Pogo Hostel

In July 2012 I stayed one night at the PoGo Hostel in Vilnius. I had just finished attending a conference and needed a bed to sleep in for one night before I returned homw. I wanted to be close to the action but also close enough to walk to the airport bus.

While the PoGo Hostel is in a supreme location - it's just steps away from the Old Town of Vilnius and only 200 meters from the Vilnius Cathedral - it lacked service and cleanliness. I had pre-booked bed in a four-bed room, but when I arrived I was placed in a six-bed room. I asked the hostess about this but she just shrugged it off and was honestly kind of rude about it. There was a price difference in the room, and I asked about this too (since I felt I should pay the lower price if I was going to be in a room with more beds), but she said no.. that I would pay the same price for the room that I had pre-booked but was not going to sleep in. I was NOT happy, but I let it go. The room was a good size and the bed was of typical comfort for a hostel. The pillow was hardly what I'd call a pillow since it was so flat, but all was fine for just one night. Decent-sized lockers were available outside of the room for people to store their belongings.

There were two things that really irked me about this hostel. First, the cleanliness of the bathroom. I only saw the bathroom on the second floor - it had one sink, one toilet, and one shower (toilet and shower combined in one room). I was absolutely appalled by the cleanliness of the toilet and the shower. I cannot even begin to describe some of the things that were growing there.

Second, the attitude and lack of knowledge by the hostess. I asked two simple questions - "Where can I buy local bus tickets? Can I buy them at the kiosk down the road?" and "Can you explain to me how to get to the airport?" She failed at both questions. She told me I could not buy tickets at the kiosk and that I had to walk to the long-distance bus station to buy a ticket for a local bus. I explained that I didn't need to take a long distance bus and that I only wanted to go to the airport. I ended up just going to the tourist office before they closed for the day (and happened to be right next to a kiosk where I could buy a bus ticket) and got all of my questions answered there.

In the morning before I left, I had to check-out. I was not checking out at some crazy early time (10:30am), and the hostess was rude to me because I woke her up from sleeping behind the desk.

All in all, I would not stay here again.. even though the locations is excellent. Try somewhere else next time you're in Vilnius.

Though it could be true what Aimee wrote about Pogo hostel last year, now the situation has really improved a lot! Hard-working housemaids are keeping the place really tidy, receptionists are willing to help you as much as they can, and in case you move to a bigger/cheaper room you receive the price difference back:) And about the pillows - you can always ask for a second pillow if you feel that the one you got is smaller than you would like it to be:) There is a kitchen with pots and pans and all other necessary utensils so I think it is a great place to stay for a longer time as well as for several nights.