VIVA Hostel, Chur

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VIVA Hostel Reviews

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VIVA Hostel offers a good location in the small Swiss town of Chur, though it has some work to go toward being a great hostel.

The Location

VIVA Hostel is located on the main party street of Chur in Switzerland. In fact, a nightclub operates at the bottom of the hostel on Thursday to Saturday nights. Chur’s small city centre is a short walk way, offering some retail shopping and dining options operating only until early evening. The train and bus stations are within fifteen minutes on foot from the hostel.

With the nightlife in the street below, it can get noisy, so earplugs are recommended. We stayed mid-week when the nightclub below was not operating; however, some have reported thumping bass music until the early hours on weekends. Industrial-style ear protectors are supplied at each hostel bed in an effort to combat this.

Rooms and Bathrooms

This hostel offers ten rooms including private rooms for two to four people and dorm rooms for six, seven, and eighteen people (mixed only). The rooms are on three levels of the building, accessible only via stairs. The rooms are clean and tidy. The bunk beds do squeak a little and have thin mattresses, so comfort could be improved. There are individual power sockets and reading lights at each bed. Bedsheets are not supplied automatically -- we had to request them during our stay.

Electronic key cards are provided for access into the building and the rooms. There are no lockers within the rooms themselves, though there are small lockers located on the second floor for use with your own padlock.

The shared bathrooms are split into separate genders, with several shower cubicles and toilets in each, which are kept quite clean. The showers have good hot water with push-button taps. The cubicles are quite large, though there isn’t a separate section within them to change.

Common Spaces

There is a small breakfast room with two tables where pre-paid breakfast is served to guests. There aren’t self-catering facilities at the hostel, other than a microwave and some crockery/cutlery in this room. The breakfast room acts as the main common area, complemented by table soccer and a couch on another level. The nightclub downstairs has free entry for guests on nights of operation, offering an opportunity to socialise in the otherwise quiet atmosphere at the hostel. Free Wi-Fi works well throughout the building. Laundry facilities are not available.

Summary

VIVA Hostel is fine for a short stay, though it is worth noting that it is the only hostel option in Chur and prices are expensive (as Switzerland tends to be). Depending on your preference for partying or sleeping, choose your night of the week carefully. A negative point for the hostel is that reception is open only from 4 to 9 p.m. daily, so it is not possible to store luggage before checking in or after checking out. Also, it can be challenging if reception support is required outside of those hours (such as if electronic keycards for room access fail overnight).

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