Hostel Royal Hotel Kabul

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.

— Exklusive Hostelz.com Übersicht
July 2006