Amber Hostel - Review from Robert Warren

This hostel is situated in a student residence well outside the town of Riga. When you get off the bus they have a little booth with a couple of young people manning it. Clearly they're putting some energy into attracting customers. The building is set in the midst of fairly desolate surroundings - men sitting in groups drinking, old women, pigeons and cats. Riga tends to change very dramatically once you leave the spiffy refurbished old city. If you want to see what buildings look like when they've had no maintenance done to them in 40 years then look at the buildings surrounding the Amber Hostel. A good introduction, perhaps, to life in the former Soviet Union but not the most uplifting surrounds. If you're going to stay here, bring your own toilet paper. In fact, you'll need to brring your own toilet seat. The mattresses were filthy and no attempt had been made to put the room into any sort of shape for overnight visitors. I've recently stayed in wondeful hostel accomodation in Buenos Aires and Vilnius. A good hostel is a joy - this place is an utter dump and should be avoided at all costs.