What I thought was going to be a way to get a decent hotel and save like $15 turned into a complete rip-off. There is no quality to this hostel, or "budget" hotel. It's a money grab at the patron's expense.
The Ibis Budget is in the Ibis Hotel itself. There is a separate entrance. There is a separate breakfast bar. The entrance is clean and the staff is friendly.
Right when we entered the room, things got wonky. The bunk bed we didn't request really stood out, but that was OK because at Ibis budget, you're getting ONE pillow per guest, and the extra bed provided the additional pillow.
We cracked the window because it was warm in the room, and as far as we could tell there wasn't a thermometer to control the temperature. Not a joke. It's window regulated. We could see where maybe someone had left the window open and the water had gotten in and warped the wood and wall from where the water ran down to the floor. NOPE! It was a leak. It rained while we were there and we had to sleep in the warm room because we couldn't find a thermometer and we closed the window, but water got in and ran down the wall.
There were literally two outlets. One was under the TV on the other side of the room, and one was by the sink. Neither was anywhere near the bed. Neither had USB ports. There was nothing by the beds. It was insane.
Going to the bathroom. First, the door. It's not so much a door as it is particle board shaped like a sheet of plywood and hinged to the wall. Really! No doorknob. Just a latch on the outside to grab and pull the door open. Nothing on the inside. Not even a lock. No light switch, no vent, just a commode. The shower and sink are on the outside. The light is motion sensor activated. If you're in there and you bring your phone to pass the time, the light is going to cut out on you. And as an extra treat, if you get up in the middle of the night, you don't have the option of courtesy because that light's coming on. And with a four inch gap at the top and bottom of your plywood door, that light is gonna let everyone know your business. And it stays on for three to four minutes after you leave the bathroom.
The shower has to be some seriously old plumbing. When someone in front of you uses the hot water, yours stays cold until they're done. When it turns hot... I'm sure you get it. They only give you the general body wash/shampoo. It had two pumps worth of soap left in it. We tried to get it replaced, but to no avail. Fortunately there was some by the sink. We used that.
My girlfriend needed a hairdryer. We had to get one from the front desk and leave a 20 CHF deposit. I've never heard of anything like this. We can afford nice hotels, but choose to stay in the moderately priced ones.
This budget hotel needed to be 80CHF for the quality, not just a few bucks cheaper than the regular hotel! It would only be fair and let the searcher know what they were looking at as far as where they were going to be for a few days. Someone was getting a really good laugh while they designed this place. But it was clean. read more