Kriss Hostel

Bad
The room was clean and the staff very friendly. But they seem to be employing some dishonest people. We left our personal belongings (passport, purse, keys, and tickets) at the reception, to be kept in their box. Back home, we learn that the visa has been copied, and used for shopping on the internet.

This hostel was not as great as advertised. The "fully equipped self-catering kitchen" is really some old appliances behind the tiny reception desk, and the stove was currently being used as a storage area. The rooms were clean and neat -- no decorations on the walls, but plenty of blankets, although our room smelled like wet stinky foot. "Central heating" consisted of a radiator that made aquarium noises all night but kept us warm enough. The "reception with tourist information" was indeed open 24 hours a day to let in late-nighters, but they did not speak English and had lost the reservation I made with them through e-mail (they were very kind about letting the two of us occupy a room intended for four after their error, though). The bathroom was clean-looking, except when the friendly cleaning-staff left their cigarette-butts stewing in the toilet bowls each morning. The location was very convenient, right around from the subway stop and in a nice enough neighborhood, and the staff were very friendly, even when we woke them up late at night to let us in. In spite of the no-lock-out policy, we were shooed out of the room around 11am for cleaning purposes. On the whole, we had a good stay. We were just expecting much more than we encountered because of the shining write-up they give the "elegant and small hostel" on their website.