Ambient Hostel is a convenient place to stay in Keszthely, close to the Palace, town centre and a half-hour walk to Lake Batalon. Situated behind a café, which provides paid internet access and a common area that is shared with café guests, the hostel seems a bit of an afterthought to the main café business but is new and a comfortable place to stay. The staff who run the café and manage hostel guests are friendly. You need to email or phone ahead to book in the winter (November to March) as hostel reception is not always open.
The Location
Ambient Hostel is located one-and-a-half kilometers north of the main bus and train stations and right next to Festetics Palace. Lake Batalon is adjacent to the bus and train stations a little less than two kilometers from the hostel. The hostel is located behind Ambient Kavahaus in a residential area but is easy to spot and well signed. Tourist information, shops, and supermarkets are located five hundred meters south of the hostel in the town centre (though there is no kitchen at the hostel).
Rooms and Bathrooms
The hostel offers two-, three-, five-, six-, and ten-bed dorms in two separate buildings. Shower and toilet are separate and located down the hallway. In the building we stayed in, there was a common area with table, chairs, sofa, and cable TV. There is no lockable storage in the dorms. The rooms themselves and buildings are secure, however -- being located off the main road through a locked gate to which you are given the key. The beds are reasonable, though the mattresses aren't great and the quilt covers are a nasty, scratchy synthetic. The hostel is clean and well heated. The combined shower/toilet isn't ideal for larger dorms but the bathrooms are clean.
Common Spaces
There is no kitchen (meals are available from the café) and no breakfast is provided. In addition to the common area within the hostel building, there is a large area upstairs in the café that is available to guests. There are many sofas and tables and some books and games at the far end. Once again, this area is primarily for café patrons and can therefore be very smoky and doesn't have the feel of a common area in a hostel.
Summary
This hostel is a reasonable budget accommodation in Keszelthy but there are no extras and not much of a hostel atmosphere.
— Exklusive Hostelz.com Übersicht
February 2008
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