Zimmer Hostel - Malaya Morskaja is handy to everything -- attractions, transport, sightseeing, and shopping. There is a certain charm to the place and it's clean and tidy. For the price, it's basic but gets the job done quite well.
The Location
Hostel Zimmer Nice is located right in the heart of central St. Petersburg and is only five minutes' walk from the river, Hermitage, canal cruises, shopping, information center, and a number of other attractions. One of the major shopping streets, Nevskiy Prospect, is a hundred meters away. The neighborhood has a central city feel and seems safe enough, with a major road nearby. The hostel is also easy to navigate back to after a days sightseeing on foot.
Getting to the hostel to start with can be an adventure in itself. St. Petersburg is made up of block after block of private courtyards -- and this hostel lives in one of them. You will need to be buzzed through three different gates and doors before you get into the hostel for the first time. It's located on the second story and is a lot cleaner than the stairwell leading up to it.
The nearest metro station is about ten minutes' walk down Nevskiy Prospect and takes a certain amount of luck to use successfully if you don't speak Russian. Getting around on foot is easy, though. For longer journeys, you should either take a taxi or find someone to help you with the buses and trains. Taxi drivers generally don't speak much English, so have your destination and return point written down in Russian before you catch one.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The hostel itself is quite small and has a definite cosy feeling to it. That said, the rooms are spacious enough and come with door locks and lockers. Linen, blankets, and pillows are provided. The bathrooms are clean and quite adequate for the number of beds.
Common Spaces
The kitchen is small but functional and has cooking facilities and a refrigerator. Be careful about drinking the water in St. Petersburg, including in the hostels -- it may not be safe to drink.
There is a small common space, but it is small. There are two free internet computers available at reception. Reception is not staffed twenty-four hours a day, but the receptionist is always in the hostel somewhere and sleeps in the room behind the front desk. Reception will also look after your bags after you check out if needed. There are not a lot of other bells and whistles here, but what they do have is quite adequate to the task. You will find this hostel a reasonable place to spend a few nights and use as a base of operations, but probably not a social hub. There are not many brochures at the hostel, so your best option for information in the information center near the waterfront, about five minutes' walk from the hostel.
Summary
This is a no-frills hostel and doesn't score many points for its spaciousness but it is good and central, the staff are happy to get out of bed in the middle of the night if you lost your key, and it has everything you actually need to get by as a backpacker. All up, this is a good place to stay.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
July 2008
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