There are bed bugs and the staff are fully aware. Upon arrival, a roommate told me that someone in my bunk had found bedbugs the day prior and had been moved. the next morning, more bed bugs had been found and I was moved. Despite this, the very same day, new guests were assigned to this same room. The receptionist confirmed this, and said that the room had been “disinfected”. I asked for the cleaning supplies to use on my luggage - the hostel uses supermarket cleaning products which are insufficient for the level of infestation they have. When asked if they have an exterminator on contract, they said no and that they use the sprays (despite multiple occurrences of bedbugs).
I asked whether the new guests were informed that bed bugs had been found in their room the same day - the receptionist said no and that she would tell them later that day. I met a guest from this room the following morning who had no idea. Hostels get bed bugs, it’s not uncommon and I was not mad at first, but the staff’s response was completely unprofessional and entirely dishonest.
The staff also did not offer a refund. One of my bunkmates was told that if she wrote a bad review, she would not get a refund despite leaving the hostel early to stay elsewhere. Later, this roommate told me that she had been marked as a “no-show” on ***********, presumably so that she would not be able to write a bad review. This is fraud and likely why there aren’t many bad reviews of this hostel.
The morning that I had been moved, I was offered a free breakfast and the staff seemed very genuine and apologetic, however the next day I showed the receptionist some bite marks on my arm to warn them that the room I had been moved to may also be infested (I had also found blood marks indicating bed bugs on my bed). She got incredibly defensive and hostile, saying that bed bugs aren’t dangerous and she’s done all she can. She was cold towards me for the rest of my stay.
Prior to this, the staff were very welcoming and the hostel is very quaint. Without the bed bugs, i’m sure this would’ve been a very pleasant stay - it is quiet, a safe area, and all amenities are available. However, the hostel’s irresponsible attitude of assigning guests to rooms with known bed bug infestations, not thoroughly cleaning rooms with bed bugs, and refusing refunds or compensation because “they are running a business” (what i was told when i asked for a partial refund because of the hassle) is completely unprofessional and not an experience I would want anyone else to experience.
