Blue Bird Boutique Hostel Riga Old Town

This hostel seemed ok until my friend woke me up on our 2nd night covered in bed bug bites. I recognize that this can happen in any kind of accommodation, but what disappointed me most was the staff response. There seemed to be no sense of urgency or protocol. We had to advocate for all of our needs, and there was no indication that they were going to change the mattress or take measures to prevent continued spread. Other guests were not notified. I would not stay here again. Beds uncomfortable.

I stayed here for three nights, and overall, it was okay. The only thing I want to mention is the keys—you'll need 3-4 separate metal keys to access all the facilities, as there are no digital keys. On the positive side, the place was clean, and I didn’t encounter any bed bugs during my stay.

Everything seemed fine, but I got multiple bed bug bites during my stay. This is a serious hygiene issue and should be addressed.

location was good. doing the self check-in after the reception closed was fairly easy and well guided. when i checked the bottom of my bed upon my arrival around midnight bloody red spots spiced up with other disgusting trash is not what i wanted to see. it was late, i was tired, i’m stupid. i stayed for the night. when the receptionist arrived to work the next morning they first told me how sorry they are. receptionist said they take the bed bugs -matter very seriously. then they told me there is no way this issue can be related to bed bugs because ”we don’t have bed bugs”. then the receptionist told me this is what wood as a material naturally does (a magical piece of processed plywood bleeding…. red blood? wait, WHAT?!?) as i had paid for two nights and there was no refunds available, i first considered staying for both of them….. but there was no proper check for the bed (or any other beds for that matter). also, the hostel kindly moved me, not to another room, but to another bed that was clean but also right next to the first one and in the same wooden bed-structure. with a big smile on their face the receptionist yapped about how they had closed hostel for two days couple of months ago to check if there was bed bugs and had found *nothing* — all this while we were standing right in front of *something*. when i asked how i’m supposed to act if i get bites or see bed bugs, i got told again: ”we don’t have bed bugs”. i decided it was better to leave. for me the actions talk louder than words and this for sure didn’t feel like either me or the matter was taken seriously. maybe i am overly scared, even hysterical? you can have a look at the pictures and decide for yourself.

La localisation en plein centre et les dortoirs qui sont bien équipés avec les capsules, les pièces communes étaient propres Mon compagnon et moi avons été piqué chacun une dizaine de fois par des punaises de lit. On l’a mentionné à la personne de la réception qui nous a ensuite dit que ça doit venir d’autre part car le bâtiment a déjà été traité (donc l’auberge ne compte pas résoudre ce problème). Nous avons changé de box pour la dernière nuit et nous avons été à nouveau piqué tout autant que la première fois…

The localisation! Bed bugs !!

The location is frankly unbeatable, right in the center of the old town, and the hostel facilities would be OK too. BUT... the BUTs are HUGE! and need serious, urgent attention. The place has great potential, but my experience was unfortunately awful. More below. 1) Reception hours are a joke: if you are like most travelers, out and about during the day trying to make the best of it, you will never have the chance to meet or speak to a staff member, as they are only around in the middle of the day, then nowhere to be found. As a result anything can happen (guests smoking in shared rooms and the like; toilet paper is over? maybe tomorrow; and so on). 2) BEDBUGS INFESTED BED!!!! I was bitten in many parts of the body. I was in dorm room 401, bed F, in case this is useful to anybody. Try your best to avoid. 3) In connection to 1 and 2 above: NO ASSISTANCE whatsoever. If you experience any problem, you are on your own. After waking up to multiple bedbugs bites on the first night, as I was out during the day (so no chance to speak to a staff member), I politely contacted the hotel staff both via email and via the WhatsApp number provided "for assistance in case of any problems", to signal the problem and to request if possible to be reassigned to a non-infested bed. All I got was complete silence: the issue ignored altogether, and so the guest. Bedbugs are very a serious issue in a shared dorm, which warrants for serious and timely action to be taken. Whereas I had to spend a second night in a bed which I knew was infested as I had nowhere else to go and got no assistance whatsoever from the hostel staff. Unsurprisingly, I woke up to new bites on the second night, which would have been avoidable. One week has passed since then (to give the hostel staff a chance before leaving a thoroughly negative review, which I HATE doing and almost never have) and I am yet to receive a word of acknowledgement - let alone a solution on the spot, or an apology ex-post. I was simply ignored. HUGE margin for improvement in terms of assistance and care for guests. Starting with a thorough disinfestation maybe, and then ideally bothering to answer when an issue is reported by hostel guests via the channel indicated for the purpose.