one of the many hostels in booking with very high rating that doesnt match the conditions. Prices are higher but you dont get the according service. Towels not included in the price. Rooms are on the second floor with steep and narrow stairs. The bathroom is on the first floor and was in average condition. Not a place to be unless you want to be bitten by bedbugs and be deprived of sleep and to have paid for it. İt is guests that bring bedbugs but it is the responsibility of the property to spray and keep clean, it doesnt mean others should come to suffer from it. This is not the hostel experience, those who think that it is are the ones who bring the bugs and rate high. İf you charge for a room all the guests higher than a hotel then the conditions should be according to this.

BED BUGS! The hostel is fabulous and all the working are fantastic. Only downside is bed bugs. Thy were SUPER helpful about it, and over all wasn’t an awful experience because they were so helpful

BED BUGS, aggressive male staff member on the verge of fighting with me because I used the washing machine to wash my potentially contaminated clothes without asking for his "permission" He was also consuming alcohol at 10am on his shift. Female staff were all super helpful and kind. This place is known to have bed bugs (check older reviews) and the owner/manager likes to pretend it doesn't exist by having bad reviews etc removed. I had to contact support to reinstate my review. AVOID THIS PLACE

Staff was very friendly and helpfull. There was even free breakfast One day there were bedbugs but they cleaned the whole room as soon as they discovered the issue

Lovely property with great hosts. The hostel is in a good location, only a 5 minute walk from the bus station. My bed did have bed bugs as 14/11/23. Mattress was cleaned as well as room on departure.

Loved this little hostel, really good vibe, free breakfasts and friendly staff. Unfortunately found bed bugs (which just happens sometimes) and had to move somewhere else but staff were very professional and offered refunds and acted straight away to get rid of them so haven’t let it affect my rating ☺️

Shanti is good by Macedonian standards and other travelers came there from other hostels, which were not good. Very close to the bus station. Morning staff was great and super thorough check in. Met so many great friends! Facilities: One guy got bed bugs and another had his locker break (key wouldn't open it anymore).

hostel has everything you need and so close to the bus station which i love. only bummer was those little bed bugs which seem to be hard to escape atm (i’ve had them twice in a few weeks). the owner was so great about it tho! moved me to a new room, washed my clothes and refunded me! which i was so thankful for!

Bed bug warning - found a bed bug before checking out, revealed it to a staff member, was met with denial and more of a sweeping it under the rug situation. Would avoid, have bed bugs and refuse to acknowledge it, so could bet your your next stay being the same. Hostel itself has a good atmosphere, location and most of the staff are very helpful and knowledgable about Skopje!

When we stayed, there were bed bugs in one of the rooms so someone had to sleep outside. The bathroom facilities could have been cleaner. In being close to the city center the location was great.

Das Personal war super nett. Jedoch gab es in einem Raum Bettwanzen. Das Frühstück ist nicht lokal angepasst, Choco Pops und Cornflakes, das war’s. Dafür gab es kostenlos Kaffee.

Bed bugs :( At least in our visit the hostel clearly lacked better cleaning and airing in the rooms. After sleeping for one night I started seeing bedbug bites in my body (some bites take 24h-48h to appear and become really bad). After complaining, staff said they could do nothing since the hostel was fully booked. Second night had to sleep in the common area couch because our rooms was infested. I know this can be a problem in many hostels, but I really did not feel that staff/owners cared much about cu

I ended up with bedbugs after staying here. Unknowingly stayed here for two nights and then woke up with really bad bites.