Bunk Hotel Utrecht — Hotel in Utrecht

I travel around Europe regularly and for my first visit to Utrecht I chose Bunk. The first thing you need to know if that Bunk is not a hostel. It is a hybrid between Hotel, hostel and a big restaurant/event space open to the public which creates an interesting dynamic as a guest.

Dont come here expecting a communal kitchen or anything like that. Most people staying here I found were digital nomads or students, all typing away on their laptops-not much socialising or opportunity to meet new people who were staying there- it's just not that kind of place. Surprising for a hostel that has a 'spread the love' vibe and has 'you were just poisoned by love' engraved on the inside of their coffee cups- didn't seem too warm or loving to me, rather just a group of marketing graduates working remotely - Seriously, there were more Mac books than an apple store in here!

The second thing you should know before deciding whether to stay here or not is that it is Hipster Central- that is a good or bad thing depending on your taste. The restaurant serves an all day breakfast with things like smashed avocado on toast and 'eggs bennie'. I personally sampled the BLT on toast which was delicious! I also ordered coffee in the morning every day that I stayed. You have to order via a QR code at your table and pay on your phone before you get your order bought to your table. Super convenient if you are working and I found quite common in the Netherlands. I must add however that I did have to wait over 15 minutes for my flat white on both days which was a tad annoying and it didn't come with the sugar that I ordered- no biggie, I just picked it up myself. Also the girl who bought it over said it was a cappuccino, but again, a minor thing. The coffee is great, that's the main thing.

Onto the accomodation. I booked a 'pod' which was very spacious and well designed. I could easily sit up in there, the curtain closed properly, there was a vent keeping the air fresh and I loved the light that you could change the colour of. The mattress was excellent and I had not trouble sleeping at all. The locker on the room which comes with the bed was adequate for my duffle bag and was conveniently locked/unlocked using the key card provided at check in.

The toilets and showers were exceptional and cleaned daily. Indeed, the cleanliness of the entire building was of an excellent standard. The cleaners worked tirelessly and did an excellent job and a cleaning manager myself, I really do appreciate that. I was a bit bemused by the fact that your cleaning staff had 'another one fights the dust' printed on their uniforms- came across as a bit demeaning, and I think you should think about that.

The rest of the staff were also really professional and helpful. I had one issue where there was an event on in the main area and people were making noise outside which was keeping me awake. Within 10 minutes of me emailing the front desk someone came and sorted it out, and replied to say that they would keep an eye on it. Excellent service.

So in all a really good trip and stay. If quirky, modern and hip is your thing, this is the place for you! I rated 4 stars because it shouldn't take 15 minutes to make a coffee and the atmosphere felt stiff, lacked the warmth I was expecting from all the 'with love, Bunk' marketing prior to my stay. However that's a personal taste and everything else...

First of all, this is NOT the review I was planning to write.

Everything was very nice until the last day of my stay. One day before my check-out, I charged all my electronic devices, left cables on my bed and went to the conference. Upon return, I saw the room was cleaned but I noticed only at night that my Apple Watch cable had disappeared. I searched everywhere and couldn’t find it. Everything else was there (documents, jewellery etc.). Being 100% sure that the cable was on my bed before room cleaning, I spent a couple of hours clarifying the issue with the staff in the morning (instead of attending the conference, sadly!).

The most ‘exciting’ things happened at the reception. The staff tried to find the cable, they didn't not succeed and I was offered to be contacted in case the cable is found. I explained that I’m not satisfied with that and asked for the management. A young woman representing the management started our conversation defining the problem as “you’ve LOST your cable” (NO, I HAVEN’T “LOST” my cable, I LEFT IT ON MY BED, that’s NOT the same). She continued accusing me, indicating that it’s actually all my fault: I probably “lost the cable somewhere else, maybe it’ll be found in the hotel in the coming weeks”, I “should have put my stuff in the safe” (MAYBE. But even if I had done it, it would NOT have crossed my mind to put an Apple Watch cable in the SAFE! Maybe I should have put my whole suitcase in the small safe because nothing is safe in this hotel anyway?!) “The staff are not allowed to touch personal belongings of guests”. If we stick to the definition of “touching” - it's not true, my things WERE touched and placed differently in the room, which is totally fine by me as long as none of my belongings “disappear”, When I asked for compensation of the cable cost (not so cheap - 40 Euro), she reacted “but do you suggest that someone STOLE your cable?”. I responded that I don’t suggest THAT but I don’t think it’s fair that I left the cable in the room, don’t find it anymore and must pay for it from my own pocket… “Who knows what happened in the room, not sure the cable was there at all” - that’s why the hotel won’t compensate the loss. Very convenient to say to avoid any responsibility, maybe it’s not the first time when it happens?

Overall, I find the way this management staff member spoke to me outrageous and unacceptable. I hope it’s not the hotel’s policy to deal with such issues like that. This is a very disappointing experience and crossing out all the nice things I experienced in the first days.

I'm travelling a lot in my life but it’s the first case for me in a hotel when my belongings ‘disappear’, so I learned something: like have no cleaning during short stays to make sure no one enters the room, put valuables in a safe indeed, take all the cables with you and take photos of what the room looks like before cleaning staff arrives. So people who are planning to stay at this hotel - please beware! Because if something “disappears” from your room, first - you will be accused of multiple wrongdoings yourself, second - no one (neither the hotel as a whole, not the cleaning stuff) will be held accountable for it (neither legally nor financially).

P.S. Let’s see what kind of public response I will receive from the hotel. Maybe another portion of...

Bunk Hotel is a brilliantly designed hotel, cleverly built inside an old church. The main hall of the church was completely transformed into a beautiful dining space, preserving the dramatic proportions of the original building, utilizing the balcony as a secondary study/coffee space, and giving space to both a beautiful stained glass piece, and the original organ. Alongside these more traditional aspects, the overall design is super-contemporary, very well made with good taste. The accommodations structure built into the main space really fits nicely and almost doesn’t feel as if it was never there.

The staff of the hotel are really nice and welcoming, and they provided help whenever we asked for it.

The overall experience of staying there was very positive, but a few things stood out as annoyances. This does not mean that a stay is not recommended, but rather that for our reservation (the small private rooms on the first floor) these were our experiences.

First and the most prominent challenge we encountered was the dire need to soundproof the bathrooms. Unless either you and your room partner are really REALLY close, deaf, have an innate preference to public toilets, or are both chronically constipated, you may have to reluctantly share your bathroom sounds with one another. The glass door separating the room from the bathroom, while very visually appealing, had zero sound dampening. Every splash, ploop, or whoosh was very clearly heard in the room itself. Visual style and design of the room cane at the expense of the feeling of a sanitary/hygienic sleeping space.

Seems like that was the approach also when it came to the inside of the bathroom itself that had near zero separation between the shower and the toilets and sink. The lack of any door to the shower area caused water levels on the rest of the bathroom to rise above puddle-level (which is very ironic for Dutch engineering), making the guests mop after every shower. Admittedly the designers expected this problem and strategically located a compact mop on an integrated hanger in the shower. A simple door would have kept our things and feet dry.

The other challenge with the room was severe lack of storage space. Apart from a tiny shelf and a small sleeve there were no convenient spaces to keep personal belongings for two people. A couple more foldable shelves would have gone a long way to make our stay in the room a little easier. This was also true for the bathroom that had almost no space to keep our toiletries so we had to put it on the actual toilet when not in use.

Last point of improvement would be the noise. All day and all night we would hear bangs from the restaurant below us and the walls around us, sometimes to the point of real inconvenience and disturbance.

While complaining is fun and a privilege, we really did have a good time there. This space was limited, and has annoyances, but the kind staff and the absolutely stunning design of the interior left us with a very...