Da Rooms Mini Hotel

Olga

What was good

Nothing

What was bad

How does such a "dump" get such a high rating on Ostrovok.ru?? On our recent and first visit to Kaliningrad, we booked a two-night stay at "Da Rooms Mini Hotel", which was booked through Ostrovok.ru. I don't speak Russian, and so I relied on the ratings of other occupants. "Da Rooms Mini Hotel" was, for the low price, rated extremely high. Imagine my shock when we arrived and found that it is just an old Soviet communal flat with a shared tired old kitchen and bathroom. When you first enter the communal space, there are slippers for you to put on. You quickly realize that the reason for the slippers is that the floor throughout the communal space is so dirty that even your slippers stick to the floor as you walk. The kitchen dishes and utensils are grimy with grease and ???. If you find a clean glass/utensil it is ONLY because another visitor took the time to wash them. Do not take and use anything out of the cabinet without first scrubbing it. The rooms were no better. Sheets were old (and hopefully washed after the last visitors). Room 2 had a persistent smell of dirty wash and staleness that could not be banished by opening the windows. My fear was that it would seep into my bag and clothing. I have stayed in cheap hostiles that were nicer than this dump. Lessons learned: 1. Watch out. "Mini hotel" may just mean "old communal flat with no improvement that they are milking tourist for." 2. You can't really trust Ostrovok.ru ratings. My Russian speaking friend says that other review in Ostrovok.ru support what a dump it is, but, again, if you don't speak Russian and trust Ostrovok.ru's ratings, you might be unpleasantly surprised.