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Ljubljana's Celica: A Prison, an Art Hotel or a Youth Hostel?

Where: Metelkova 8, Ljubljana , Slovenia, 1000

Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, has a really fascinating place to stay. The Hostel Celica might be cheap and does advertise itself as a youth hostel--but that doesn't make it not worth trying. Celica used to be a prison, is now also an art gallery and has rooms in converted prison cells that were each designed and furnished by a different artist.

You're not going to get a huge room--remember, they were prison cells--but most people agree that the funky furnishing is enough to make up for that. Shared (but clean) bathrooms and a basic buffet breakfast are also the go. Recent guests say there are plenty of positives:

The cells are marvellous, small but funky, and the staff delightful ... Creative atmosphere, including the bar and hang out rooms downstairs ... The cell bars on the window are a great touch. It's not claustrophobic as you might think it is in a cell!

But if you do want more comfort, you can actually just take a tour of the hostel at 2pm every day--for free.

[Photo: JMcNally]

Related Stories:
· Hostel Celica Ljubljana reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Hotel Hell: Hotel Ljubljana Renovates [HotelChatter]

Tags: Hotel Hell / Ljubljana Hotels / → All Tags

Hotel Hell: Park Hotel Ljubljana Renovates

Where: Tabor 9, Ljubljana , Slovenia, 1000

Slovenia's pretty capital Ljubljana is increasingly popular as a short break destination from Brits, and should definitely be put on the to-visit list from others traveling around Europe. But you should heed the warning from blogger Sheila who recently described the Hotel Park in Ljubljana as the hotel from hell. This picture of the view from her window looks pleasant enough, but apparently it needs audio to understand what kind of hell she was going through:

It really doesn't give you a clue what it was like living with saws and machinery above our heads, working from 7 or 9am till about 5pm. Constant grinding/sawing noises.

In frustration Sheila's already started posting unfriendly reviews around the web, including:

It felt like the whole hotel was being rebuilt in the room above our heads. There was a letter of apology in the room, but that doesn't actually help anyone sleep. I shared a lift with mattresses, and bits of wood, but at least the lift worked. The coffee at breakfast was undrinkable, no kettle in the rooms.

The list goes on. The building work will continue until March 2007, so it'll be a bit longer until there's even a chance that Sheila's hell will return to some semblance of normality.

[Photo: Sheila]

Related Stories:
· Hotel Park Ljubljana reviews [TripAdvisor]