Topchan Hostel in Tashkent

This place has a lot of potential, and it’s not quite as filthy as some reviews suggest (which maybe isn’t saying much), but it’s not great. There are currently two major issues:

1. The staff. Many of them seem pretty disinterested in being there. They’re not especially helpful and many of them speak little English. For example, they never told me there was a free breakfast, so I missed it the first day. And when I went to check out, they lady snorted in a kind of amused disgust that I was holding out the keys to her at the reception, as if she should be bothered to stand up from her seat in the back of the reception office and walk to the desk to come take them from me, or acknowledge in any way that I was checking out. So definitely they could train the staff better.

2. Long term guests. There appear to be a number of long term guests (or “volunteers”) from Russia, Uzbekistan and South Asia. I can appreciate the circumstances these people are coming from, but it does have the effect of changing the atmosphere of the place. Just something to consider.

It’s not a horrible place, and with some changes in management it could probably be a pretty good hostel, but for now I’d suggest going elsewhere, there are other good hostels in the city not listed on Hostelworld.

Uninterested, lethargic staff. The boy at reception doesn't make an effort to explain or show the hostel and even let's you wait to pay cause he's too busy chatting with other staff. The ladies cooking the breakfast come across rude and are loudly playing their Instagram reels in the only table there is in the kitchen. Noisy staff and long term guests noisy after 12pm. Showers are barely a shower and 2/5 for cleanliness. It's a useful place for a layover but otherwise, find a hostel in the centre.

This is one of those places that stays in business just because there isn't enough competition, so they are able to make plenty of money because the good places are full and people have to stay here. Dirty walls and floors with gum stuck to them. No loaner shoes, yet you have to take your shoes off. No lockers and signs everywhere that management is not responsible for theft. Incredibly rude, lazy, and incompetent reception staff, especially the teenager running the reception, and the only good staff is the maids and lady who makes breakfast. I bet the reception staff (the blonde lady and toxic man child) has this job because they know the owner or have some connections, or they would be fired. They are the kind of immature you never grow out of.

The teenager receptionist tried to barge into the women's dorm without knocking at night, continuing to push even when I said I was coming to unlock the door, and he was mad that I looked it. Why do women lock the door? So that entitled, toxic little boys do not try to barge in without knocking when they do not have clothes on. His parents should be so ashamed of him, but perhaps they are the owners, so they will never fire him. The other guest thought he shorted her money, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

I was so disgusted by the staff that I left and paid more (not much since this place lies that the tax they do not include more than it is, so you don't save much staying here) to stay somewhere else. When people like that are allowed to be horrible and still make money, and the mistakes they make are usually not limited to rude and childish, but also apply to safety issues and health. Stay away from this dump.

We got informed when we checked out that the fine print started that alcohol could not be consumed while staying at the hostel. We did not find this information anywhere else, and had to pay a fine of 200 000 per person. The room lacked power outlet and the bathroom did et hva a functioning light source.