The noise of the trains is not funny.... if you want to have a slumber party and plan on staying awake all night or if you dont have an alarm clock this is the place for you !!!!Also if you book your room dont be surprised if it isnt there when you arrive ... but apart from that its not too bad
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(Review ID: 7231)
Yay!, November 7, 2005
Reviewer:
jewel
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This hostel was great. It is seriously a 2 minute walk from the train station! It is also across the street from a bank, an awesome pizza place and a supermarket. Discounts to "Mr.Fogg" (a 4 floor club/bar/disco) are given to guests and it was always a good time. Not all of the staff members spoke english, but the ones who do (there's always someone there who speaks english) are very nice. Free breakfast was a plus and the hostel common room connects to a bar/cafe owned by the same family so we were free to wander around as we pleased. The cleaning lady speaks absolutely no english, but she's very sweet. There is also another hostel owned by the same family about 15 minutes away which offers free breakfast AND dinner! we were sad to hear that we hadn't booked there instead...or too...we don't know. At the other place (Sorrento Hostel) there was a large lemon orchard that we were able to relax in or use the common room (with a TV and DVD player) which is the largest i've ever seen. besides the hostels, the city is absolutely picturesque. quaint and lively it's the perfect place to visit for relaxation (mmmmmmm.....beaches....mmmmm) or a fun night out. plus, the city is easily accessable to the almafi coast, capri(you can actually SEE it from sorrento), ischia, pompeii and naples. i don't know why this place has so many bad reviews! i guess it's cleaned itself up in the past little while. it's definitely a cool place. rock on le sirene, rock on.
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(Review ID: 7232)
They are the only hostel in town! :(, September 30, 2004
Reviewer:
travel_kamikaze80
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This place does not know the meaning of customer service. I booked in advance and when i arrived they looked very vague when i said i had a booking! I did actually get a room and it was crammed with 8 beds. It was noisy and the bathroom was gross. They wouldn't let you eat food anywhere on the premises or even outside it.One of the staff laughed at another girl when she asked if there was kitchen facilities. Some please give this place some competition!
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(Review ID: 7233)
Expensive, Noisy, Small, cold coffee!, August 8, 2004
Reviewer:
kentishgirl
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I was really disapointed here, we booked way in advance but were still told upon arrival that they had no room in the dorm, pay more and you can go in a 4bed just a few doors up the street.We had no other option! The room was tiny, and I mean tiny! We were falling over the others! The showeroom was clean with a huge shower, but the actual drying area was tiny and impossible to dry in !The traffic was SO loud, all night long - I just couldnt sleep.Breakfast was a dry roll with jam and a cold coffee or cappucino (that was meant to be hot may I add!).The guy on reception was ok but quite arrogant.We left Sorrento early because we were so unimpressed!
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(Review ID: 7234)
rooms are nice, but traffic too loud, December 7, 2003
Reviewer:
EM
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I stayed at this hostel for 5 nights in August 2003. I stayed in the new part of the hostel which was more like a hotel it was only 2 Euros more than the old part. There were four of us in the room and we had our own balcony and bathroom. One problem was that the hot water wasn't working the first day I was there, but they fixed it after a day of complaining. Also the traffic was really loud all night! The hostel is on a very busy street. The noise problem can be solved with a good pair of earplugs, which unfortunately I did not have. I hear it was worse on the other side of the hostel that faced the train tracks. The location to the train station was great for going to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples.
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(Review ID: 7235)
Crowded, insect-ridden, but the only option..., October 9, 2003
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Anonymous
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Le Sirene is an expensive, over-crowded hostel, where the owners seem to exploit the fact that they are the only backpackers' option in Sorrento. The beds are expensive (20.00 for a four bed dorm), and although ours had an ensuite, the dividing wall only reached about 2 metres high, so we heard EVERY toilet noise made in the bathroom. Pity the poor person right next to the loo on the upper bunk!! The dividing wall was also mostly a large sheet of unconvincingly frosted glass, providing a great view of anyone in the shower. I don't really know what the larger dorms were like, but they certainly looked VERY crowded.That said, living in such an intimate setting does make for some great bonding, and I made some good friends here.Its vicinity to the train line (Herculaneum, Pompeii, Naples) is also really helpful, and the path to the hostel is well sign-posted.Breakfast was OK, but anyone who needs more than a small bread roll and a cup of coffee will have to buy somethiing else. The location across the road from a supermarket is great, though it might be difficult to find somewhere to eat in the hostel as no eating is allowed in the rooms, nor in the little cafe/reception area downstairs (aside from food purchased there).The staff are rather unfriendly, and the 20 page book of rules which everyone is compelled to read (the folder is on the front desk when you check in) is a work of art. We had a good chuckle about it in our room...A final word of warning: the rooms get very hot during the day, making you to open the window at night. I counted 17 mosquito bites the first night alone... Bring bug spray, even in autumn!
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(Review ID: 7236)
Cheap and clean, September 9, 2003
Reviewer:
Roobeena
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(3)
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Despite its location right behind the train station, you have to make a big round to reach the hostel as the train station doesn't have a back exit. It's about the only hostel in Sorrento, discounting Camp Santa Fortunata, which is frequently full and out of the way. When we arrived at Le Sirene, we (two girls) were told that we had to pay 20 euros to be in the same dorm, or pay 15 and 16, to be in separate dorms. Didn't really know why there was a price difference, and reception didn't elaborate. But she was kind enough to offer us 15 euro rooms - as an afterthought - at the next town Sant Agnello, about 10 minutes away. And it includes transfers to Sorrento in the morning, and at night. The hostel at Sant Agnello was clean, and spacious. There were about 3 bunks for 6 people in a room, and two rooms shared a bathroom. There was no hot water though, and the water is very icy...brrr! The breakfast was one miserable bun, and a choice of orange/pineapple juice or coffee, and you had to clear up after yourselves. And the cars usedto bring us to Sant Agnello are really beat-up. We sat in a minuscule red little Fiat on the last day, and couldn't get over how it managed to squeeze in three people and two backpacks into such a tiny space. The reception was friendly enough, just don't talk to the Italian lady (i think she's the boss), who's really quite formidable. Don't think much of the Le Sirene hostel iself at Sorrento, judging from the narrow staircase, but the one at Sant Agnello is really quite good. You dun need an alarm clock either, you'd be promptly woken up by a rooster crowing, or even a pig oinking - no kidding!
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(Review ID: 7237)
Crowded Rooms, Dirty Showers, Good Times, March 11, 2003
Reviewer:
Inspector Nalgitas
Pros:
n/a
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Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
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(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
Consider things that annoy you before staying here. If you don't like the stank in your bathroom, don't stay here. (There are funky mops in murky buckets with signs that tell you to clean after yourself) If you want enough floorspace in your dorm to tie your shoes, don't stay here. (Or pay more for the less-crowded rooms) If loud noises wake you up and upset your balance, don't stay here. (Trains roll through at 5 am right behind your window)So the goods then? Well, Sorrento is awesome- it's a beautiful small tourist town with good, cheap restaurants, friendly locals, and a number of sweet day trips (Herculaneum, Pompeii, Vesuvius, Naples, Capri, Amalfi) all less than an hour away. Staying at LE SIRENE, which is what this place is REALLY CALLED, makes those trips easier by placing you so close to those very trains and buses that will be waking you up before your time. The crowded rooms are a great conversation piece for you and your many many dormmates. And the staff has a couple nice souls, although they do generally treat hostellers like it's a chore-- and yes they generally prefer you not hang out in the neighboring cafe-bar which IS CALLED LA CAFFETTERIA. There's a great supermarket right outside, but don't buy anything that requires a fridge cause you don't have one. The hostel website is very good, and reservations are easy to make.The problems are there and impossible to miss, but I still had a fantastic stay, met lots of great friends, and thus had an unforgettable 4 days both hanging in Sorrento and seeing the area. Thus I must give this place my stinkiest, stankiest recommendation.Dorm beds were 14 euro in May 2002. Dorm beds in less-crowded rooms were 16.
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(Review ID: 7238)
No coffee for you, December 11, 2002
Reviewer:
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Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
This hostel is reasonably well located, just behind the town's rail/bus station (both the Circumvesuviana rail line to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples, and the buses south to Positano, Amalfi, etc.), in a commercial district within ten minutes walk of the heart of town. Shops, ATM cash machines and a supermarket are all nearby.The hostel itself feels a bit crowded, with more bunks per room than it perhaps should have (beds seem to be less than a meter apart). The ensuite bathrooms were small, but adequate. Cleanliness was acceptable, but not great. Fitting with the name, the morning breakfast (included in the price) included excellent coffee. The staff included a few generations of family members and some locals (no travelers/backpackers), some friendly but also a couple of distinct exceptions.The odd element comes from the relationship to the attached cafe (hence, the hostel's name). After staying there for a couple of days, it became apparent that a few of the local younger men, including a staff member or two, considered the bar/cafe to be "their" turf, where the backpackers were not really welcome. Although the locals seemed to feel quite comfortable to dominate the TV program choices in the adjoining hostel lounge/lobby area, the same welcome was not extended to us in the cafe. After I had spent a fair bit of time drinking coffee and chatting with the friendly local woman who worked behind the bar, it became apparent that the men weren't as pleased to have a traveler on their side of the building. This was strange, because in my experience, bars and cafes attached to hostels often attract locals who are interested in meeting travelers -- but not here. A very odd glimpse of local culture, perhaps, and not one of the better ones.
