Hostel Mostel, Bulgaria review: Eastern Europe's finest hostel

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This was published 14 years ago

Hostel Mostel, Bulgaria review: Eastern Europe's finest hostel

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In Bulgaria's old capital, Steve McKenna enjoys the delights of eastern Europe's finest hostel.

WHAT Hostel Mostel.

WHERE Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria.

HOW MUCH Dorm beds from 20 leva ($17), private rooms from 50 leva.

WHY GO A few years ago, the prospect of staying in a hostel anywhere in the old Soviet bloc wasn't worth thinking about. Flaky wallpaper, cold showers and sour-faced receptionists were par for the course. The reputations of eastern European hostels weren't exactly helped by Eli Roth's film Hostel.

The 2005 horror flick told the story of a pair of American backpackers who headed to a creepy town in far-flung Slovakia after hearing about a hostel teeming with beautiful nymphomaniacs. They got the girls. But they also ended up being tortured by madmen who used the pad to lure gullible travellers to their deaths.

In real life, things are, of course, far less dramatic and much, much safer. While eastern Europe still has some undesirable hostel-hovels, they're becoming few and far between as a new brand of accommodation – clean, friendly and welcoming – begins to dominate the budget landscape behind the former iron curtain.

Poland, Latvia and the Czech Republic are full of fine new hostels but the best I've come across is in the gorgeous town of Veliko Tarnovo, in central Bulgaria.

It was 3am when my taxi pulled up outside the hostel, a beautifully renovated tri-tiered, traditional Bulgarian mansion. The manager, Stan, came out to greet me and began to gently remonstrate with the taxi driver, who had charged me double. Stan negotiated a fairer fare, before offering to make me some food (on the house). I declined and went to bed, the bottom bunk in a six-berth dorm.

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The mattress was so comfortable I could have slept for a day. My friends, who were staying in one of the double rooms, said the same.

I'd only planned on being in Veliko Tarnovo for 48 hours but, so relaxing was Hostel Mostel and so lovely was the town and surrounding countryside, I ended up sticking around for a week.

Stan and his fellow staff members were always smiling, the kitchen was modern and spotless, the sleek cushion-packed communal area was great for loafing around in and the lovely balcony was ideal for a spot of sunbathing or mingling with fellow guests. It's no wonder that on Hostelbookers, a favourite accommodation-booking website used by backpackers, Hostel Mostel's rating is an incredible, but completely deserved, 96 per cent.

FREE STUFF Internet (including Wi-Fi), towels and storage, a breakfast of bread, butter, jam, salami, cheese, tea and coffee, and a light, pasta-based dinner, with a glass of beer.

ADDED BONUS The hostel offers interesting tours into the countryside, where you'll discover hidden waterfalls and colourful, mural-daubed monasteries dating back to the Middle Ages.

A former capital of Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo is wonderfully picturesque. Framed by a chain of forest-clad hills, Veliko Tarnovo features the winding Yantra River fringed by old houses, a Byzantine-style church and is lorded over by a beautiful old fortress.

PHOTOS: Hostel Mostel, Eastern Europe's finest

DETAILS Hostel Mostel, 10 Iordan Indjeto Street, Veliko Tarnovo. See hostelmostel.com.

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