Olet Hostel

Even though Olet Hostel is described as being in the centre of Prague, it is actually located in Zizkov, a twenty-minute walk from the city. It is only open during the summer, as it is in a four-floor school building, holding up to one hundred eighty people. They offer mixed and single-sex dorm rooms.

The hostel is located four tram stops from the city centre, two tram stops away from the main train station, Praha Hlavani Nadrazi, and a ten-minute walk from the main bus station Florenc. The closest tram stop is fifty metres from the hostel door.

The rooms are large and occasionally cold. There are metal frame beds that have hard couch cushions as mattresses. Only undersheets are provided -- pillows and blankets are extra. As the hostel becomes quite cold at night, it is a shame blankets are not included. Smoking is not permitted in rooms but is permitted elsewhere.

There are no keys to the dormitory rooms. Guests can leave bags in shared lockers on the ground floor, even after checkout. More valuable items can be left in the office safe. The rooms are rarely cleaned. In the eight days we stayed at Olet, the floor was never swept and the bin was only emptied once despite it being full to the brim for five days.

There are male and female bathrooms on each level, each of which consist of one shower, one sink, and three toilets. Female bathroom is cleaned daily and well stocked with toilet paper. The male bathroom on the first floor consistently has a pool of water outside the shower. Toilet cleaning in all bathrooms consists of squirting disinfectant in the bowls once a day, no scrubbing.

The kitchen is on the fourth floor, a meager one fridge serves the entire hostel. Kitchen cleanliness is at a minimum. The hostel's kitchen policy is that all food that does not have a sticker with a name, date, and room number will be thrown away, however no stickers are provided. The fridge is emptied of all food regardless of labelling and use by dates, but inexplicably it isn't cleaned, leaving a yellow pool of liquid at the bottom (see picture).

Breakfast is provided from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for 1 extra Euro, consisting of bread and cheese, bread, and jam or cereal and fruit, each with tea/coffee and orange juice. Fast, free Internet access is provided on twelve computers, open from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.

There is a bar that is open from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. If staying for more than one night, an unrefrigerated welcome beer is provided for each guest. School chairs and tables serve as seating in the bar/common area. The common room has a foosball table, a broken electronic dart board, and table tennis.
Music is played during breakfast and the night, and people hang out and socialise throughout the hostel at all hours. Such a large hostel provides a good opportunity to meet people but very little opportunity for privacy.

The staff are young, helpful, and English-speaking but have limited local knowledge. Check-out time is 9 a.m. and you are charged for a late checkout. You are able to leave your bags in the lockers, have breakfast, and hang out in the hostel until you are scheduled to leave. Local transport tickets are on sale at reception. The hostel's website, www.olet.cz, provides good directions to the hostel from the airport, metro, and main railway station.

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