Hostel RPRA - Riga, Latvia

Comment by Karve

May 2005

Upon first arriving at this hostel, we found about seven other people sitting on the steps outside waiting to get the rooms that they had reserved. Inside the office was an extremely unamused and stern woman who insisted that the "hostel did not accept new visitors on weekends." So, the seven people waiting outside were apparently sitting there dumbfounded, trying to figure out what they were going to do and where they were going to go for the night. When we showed her our printed reservation, which noted our paid deposit (from Hosteling International), she finally relented and allowed us into a room. If I had not been traveling with a friend who spoke Russian, however, I believe we would have be turned away. My friend kept saying to her, "but you see, we have our official documents, so you should let us in." The room itself was kind of dusty and dirty. The bathroom was ok. But the shower was absolutely vile, and it seemed that an unctuous hirsute porcine beast had showered in there for a few months before our arrival. The most disturbing thing about this hostel was the strange bugs that came out into our room at night. They were not roaches, but I am not sure exactly what they were. We noticed them when we got up and turned the light on after dark. Once the light came on, they scurried quickly under the beds. After that, we put all backpacks and suitcases on top of chairs and on unused beds. We were grateful to flee this establishment uneaten in the morning.