There are some very enthusiastic reviews of this hostel in various travel books. I can only think that no-one from these publications has visited this hostel for many years. It is in a great location and the building is "authentic" but...
It is dirty; the reception staff are not only rude, but incompetent; the communal women's showers are simply disgraceful (shabby, grubby, tiny cubicals, door to landing did not shut properly); the sheets on our bed did not smell clean; the pillows were soiled; breakfast was non existent; the kitchen area on the roof terrrace and the cooking equipment were filthy. The general impression was that the staff/management could not care less about the quality of the guests' stay.
When we arrived for a one night stay we were told that there would be a small breakfast served betwen 8 am and 11 am. In fact, nothing at all was provided and when we left at about 10 a.m, no staff had been in the building since about 7 p.m the previous evening, except a cleaner. We could not find anything to drink from except a mug with no handle. I had asked the receptionist about getting to the airport by bus the following day and was abruptly directed to the notice board which gave information about buses and a train to the airport. Neither the receptionist or the notice gave any indication that this information did not apply to a Saturday which was the day we were leaving. A very disappointing end to our stay in Isreal.
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