Simbol Hostel - Ljubljana, Slovenia

Simbol Hostel Comment by Lindsay

March 2009

Did not do it for me but it is not miserble either
A friend and I stayed at this hostel as a last resort because our friend could not accomodate us. First of all, the hostel was at least 20-25 minutes from the center, which is that much worse when your carrying heavy packs around. When we finally found the place, we tried our hardest not to judge the book by its cover because basically it looks like a dump. It is in a more residential area but the lawn is unkept, the paint job is non-existent and it just doesnt look so inviting. We arrived without a reservation, and when we finally found the guy in charge (his office is across the street in between the bar and the market), he seemed put out by us showing up un-announced. Personally, I consider any business good business so his reaction to us being there bothered me. We asked for a dorm bed and he put us in a double room that ended up being more money than we wanted to pay by a good amount, but this was unknown to us, because this was supposedly the only bed the had left (untrue). The owner than proceeded to try to push us into staying extra nights which we did not want to and I just felt like he was trying to milk money from us. He also said the market across the street was open until 12 pm...which is really open only until 6pm...Its little lies like these that make me wonder what kind of business this man runs. The beds were small but sleepable and all the rooms come with internet inside the room which is one redeeming factor of this hostel. The floors looked dirty as did the sheets. The bathrooms were the worst part, with water and pee on the floor because the showers overflowed and they did not bother to mop the floors to get rid of the smell. We also found out the night we were there, someone snuck into another guests room and stole a whole backpack where a couple was sleeping. Their door did not properly lock so this is more the hostels fault that then the couples. They do not lock the front door either so the second night I felt a bit unsafe. Overall this hostel just did not do it for me but it is not miserble either. The rent bikes out for the whole day for only 3 euro which is great because you need it being so far from the center. The free internet in the rooms is fabulous! The have a kitchen but with absolutely nothing in it, maybe a single fork and a sh*tty pot and it is dirty as well. There were a lot of people at the hostel and they have a front yard to its nice to sit outside or on the patio and talk to everyone. I would not recommend this place to friends but if nothing else is available and you dont care about the state of the place, it should not be too bad.