The Hostelz.com Review
Goodbye Lenin Hostel has a interesting feel to it. They have taken Lenin and put his quotes all over the hostel. The style is very socialist in colour and feel, and they've got a few old-style objects from the period to play with. The Lenin head is a great way to greet you to the hostel, and the staff is very friend and smiley (a bit too smiley -- what are they hiding, we wonder?).
The Location
This hostel is about twenty-minute walk from Main Square, but even though other hostels are closer, it’s a easy walk (straight from hostel) and it's not that far. It’s on a side road, but once you get on the street you should see the big sign at the start of the lane. There is a lot of useful shops on the way to Main Square as well like a laundry place and many small shops to buy food.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The beds are solid and lockers are at the bottom of your bunk. You can sit up in bed and not hit head on top bunk! The mattress is fine and the room is clean. There is a shower/toilet in some dorms, which is great, plus two more down the hallway on first floor. The sheets are new and clean.
Common Spaces
This place has a huge basement where the kitchen and common area is. They have a pool table, and two TVs to watch while you drink their cheap beer in their bar! There is even enough space to have a dance, on busy days the basement is the place where it all happens. We think in general this is bit of a party hostel, with drinking games run every week by the hot workers.
Summary
Even though it is not the closest hostel to main square in Krakow, it makes up with the atmosphere. We really liked staying there -- the staff gets drunk with the guests on their days off, and in general everyone has a great time while staying. Some nights they gather guests from both of their hostels in one place and have a great big drinking night there -- it is great they can get together and party like that.
The Location
This hostel is about twenty-minute walk from Main Square, but even though other hostels are closer, it’s a easy walk (straight from hostel) and it's not that far. It’s on a side road, but once you get on the street you should see the big sign at the start of the lane. There is a lot of useful shops on the way to Main Square as well like a laundry place and many small shops to buy food.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The beds are solid and lockers are at the bottom of your bunk. You can sit up in bed and not hit head on top bunk! The mattress is fine and the room is clean. There is a shower/toilet in some dorms, which is great, plus two more down the hallway on first floor. The sheets are new and clean.
Common Spaces
This place has a huge basement where the kitchen and common area is. They have a pool table, and two TVs to watch while you drink their cheap beer in their bar! There is even enough space to have a dance, on busy days the basement is the place where it all happens. We think in general this is bit of a party hostel, with drinking games run every week by the hot workers.
Summary
Even though it is not the closest hostel to main square in Krakow, it makes up with the atmosphere. We really liked staying there -- the staff gets drunk with the guests on their days off, and in general everyone has a great time while staying. Some nights they gather guests from both of their hostels in one place and have a great big drinking night there -- it is great they can get together and party like that.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2010
Their Description
Good Bye Lenin Hostel Details
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Good Bye Lenin Hostel Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Fun, clean, with everything you need -- except other people! This hostel would have been a blast if there had been, well, anybody else there besides me and a few close knit groups. I thought this was the busy season (July) and the place was supposedly full (girls I met at the train station couldn't get a room) but I was the only person in a six-bed room. The staff were really friendly and showed me around the entire hostel. Breakfast was good, and the bar was really cool -- but completely empty. I used my free drink voucher (just one of their many awesome extras -- also free laundry and free internet) and the only other person in the bar sketched me out so I went back to my room. This place would be really fun if you come in a group or if more people start to discover it! The location isn't too hard to find if you have a good map and it's maybe a fifteen-minute walk from the train station. Old Town is just a ten-minute walk or less. I'd really recommend this place, I just wish I'd had better luck with other guests! — Daphne , USA (2008-09-16) Awesome this place has everything, hot showers, free internet, free laundry, and free breakfast, and lets not forget dave. the bar's good and cheap and the people are really friendly, except for one of the cleaners, she'll get you if you're not careful. — roderick mcnioll , Scotland (2007-12-20) I thought the hostel was in a reasonably good location, considering the cheap cost of staying there. I was relieved that they picked me up from the station as I think that it would be difficult to find it for the first time, but it is right by the Kazimierz and about a fifteen- to twenty-minute walk from the station. Twelve minutes is not really accurate. There are two trams you can catch to/from the station (13 and 34). It takes about five minutes by tram. The shared bathrooms/toilets were clean and the showers were excellent. You get a free drink voucher when you arrive -- but it is only for one type of alcoholic drink -- as a non-drinker, I had to give it away. I was disappointed with the hostel for the following reasons. My husband and I were picked up from the station on arrival (they refused to pick us up from the airport, despite the website saying they will) but when we were leaving five days later, they were reluctant to help, and offered stupidly expensive prices for transfers to the station (20 PLN) and airport (40 PLN). A tram ride is 3 PLN and the train to the airport is 4 PLN. I found this disappointing, and when we said that we would make our own journeys they did not seem to care. Also the milk for breakfast is kept in a normal water jug, rather than a thermal container, so unless you are there quite early on, expect cereal with warm milk. Additionally, our room had obviously not been well cleaned as we found some rubbish of a previous guest next to our bed and the edges of the floor were generally dirty. Plus our sheets and duvet covers were not clean -- they had marks on them. The reception area can stink of smoke -- not nice when you are a non-smoker. The reception people, although friendly, were rather useless when it came to tourist information. We asked for some help with tours to Auschwitz and they said they could help, yet all they could offer was an expensive day tour for 100 PLN each. Having already read reviews on the internet, I knew that making your own way there was cheapest. The train fare to the station nearest to Auschwitz is 9 PLN per person (each way), and the guided tour of Auschwitz is 26 PLN. You do the math! The hostel is situated off an alley way (small side street). As I was there in winter and it was dark early, had I been on my own, I would have felt nervous, although the hostel did say that it was perfectly safe. I personally would not stay here again, however at just over £10 per person (for a private room) it is good value for money. — Someone (2006-12-07)