The Hostelz.com Review
Hostel Mostel - Sofia is in a fairly central location -- Sofia is not such a huge city and you can pretty much walk anywhere in the center within fifteen or twenty minutes.
The Location
The hostel is located at 2A Makedonia Avenue. You can catch an OK taxi here from the international bus station. It is located two shops after the Caesar casino. (Be careful which brand of taxi you take because the other brands can be very expensive!) The hostel is easy to miss because the entrance is a garage door and there is only a little sign (as seen in the picture). When you find it, go up and press the buzzer on the right side.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms and bathrooms are very clean. We've never been in a hostel where the soap dispensers are constantly refilled and the toilets have a perfumed/coloured flush! They even have spray fresh in there!
The rooms are nice and well heated in the cold. Be careful however that you don't book a stay in the loft/attic (the cheapest option) because there is no heating up there, and it is freezing! If the weather is warm, no worries. The dorms also have their own lockers and some even have their own bathroom (depending on how much you pay). The rooms are very secure with swipe card entry. Private rooms are also available but they are out of the main hostel area and a short walk away.
The showers are very clean and are separate from the toilets (fortunately). They have hooks to hang your clothes, and also have soap dispensers for the shower! A free towel is available if you ask them for it.
Common Spaces
The common area of the hostel was previously an art gallery, which makes for a warm, comfortable atmosphere. The common room/hall is composed of the following -- three computers (free internet and Wi-Fi), two very large sofas (about twenty-person capacity), two dining tables, kitchen, a special shoes-off area with a fairly huge flat screen TV, toilets, reception, luggage storage, book exchange, free pool table.
The price includes buffet breakfast with salami, cheeses, olives, bread, all kinds of spreads, and sometimes fruit. It also includes free dinner every night -- a plate of spaghetti and a free beer! Eating dinner with other guests also is an easy way to meet new people.
Summary
For the price of the hostel, this place is a bargain. It's got a good location, super friendly staff, good social atmosphere, and so many free things it makes your head spin! Just avoid sleeping in the loft/attic and you'll have an awesome time!
The Location
The hostel is located at 2A Makedonia Avenue. You can catch an OK taxi here from the international bus station. It is located two shops after the Caesar casino. (Be careful which brand of taxi you take because the other brands can be very expensive!) The hostel is easy to miss because the entrance is a garage door and there is only a little sign (as seen in the picture). When you find it, go up and press the buzzer on the right side.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms and bathrooms are very clean. We've never been in a hostel where the soap dispensers are constantly refilled and the toilets have a perfumed/coloured flush! They even have spray fresh in there!
The rooms are nice and well heated in the cold. Be careful however that you don't book a stay in the loft/attic (the cheapest option) because there is no heating up there, and it is freezing! If the weather is warm, no worries. The dorms also have their own lockers and some even have their own bathroom (depending on how much you pay). The rooms are very secure with swipe card entry. Private rooms are also available but they are out of the main hostel area and a short walk away.
The showers are very clean and are separate from the toilets (fortunately). They have hooks to hang your clothes, and also have soap dispensers for the shower! A free towel is available if you ask them for it.
Common Spaces
The common area of the hostel was previously an art gallery, which makes for a warm, comfortable atmosphere. The common room/hall is composed of the following -- three computers (free internet and Wi-Fi), two very large sofas (about twenty-person capacity), two dining tables, kitchen, a special shoes-off area with a fairly huge flat screen TV, toilets, reception, luggage storage, book exchange, free pool table.
The price includes buffet breakfast with salami, cheeses, olives, bread, all kinds of spreads, and sometimes fruit. It also includes free dinner every night -- a plate of spaghetti and a free beer! Eating dinner with other guests also is an easy way to meet new people.
Summary
For the price of the hostel, this place is a bargain. It's got a good location, super friendly staff, good social atmosphere, and so many free things it makes your head spin! Just avoid sleeping in the loft/attic and you'll have an awesome time!
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2009
Their Description
Hostel Mostel - Sofia Details
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Hostel Mostel - Sofia Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Simply Amazing HM is excellent on all counts. I have stayed there several times while traveling in Bulgaria, and each time I am impressed by the friendly staff, clean facilities, and excellent quality of the stay. No other hostel I have stayed at has ever lived up to the expectations set by HM. One handy recommendation -- make sure to grab another one of the spare heavy Rhodope blankets in your room if staying there in the winter or late fall -- it does get chilly, as in almost all Bulgarian buildings. — Anonymous , US (2011-09-03) Awesome! Great place! I stayed here three nights, not because of the sights in Sofia -- just because it was a great place to hang out! Good common area, great dorms, pool table, and a huge TV to watch. Nice quiet central location and easy to get to from the train/bus station. — kiwiguy , New Zealand (2007-08-29) One of the best hostels in Europe. Fantastic staff, great service. After an overnight bus ride from Istanbul, we welcomed a friendly face and free pasta dinner and beer! The internet and WIFI, although a little slow, was good. There's a warm atmosphere in the common area, and everyone seem to be having a good time. After a comfortable night's sleep, it was a shame to go so soon! — Saani , Australia (2007-08-12) Brilliant Hostel A brilliant hostel. It's in a great location, and all of the six or seven staff members speak fluent English. Unlike many hostels, reception is staffed twenty-four hours as advertised and there is free dinner and well as free breakfast. They arrange tours to the Rila Monastry, they have loads of information on things to do in town, and information on buses and trains out of town. Free internet also. The only problem was that the bar kept running out of beer during our time there (maybe we drank too much?). — Dave , Great Brtiain (2007-06-06) The standard of this hostel is quite high. It's newly renovated (so it s modern and clean but, at least for me lacked the wear and tear that I like in hostels) , has spacious living room area, nice kitchen, friendly and helpful staff, great all you can eat breakfast (that I really enjoyed) and a nice evening spaghetti dinner. Good and safe place to stay close to downtown, just don't be afraid to walk past the gate into the backyard. It s there! And if you plan to take their tour to Rila, go for it (it's quite convenient if you are limited by time and not such a bad deal (although you really only get the ride and 2 hours in the monastery and the driver I had did not speak much English -- not that I expect everyone in the world to speak it, I just wanted to get more out of the long drive and learn more about Bulgaria from locals). — Yana (2007-05-08) My friends and I stayed at this hostel in September. It was such a great experience. The staff is very welcoming, they have free internet, the rooms are spacious and clean, and the tours they offer are wonderful. Also the free breakfast and dinner (spaghetti and beer) are delicious. Sofia is a beautiful city and Mostel Hostel is definitely the best hostel I've ever stayed at. — Caitlin (2006-11-24) A very friendly place to stay at in Sofia with a very good value for the money. The only little issue I saw that the layout of the bath rooms is rather inconvenient because once people occupy a shower, either a sink or a toilet cannot be used because they are behind the same locked door. If there was only an extra sink, the morning rush would be easier to handle. But this really is no big deal, I definitely recommend this hostel if you need a bed in Sofia. — Max (2006-08-24) Wow! This place was great! Mostel is very centrally located, and has very friendly and helpful staff. Breakfast is wonderful -- meats, cheeses, tomatoes, toast -- even olives! Rooms and common areas are pretty clean and inviting for guests to hang out in. Internet is free and pretty good. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time for the monestary, but the day tour of the city was superb and very cheap! Without a doubt stay here if you come to Sofia -- great hostel! — Rosa (2006-08-23) Directions are simple from the main train/bus stations, although you have to watch out for the Cyrillic alphabet; it makes finding the road trickier. Once you're there, though, the hostel is great! Friendly, knowledgeable staff, good atmosphere and people! All you can eat breakfast!! Free beer! And the organized tour to the Rila Monastery is worth every second of the scariest taxi ride ever to get there! — Mike, UK (2005-08-28) This hostel is great. The atmosphere is great and you get to meet a lot of people. The free Internet, breakfast and pasta and beer make it very good place. The guy that runs it is one of the friendliest people there and he really looks after you. It's clean and tidy all around. It's hard to get a bed, so make a booking. — Smukii (2005-07-27) This is one of the best hostels I've ever stayed in. It's very clean, has a very good breakfast, free Internet, and the owner is really nice and very helpful. Ask him! He will help you with everything. The location is also good and trips to the Rila Monastery are organized there. In the evening you get a free dinner. And everything for just 8 euros!!! Really amazing!! — Nikki (2005-04-16) The hosts couldn't be friendlier. There's free breakfast and free spaghetti dinner with a beer! Also free Internet, although it's a bit slow, all for 8 euros. Could it be better? Well it could actually. The flat is brilliant for a small hostel except for the fact that it doesn't have a heating system. These guys are using bottled gas heaters to heat all of the rooms. It's simply not good enough. The first thing is that it is poisonous. The second is that it's dangerous — drunk backpackers and gas are a lethal combination. Sooner, rather than later, somebody will get hurt. Great hostel, but do everybody a favor, charge 10 euros and invest in a heating system. It is one of those very minimum things that people should be able to expect of ANY hostel, good or bad. — Anon (2005-02-19) This is a great option if you're in town. It can be crowded in the summer (like all Sofia hostels) but you only notice it in the morning during breakfast and in the evening during the complementary spaghetti dinner. The biggest plus is the super-friendly owner who is a joy to talk to about all things Bulgarian. It has free Internet, a kitchen, and a beer a day. Sweet! — Shraffy (2005-02-07) Great hostel - good location, friendly and very helpful staff and copetitive price. The showers have hot water and the included breakfast and pasta meal an added bonus. Definitely one of the better hostels in Europe. — Daz (2005-01-18) We have traveled overland from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Sofia, and this is one of the best, and definitely the most helpful, place we have stayed. It is an outstanding hostel. The owner, Assen, is extremely helpful. He picked us up from the railway station and even fed us and gave us beer. We had a great time at this hostel and would recommend it to anyone. — Tim Rand and Anna Langstone (2004-12-14)