Featuring 24,728 Hostels and other cheap places to stay worldwide
Register for monthly money saving offers from Hostels.com and pay no more booking fees. (*Don't worry we wont spam you or sell your data, you will not receive more than 2 mailings per month)
Character: 80%
Security: 80%
Location: 100%
Staff: 100%
Fun: 100%
Cleanliness: 60%
76%
Before judging you must realize this village is very primitive. There is no running water so don't expect any indoor plumbing. In general it was quite beautiful and peaceful here. The cabin was very clean, rustic looking, comfortable, and there was lots of bedding to keep nice and toasty. You can walk right out the gate and you have a stunning view of the lake and can walk in any direction you want. They fed you every meal promptly with hot tea and a lot of local dishes (fish of course), and it was plentiful. Milk is straight from the cow. The cabins all look different, but I think that is because they have to use what materials are available at the time. It looked like I stayed in one of the newer cabins since it was offseason, so I can't speak for the other cabins on the grounds. I also can't speak to what its like during the tourist season, but I imagine its more fun with lots of people there. Suggestions would be : - Not sure if it was because I was there in the offseason but it would be nice to have someone who speaks better english on the grounds - Needed a small towel or something to clean myself in the room since outdoor showers are too cold - It would look nicer if some ugly stuff was moved elsewhere like an old car seat and some other construction stuff - Outhouses look ok from the outside, but a bit scary on the inside to a westerner. A seat of some sort?
86%
The people who run this place are so friendly and helpful and they can take you on many excusions around the island. All food is included, 3 meals a day. The cabins are nice but rustic, the showers are cold water, and the toilets are unspeakable. But, the whole island is very rustic and this place is very nice, I would stay here again.
54%
The hostel is a camp with several wooden houses and is located near the main village of Olchon island. You can go to the island by mini-busses, which need about six hours for the way from Irkutsk to the hostel (300 km). Important is to know that three meals per day are included. You get warm lunch and supper, but the quality is bad. And breakfast is not to have enough to eat. Important is also to know how sanitary facilities look like in the camp. There are no water toilets, only earth closets (= a whole in the earth), which smell that much, that I tried not to go there. The water of the showers (outside!) are warmed only by the sun. That means that there is no warm water on cloudly days! In addition: if there are no beds in the camp they will find a private accomodation in the village, so that you might have long ways to the toilets and showers.
26%
Unbelievable! You should know that if you book online it's cheaper but you get a completely different standard to what you are promised. We were given a cabin ten minutes from any of the facilities with broken glass and sheets of metal surrounding it. When we asked to be moved we were treated with contempt, the manager wouldn't even see us! The pictures and description you see on this site are not what you are given.
94%
They organicing games and tours every day and you having quicke contact.
They redeemed themselves after trying to put us in a homestay when we had booked in advance. This got better every day as we were upgraded to better, bigger rooms (however we did have to move 3 times!). The food was okay and plentiful and included in the price so it was good value - what stood out was that they made allowances for us being veggie by giving us extra veg food, fed us out of regular hours and gave us a lift into town - both were very much appreciated. Long drop toilets could be cleaner and need directions to hostel as we spent 1/2 hr walking uphill trying to find it - not obvious when you arrive on public bus from Irkutsk. Activities more focussed on Russian families.
20%
Hi Guys, Due to the phine at the hostel being off the hook for 2days prior and on the day of arrival we were unable to organise a pickup for 9am and were unable to stay. We got off the train at Irkutsk at 1am and tried our best to contact the island to stay but no joy. As we did not know if we could make it back from the island after 1 night we could not risk being stuck! I am not very impressed with losing my deposit due to no fault of my own! Cheers Michael
