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Please see Tallinn for other available Tallinn hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
Vana Tom (formerly known as the Old Barn Hostel) is a wonderful hostel in a wonderful town. The owners are friendly and the hostel is everything that a hostel should be – cheap, clean and in an excellent location.
Coming by ferry or by air it can be confusing getting into the centre of town since most buses/trams stop outside at the Viru Hotel. It is only a short, although not very well signposted, walk to Raekoja plats, the main square. Vana Tom is within minutes away from the main square and its bars and restaurants.
Western prices are slowly catching up within Tallinn – but the hostel is still excellent value for 235 EEK/15€ (and 15EEK discount for HI cardholders) at the time of this review. The price also includes a breakfast pack of a baguette and ham/cheese, egg, orange juice and fruit.
The hostel has been recently renovated and is in excellent condition. The bathrooms are all impeccably clean and hot water always flows, although the chlorine smell of Estonian water can be potent at times. The triple-decker bunkbeds look a little intimidating but are quite comfortable. Although there is only one key for each room, the reception is open 24 hours and is quite secure. There is a stripclub upstairs above the hostel but no problems should be expected from it.
Coming by ferry or by air it can be confusing getting into the centre of town since most buses/trams stop outside at the Viru Hotel. It is only a short, although not very well signposted, walk to Raekoja plats, the main square. Vana Tom is within minutes away from the main square and its bars and restaurants.
Western prices are slowly catching up within Tallinn – but the hostel is still excellent value for 235 EEK/15€ (and 15EEK discount for HI cardholders) at the time of this review. The price also includes a breakfast pack of a baguette and ham/cheese, egg, orange juice and fruit.
The hostel has been recently renovated and is in excellent condition. The bathrooms are all impeccably clean and hot water always flows, although the chlorine smell of Estonian water can be potent at times. The triple-decker bunkbeds look a little intimidating but are quite comfortable. Although there is only one key for each room, the reception is open 24 hours and is quite secure. There is a stripclub upstairs above the hostel but no problems should be expected from it.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
January 2004
Their Description
Vana Tom Hostel Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | 1 Väike-Karja Street, Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia |
| Location | |
| Website | www.hostel.ee |
| Telephone | +372 6 31 32 52 |
| Fax | +372 6 31 32 52 |
How is Vana Tom Hostel rated on other websites?
Vana Tom Hostel Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
First good impression decreased in time I accommodated in this hostel just for one night, but it was rather enough. First impression was ok -- good place in the Old Town, nice interior (the only really nice thing there for me). We were two persons and booked room for eight. It was a small room with four two-floored beds, fortunately no other clients were in that room that time. No towels (in previous hostel we stayed in towels were included into the price). No lockers actually -- you have to get a key for token payment. Internet was not for free. Water in bathroom is rationed. So we were a bit confused and didn't want to take "free" city maps -- who knows, maybe we would have to pay for them as well. The staff looked bored and without any interest in clients. In conclusion I am rather disappointed, but it could be worse. — Eva , Lithuania (2009-08-17) Thought it was fine, no hygeine issues. Kitchen was the only communal area and dorms could maybe get a bit crowded if full but I'd happily stay there again. — Chris Beales (2006-09-26) Hostel is very nice and friendly and very well located. and with Liza as receptionist, is really the top of the top where i ever been. — Giuseppe (2006-08-26) Location is great. Hygiene is fine. Some paper thin walls would make it necessary that the staff ensures the application of the rules of the hostel. However, the staff was not capable to deal with people who use the kitchen as living room (and stay there until one to two a.m., that was the problem in two nights) or who were drunken (shouting at each other, singing, slashing doors until four a.m., that was the problem for the other two nights). We complained, the reception appologised and nothing happened. Avoid the double room (room two, next to the kitchen) under any circumstances. Please also be aware what this means when the receptionist does not have the skills, capabilities, and tools to deal with drunken people. — Daniel Lang (2006-06-23) I stayed in this hostel for ten days and I think it is acceptable but only when it is half-full. The nine-bed dormitory room are too little for nine persons with their luggage. The water pressure is not enough when all the showers are in use. Moreover, the wireless internet connection signal is very weak, or totally absent, in upstairs rooms. Sometimes, the sheets are torn. Apart from that the the position is good (five hundred meters from the Old Town center), the upstairs bathroom (the one I used) is clean, and the staff is enough polite. — There are certainly better places to stay in Tallinn (2006-06-19) This is the worst hostel I've ever stayed at. The staff are unfriendly and absolutely unhelpful. When I complained about the service the woman at the reception said this would not be her problem and then claimed she could not understand me anymore! The rooms are tiny and crowded with people. We had to sleep on the luggage bunks and did not even get sheets or pillows on the first night. The bathrooms are not very clean and there is no hot water in the showers. I do not recommend this place to anybody. — Pat (2005-08-15) This hostel was both good and bad. The location is great, but the hostel itself certainly did not live up to all the hype I had read about it. I thought it was too expensive (it comes out to a couple euros more than great hostels in Berlin). It was actually cheaper to take a ship to Helsinki than to pay for a night at this hostel. The breakfast was the biggest free breakfast I had during my entire four-month trip, but it wasn't very good. I didn't want to waste it, so it took some effort to get all of the soggy sandwich and bruised fruit down. The staff are pretty much not helpful — they're not trying to be mean, it just seems that they don't know *anything* about Tallinn. To add to that, all of the information binders they have available (with timetables for trains, ferries, museums to visit, etc.) are over five years old. Why bother having such outdated information? The downstairs bathrooms smelled absolutely foul so I was very pleased to be upstairs where the bathrooms were very clean. The place was nearly empty while I was there — but if this place filled up I could see the 12-bed dorm room being stupidly crowded — with not enough room for packs/luggage and people. — Stacy (2005-03-21) This is a great location, with excellent staff and the kitchen is just great. Everytime I come to Tallinn I stay at the Vana Tom. — Anna (2005-03-13) What a great location right in the old town. The facilities were decent and the staff were very friendly. I felt very safe in the Vana Tom and would recommend it highly. — Carlos (2005-03-07) I thought it was clean and tidy and centrally located. The staff were pleasant and helpful. — Stuart Andrew Wilson (2005-01-29) The hygiene in the place was fine in December 2004. The whole place was not too full so I didn't notice any loud noise either. In fact, I slept quite well. If the three-tiered bunks were all full it would be pretty crammed in the dorms, but the room is still big. The location makes it all good, though. Tallinn is a nice city and not infested with tourists, so you don't feel like leaving it in the afternoon. Indeed, nighttime is a great time to wander around. The problem is that the place is pretty expensive, $22 US when I was there, which just seems too much. — Thomas (2005-01-17) Well, I stayed here and had an awesome time. The bar across the street, "bar with no name, nimeta bar" is awesome and there used to be a strip club above the hostel. What more could you want? — Sam (2005-01-09) Hygiene — I don't think people here know what that is. — Jonas (2004-11-07) I stayed here in September of 2002. I liked this hostel because it was located in the old town. One major plus of this hostel is the use of a kitchen, so if you're on a tight budget, instead of eating out you can just cook your food here. I thought it was clean and quiet. — Julian Balgobin (2004-09-13) I have stayed in many places, but this has to be one of the worst. I was not impressed at all with this hostel. It was absolutely filthy! The ever-growing mold in the showers was gross, and the shower curtains were disgusting. One does not feel clean after taking a shower. And I won't even talk about the toilets.
The location is great, but there are other options. The striptease bar above did not bother me. It was very noisy within the hostels, with guests talking late into the night in the kitchen and walking up and down the corridors, etc. The breakfast was alright. Nice thing about the breakfast was that it came in a "lunch" bag, so you could take it and eat elsewhere (why would you want to stay in that dump any longer than you have to?).
The room I stayed in (I booked a room by myself) was adequate and reasonably clean. I don't know when this hostel was renovated, but the pictures on this site do not reflect the reality I witnessed in August, 2004. The kitchen counters were cluttered, and the garbage was always overflowing. I don't know what the upper floor was like, but the main floor was very dark.
This hostel has so much potential, if only they took hygiene into consideration. — Canadian Chick (2004-09-03)