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Please see Amsterdam for other available Amsterdam hostels and accommodations.
Please see Amsterdam for other available Amsterdam hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
Hostel Royal Hotel Kabul is located just ten to fifteen minutes walk from the Amsterdam Centraal train station, in the direction of the Red Light District, and is only two streets away from the main throughfare of the infamous Amsterdam Red Light District. This is probably one of the few good points about the hostel, which is one of the worst hostels we stayed in throughout Europe.
The reception area is dark and dingy looking, and the counter staff are rather rude and abrupt. To get to the rooms, which are located on the first, second, and third floors, one has to go up extremely narrow and steep spiral staircases, with each successive staircase narrower and steeper than the previous one. This is indeed an extremely daunting and risky endeavour, especially when carrying a backpack.
The corridors of the hostel along which the rooms are located are extremely dim, and the carpet looks like it has not been swept in years. The rooms are no better -- they are poorly maintained and extremely dusty. The sheets also do not look very clean. Places like the tops of the cabinets and the air vents are also very, very dusty. In addition, the ventilation of the rooms is very poor, resulting in the whole room being stuffy and dusty. The windows open out into a back alley, and the pigeons seem to take the window sills as their nightly place to roost, so opening the windows is also not a very pleasant prospect. Many of the walls are also covered with graffiti, making the place look even more shabby.
The bathrooms and toilets are truly horrendous. Not only are they dimly lighted, the walls and floors are all in need of a good, thorough scrubbing. The drainage and shower system are also in great need of an upgrade, as they function like relics from the eighties. The showers and toilets are also located in an isolated corner of the hostel, making trips to the toilet at night a truly scary prospect.
The only saving grace about this hostel is the breakfast, which consists of bread, ham, eggs, tea and, coffee. The food is pretty good, and the breakfast room overlooks the canals of Amsterdam, which is quite picturesque.
This hostel is not really an ideal place to stay in if you want a comfortable stay. However, it does have the advantage of being pretty empty in spite of its good location, even in midsummer, so it is quite easy to get a room here for obvious reasons even if you do not book ahead.
The reception area is dark and dingy looking, and the counter staff are rather rude and abrupt. To get to the rooms, which are located on the first, second, and third floors, one has to go up extremely narrow and steep spiral staircases, with each successive staircase narrower and steeper than the previous one. This is indeed an extremely daunting and risky endeavour, especially when carrying a backpack.
The corridors of the hostel along which the rooms are located are extremely dim, and the carpet looks like it has not been swept in years. The rooms are no better -- they are poorly maintained and extremely dusty. The sheets also do not look very clean. Places like the tops of the cabinets and the air vents are also very, very dusty. In addition, the ventilation of the rooms is very poor, resulting in the whole room being stuffy and dusty. The windows open out into a back alley, and the pigeons seem to take the window sills as their nightly place to roost, so opening the windows is also not a very pleasant prospect. Many of the walls are also covered with graffiti, making the place look even more shabby.
The bathrooms and toilets are truly horrendous. Not only are they dimly lighted, the walls and floors are all in need of a good, thorough scrubbing. The drainage and shower system are also in great need of an upgrade, as they function like relics from the eighties. The showers and toilets are also located in an isolated corner of the hostel, making trips to the toilet at night a truly scary prospect.
The only saving grace about this hostel is the breakfast, which consists of bread, ham, eggs, tea and, coffee. The food is pretty good, and the breakfast room overlooks the canals of Amsterdam, which is quite picturesque.
This hostel is not really an ideal place to stay in if you want a comfortable stay. However, it does have the advantage of being pretty empty in spite of its good location, even in midsummer, so it is quite easy to get a room here for obvious reasons even if you do not book ahead.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2006
Their Description
Hostel Royal Hotel Kabul Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | Warmoesstraat 38-42, Amsterdam (Red Light District), North Holland, Netherlands |
| Website | None (if you know the URL of their website, tell us and we'll add it) |
| Telephone | +31 (0)20 623 7158 |
| Fax | +31 (0)20 620 0869 |
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Did the job not as bad as some say. i stayed there often in the decade of 1980. — renard johnson , american (2009-08-19) Smoky Stayed at the Hotel Kabul with a friend for a few nights in '74. Seems like nothing has changed since then. Maybe that's the way it always will be. And why not? You can go back to your mamas clean sheets anytime,but you will never forget H.K. (the pool table and the police station next door). I didn't. — Lars , Sweden (2009-08-12) Cheap, but for a very good reason! I stayed in this hostel/hotel/trashcan a couple of times over the years,
yeah I'm not proud. The first time I thought it was bad with dirty bathrooms and an assortment of unsavoury clientèle passing you on the stairs, but it was cheap and it's location right in the heart of the red light district made it passable if only for a night or two. But on my second visit I was amazed at how far this place had sunk. Dirty sheets, rude staff, dirt and grime everywhere, dangerous unsecure fire trap rooms, and bathrooms that make a quick scrub in the local canal seem appealing! I can't imagine that the cheapest hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan could be worse than this place! You do see a lot of homeless people on the streets of the red light district these days. But don't be fooled. These are guests of hotel Kabul who've wised up! — Alan , UK (2009-05-27) Who gives a sh*t? me and my hubbie have been here on several occasions, and yes, it quite clearly is basic and shocking to the majority of posh snobs who like to get f***ed on the finest weed in the world, but to the rest of us humble stoners it's great! when you get to the red light, go straight into a cafe and get some ass kicking weed, then go and drop your bags off, it's not such a shock then. the hotel staff have always been ok considering they must have to deal with some right nasty wasters on occasions, ladies take your high heels off before even considering the stairs as they are very very steep and narrow, then go and have some fun! it's f***ing amsterdam red light for gods sake! enjoy. we'll be back in june and hopefully it wont have changed a bit. — jude and jules , british (2009-05-26) After sampling some Bombay Black in one of the nearby coffee shops, this was like the Hilton. Not the best place for a ham shank after watching a live show right enough, but that's by the by as I still can't raise a smile, and it's over three years since I was there! The only off-putting thing was the women parading in shop windows nearby, proffering their bodies as bits of meat. Have they no shame? — John Norman Morrison (Nokie) , Scotland (2009-04-01) Can't remember much stayed there twenty years ago and seem to remember it to be quite plain, simple, cheap, and did the job. can't really remember much but nothing bad happened to us. we must have hit a lucky period. — BOB , UK (2008-04-19) Some things never change! Well after reading these posts I thought I should add that I lived in this hostel for a few months in the summer of 1975 -- yes, that long ago, and it hasn't changed since then. I searched to see if this hostel was still operating after all these years and I was very surprised to see that it is. I wonder if the police station is in the same building? Well I was all of eighteen years old when I lived there and now I am fifty. I have good memories of the dope smoking and the heroin addict chasing me around the dorm with a syringe full of air -- more deadly than H. But hey, if you are young and want an experience, then the Kabul is part of life's experiences. How do you know what the light of day can bring unless you experience the night? Have fun and live a little. — Sorry... no names , Australian (2007-05-29) We were four guys staying at Kabul, it was awesome. so the bathrooms were dirty, but it was a great time. The staff was funny as hell, and they tried to make fun of one of my friends. it was a blast. Next time i go to Amsterdam, i would rent a room here again. it's nicely located, and easy to find. thumbs up. — Jesper Denmark (2007-02-19) By far the worst hostel I stayed in during 3 months in Europe. The showers were horrible, it was noisy, and there were people smoking in the room the entire night. I was the only girl in a room full of guys, so it was a bit creepy. — Kath (2006-08-03) The Kabul is a pit of miserable decay. The musty stench is stale and almost overwhelming. It has rude people and even worse food. Don't get fooled. This place is hellish. I have traveled all over Europe and have stayed in Amsterdam for weeks on end, in several different hotels. It's just grotesque — The Kabul is the most disgusting hive that I have ever run across and away from. Stay out or get ruined by the despair and blackness that hovers around that sh*t hole, The Hotel Kabul. — Shiva Chrome (2005-10-18) I stayed in a triple room on the 1st floor, room 19. This was last week, Sept. 8, 2005. It was the first time I had been to Amsterdam and all the good hotels were fully booked. It was half past 4 in the morning and it seemed like it was our last option so we took it. For the three of us it cost 265 euros, that's with our key deposit. The reception man was called Shereef; he was creepy. I advise you not to go to this hotel, it's a dump. A mate said that the food tastes like s**t and the toilet was poor. I did not shower for two days until I found a better hotel. They should close the Kabul down. — Marco,18, UK (2005-09-18) Hey, this place isn't so bad. It's not the most clean the friendly place in town. It stinks and there's graffiti everywhere, but they let people smoke bong and drink in their rooms, probably the only place in the center of Dam that does. If you like a nice, peaceful and clean hostel with excellent service DON'T go to Kabul. But think of roommates. The international guys in my room had gear from the coffee shops, which we smoked all night together after the bars closed. It was a good night and they were cool, but it's not for everyone, and the bugs weren't appreciated. Three stars but many people would hate it. — Chris from SW England (2005-08-03) Oh my god I can't believe they even give you the choice of one star cos this place doesn't even deserve that! It should also not be in the time out guide for Amsterdam either. The door handle fell off in my friends hand! The staff are the rudest people I have ever met and tried every scam in the book! Trying even to not give me back a key deposit for a key I just gave them! Fire hazard and hell on earth! Never stay here ever!!! — Rich (2005-07-05) Room was dirty and the sheets unchanged from the previous visitors. It was so bad that we demanded our money back but were told to "f*** off". Staff were rude and obnoxious. A hostel so sh*tty it deserves to go out of business...I would rather sleep at Centraal Station than book a room here again. — James (2005-07-05) When I got to Amsterdam, I had only booked for one night and was due to stay for five. I started to look around and found this place. It seemed clean in reception and so I took the plunge on a €23 a night room. It wasn't the cleanest, but I felt safe and the view out of the window on the first floor was brilliant. I really enjoyed getting up after a heavy night and reading a book with a solid splif until my mate decided to wake. The other people in the room were clean (apart from one guy whose feet looked and smelt like he had been walking round all night barefoot). I only stayed for two nights but the experience and the people I met from that room will stay in my head a lifetime, even if the details of the room won't! — Michael Moss - England (2005-06-01)