Basic, Budget, Boring but Bearable - Affittacamere Ghega, Trieste (Affittacamere Ghega, Trieste)

Member Name: fizzywizzy

Product:	Affittacamere Ghega, Trieste
Date:	26/12/08 (260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reasonable price for Trieste, meets basic requirements, good location

Disadvantages: No kitchen for use of guests, no communal areas

Affittacamere Ghega gets listed as a hostel but is really a collection of five rooms - we booked a double but I believe there are triples and quads (maybe they just add or remove beds depending on the booking) and there may be even be a dormitory too. There are no real communal areas and even the kitchen was locked with a sign saying "private" stuck to it.

Breakfast is advertised on websites as not included and costs extra but it was never offered to us. Never mind, there are plenty of cafes nearby so you can be sure of a decent coffee and a pastry.

The "hostel" is in a fine old Trieste apartment building which has a grand entrance way leading to the archaic but functional lift which usefully has a wooden bench in it for those people who have to rest their aching feet after a day's sightseeing. The lift is tiny though, so, perched on the bench, we then had to sit with our rucksacks balanced on our knees as there was no room on the floor for them.

The hostel location is not easy to spot; the only clue is a faded piece of paper beside the doorbell so do look closely as the names outside the apartment buildings. Once on the correct floor there are still no indications that this is a hostel, just ring the doorbell and wait for a reply.

We had booked in advance and while it didn't appear that they were actively expecting us, they had the details of our reservation there for us. We were asked to pay the balance in full immediately. We were shown our room, a spacious double overlooking the main street. It had double windows to let in some air but also to keep at least some of the street noise out. That said, the traffic noise ceased around 8.00 pm and started again around 7.00 am but was never really intrusive at any time.

The room was basic but adequate. The bed was comfortable enough and the bedding was lovely and fresh. There was a table and chair, a wardrobe and a television with Italian channels only. As someone who doesn't come on holiday to watch TV it didn't bother me at all that the TV reception was poor. The room was spotlessly clean, in fact all areas of the hostel we went in were well looked after and very clean.

There is no air-con but there was a table-top electric fan which we found we had to keep on all night, such was the terrible night-time heat (in September).

There are two shared bathrooms and we never had to wait to use one. Both have shower and toilet in them. There was also a wash basin in our room. You had to operate the pump with your foot to make the water come out of the taps. This made a terrible noise which I am sure could be heard in other rooms. There was always hot water and the shower was perfectly fine. The only problem was that the mat in front of the shower was soaking wet and was not changed through the morning so the shower room floor was always wet.

We didn't encounter the staff much; I can't say they were friendly, just efficient. We asked for towels for our room which were brought a few minutes later. Other than that the only contact we had was checking in and giving our keys back as we left. Both the staff we met spoke good English.

You can check in between 8-13.00 and then between 15.00 - 20.00. Check out by 10.00am. If you are going to be late checking in then you MUST contact the hostel to let them know because it is not staffed 24 hours.

The hotel has a good selection of free city maps and leaflets on local attractions. There's also a pile of magazines to borrow too. In the entrance way there's a coffee vending machine though you'd have to be desperate for a vending machine coffee when you can pop outside and have your pick of some great cafes.

This accommodation is in a great position literally a minutes walk from the bus and train stations as well as being a very short stroll from the main sights. It's close to the water and there are a couple of little food stores nearby too.

This isn't an exciting choice but it was one of the cheapest we found without going too far out of the city and I'd recommend it to couples or small groups. Trieste is quite an expensive city in terms of accommodation and the cheapest places tend to be out of town; as we were only staying two nights we needed to be close to the centre as we didn't want to spend time travelling and the things we had in mind to see were close to the city centre.

It's not the sort of hostel for socialising in the evenings and meeting fellow travellers as there are no facilities to speak of and no common areas. This said, however, it's the sort of budget accommodation that would appeal to older travellers simply because there is unlikely to be much noise from rowdy teenage backpackers.

We paid around £40 per night for a double room in September 2008. The hostel doesn't have its own website but you can book through websites such as hostelbookers.com and hostelworld.com. This involves paying a ten per cent deposit and a small booking fee to the website.

Via Ghega 3, Trieste
Tel - 340 7042896

Summary: Spartan budget acccommodation in Trieste