Pikasso Hostel

What was good

Note: I am judging by hostel (not hotel) standards. The location is pretty good about 500 metres from the nearest tram stop and 1.5 km from Aviamotornaya metro station. The Gorod mall (with a very large Auchan or Ashan hypermarket sorta like Carrefour) and many other things is about 2 km walk away. There are enough supermarkets within a 1 km radius and a 24-hr Magnolia about 500m away. The Nekrasov Central Library and Baumanskaya area are about 2 km away. The Baumanskaya area is kinda charming and has a university vibe. It's really quite clean and, during the time I was there, very safe by hostel standards. Rooms are quite nice and well-furnished. Bed linen is quite good and bath linen is acceptable. Guests must wear their own or hostel-provided indoor slippers almost everywhere inside the hostel and I guess that helps the cleanliness. The staff are quite professional and helpful as required. Reception works 24x7 for checking in and out. The showers are pretty darn good in terms of water pressure and heating. The kitchen is spacious with 2 microwaves, 4 refrigerators with freezers, cutlery, free tea, 2 sinks, and other storage space. The Wi-fi signal is better in the kitchen and the adjoining lounge. There is special storage for large luggage in the basement. Washing machine and dryer for RUB 250-500. Generally very quiet and the guests were either indifferent or polite -- which is good. Price was very good by Moscow standards @ RUB 700 per night for dorm bed. They have private 2-bunk rooms but I don't know how much they cost. On the whole: Recommended. Clean and safe for a hostel.

What was bad

Wi-fi is too slow and unreliable in the rooms but better (not good) in the public areas. Mobile signal is virtually dead (always on "E") everywhere in the hostel and I suspect it's either the old Soviet building structure or that they use signal jammers. Some claim that there are defence and other government establishments in the vicinity that use shielding frequencies that affect mobile signals in certain areas but the signal is fine right outside the hostel entrance. NOTE: If you must have solid Wi-fi go to the Nekrasov Central Library where you can work on your laptop for free (for as long as they are open, which is until 10:00-22:00 on weekdays, 20:00 on weekends) or register for free to use their own machines for up to 3 hours at time. However, you can't talk in the libraries, so if you need that go to a coworking space or a cafe. There is 01:00-07:00 curfew and the door is closed except for checking in and out. If you're out on the town, get back before 01:00 or be sure to inform them beforehand. Staff do their job but speak no English. In my opinion, not even basic. Everything else about them was fine. Toilets can sometimes get messy, especially on weekends, but in general its clean or very clean for a hostel. There is no air-conditioning in the rooms and Moscow got pretty hot (34-35C) -- too hot for me to sleep. Dorms are very warm at night. The kitchen could use more glasses and crockery, I think. They have some "regulars" or "long-term" guests there and, while that isn't necessarily a problem, it can be that some of them think of it as their "home" -- which it isn't.