Marco Polo Hostel

Unlike Most Other Hostels

I arrived in the far outskirts of Budapest at 4:30 am. The metro started running at 5:00 am, and within the hour I had reached Marco Polo Hostel. Even though it was 6:00 am, the girl at the front desk allowed me to check in! I was immediately impressed and went straight to the room for a nap.

When I woke up I explored the hostel a bit more. It is made up of a series of single, double, triple and quad private rooms, as well as larger dormitories. This is great for groups of friends or couples traveling on a tight budget. My dorm room had about eight or ten bunk beds, but they were actually divided into mini rooms with walls separating the beds into little rooms and locking storage lockers making up the other wall. You could then pass through a small curtain to get to your bunk area. This was great for me as I liked the privacy, though it could be awkward if you were sharing a bunk with someone really weird and you were that enclosed. Our dorm had a bathroom with a few showers and toilets; the showers didn't drain well or have great water pressure, but they were sufficiently clean.

I definitely felt this hostel was lacking in community. Budapest would be a great place to explore with new friends, and the set-up of the hostel, with lots of private rooms and enclosed bunk beds, doesn't make for great socializing. There is a basement bar that seems to be open all the time, but it didn't look very busy. Additionally, after the initial kindness of the early check-in, I found the front desk staff quite rude. I'm always very unassuming and polite when requesting help with things like directions and activities, but the girls at the front desk were consistently hostile when speaking with me. Their website advertises the Budapest Card under their services, and there was a sign in the lobby for the Budapest Card, so I asked if I could buy it on-site. The girl almost laughed in my face and said, "Hotels don't sell cards. Go to tourist information." I asked where tourist information was, and she replied, "Octagon." I'd been in Budapest for all of six hours, most of which I'd spent sleeping... how was I supposed to know where Octagon was? Even better, the Octagon Tourist Info office turned out to be the only one that didn't have normal opening hours, so I was stuck waiting around until noon (as I had no idea where other tourist info offices could be found).

Return visitors to Budapest who are on a tight budget might like staying at Marco Polo, especially if they're with someone else. People who would like some friendly local advice, or who want to meet others, should probably look for another hostel.

• Opinion of Price: least expensive
• Written March 13, 2011

Marco Polo Hostel Photo: Budapest

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