Riga Latvia - Julianne. Date of travel: May 2007
This hostel is in a convenient location, about a 20 minute walk from the Old Town. We stayed in a twin ensuite room which was very basic but clean and it had a good ensuite bathroom. There was a strange smell on a corridor though and the room was a bit cold. There was no radiator, only centrally controlled heating which wasn't turned on. There is a cafe on the second floor, Cafe Antares, where technically you can get a very good breakfast for €3. However the incredibly sour and miserable woman behind the counter put us off. She treated us like lepers, staring continually, frowning, etc. The first day we weren't allowed over to the buffet counter by ourselves, however the second day it was okay to do so. There seems to be some confusion between the hostel and the adjoinging Viktorija Hotel, which share a common entrance. We got the impression in the cafe that maybe they really didn't want "hostel" people in there but who knows. I attempted to use the Internet in the Viktorija Hotel one evening and never received so much abuse in my life in any country. I was screamed and bawled at by both an old woman behind the reception desk and some concierge type man in a green coat. It was just horrible.