Hostel Mostel — Hotel in Sofia City

When I arrived, I was shocked at how many people were just hanging around outside and inside the main lounge; it was overwhelming, but some people would surely see this as a fun way to meet people. The guy behind the desk said it is usually that crowded or even more so.

In my dorm room, there was almost always someone sleeping (day or night), which is awkward, but at this the counter guy just shrugged and said it's a "hostel environment." There were no curtains on the windows or on the beds. There was no air conditioning (If the listing says there is AC, that is not correct as of August 2023.), but there was one fan in the room, which was important in the summer. I slept better the second night, when the window was closed. One problem I complained with staff about is how shaky the bunk bed was; it was shakier than at the other three hostels I had stayed at this month. Unlike at some other hostels, at Hostel Mostel the bunk beds are not bolted to the walls. In fact, when I was climbing up to the top bunk, I felt like the bed was going to tip over or even collapse.

Also, some guests kept smoking on the balcony and leaving the door and window open while doing so; I don't know if this is allowed, but it's disturbing. (No smoking is allowed indoors at the hostel, and this rule seems to be respected.)

There was basically no place for an introverted nonsmoker to unwind with WiFi, and sleeping was a challenge there, as well. This hostel disappointed me in a number of ways; in fact, I'm rating it lower than anyplace else I've booked on this site/app in more than five years. However, the staff generally were kind and helpful, and the breakfast (which cost 5 euros in summer 2023) was the way to meet other tourists outside of the dorm since I didn't do the...

THEY JUST TOOK AWAY OUR BOOKING WITHOUT ASKING

We booked two nights in the hostel and were looking forward to our stay. Six weeks before the trip, we confirmed the booking and announced our time of arrival. After the confirmation, the hostel, for some reason, asked for ANOTHER confirmation one week before our stay. Unfortunately, we did not react on time to confirm the booking once more (which would have been redundant anyway, because we had already clearly confirmed our intention to stay before).

One day before our arrival, the hostel contacted us to inform that the booking is now considered "invalid" for failing to confirm for a second time. Instead of sending us any kind of reminder to confirm the booking again, they just gave the room to someone else without even checking on us first! After trying to solve the misunderstanding, they were really rude, not offering us any kind of compensation or helping to find a room elsewhere - they quite literally left us on the street one day before our arrival!

Hostel Mostel might be a nice place to stay, but their service and treatment of guests looking forward to their stay is absolutely unacceptable!! We have never experienced any kind of situation like this before! One reminder - either automatic email or personal message - would have been enough to let us confirm our arrival for a second time. However, that is apparently too much to ask for from this totally incompetent staff.

Be careful when booking this place. They have no sympathy for their guests at all! Unfortunately, I cannot give them any less than a...

From the moment we arrived, the experience was a DISASTER. We were greeted not with warmth, but by a shockingly rude staff member who, in an almost threatening tone, told us we had exactly five minutes to check an email they’d sent. Not the kindness you expect from a hostel, just plain rudeness. Those five minutes led to our “reallocation”, not to another room, but to an annex five minutes away from the hostel itself. If the hostel was bad, this annex was something out of a horror movie. The entrance was crumbling, the stairs dangerously neglected, and the room was a disgrace. I'll let the description speak for itself. There were hairs in every single bed (a clear sign the sheets hadn’t been properly cleaned). The bathroom’s air filter looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. Even worse, the door between the bathroom and the bedroom was completely transparent. Yes, transparent! We were a group of five, forced to watch each other’s most private moments. The room had just one fan for all five of us, despite the sweltering summer heat. Sleeping was nearly impossible. The beds were old, unstable, and unsafe, with deep cracks underneath that made us feel as though they might collapse at any moment. And to crown it all, right at the entrance there was an appalling piece of racist graffiti left there for everyone to see, unaddressed and unremoved. This place is not just poorly managed. It is unsafe, unsanitary, and utterly disrespectful to its guests. This place might've had its days, many years ago. But for now, do yourself a favor: stay...