Poets' Corner Hostel

The Poets’ Corner hostel offers the cheapest accommodation in the centre of Olomouc and is consistently among the highest-ranked hostels in the country, according to the big booking websites like hostelworld and hostelbookers.

Shared or private

The poets offer accommodation in either dormitories or private rooms. The eight-bed dorms are brightly painted, have high ceilings and dark curtains to draw against the early morning sun. The private rooms are just as large and have proper double beds plus a pair of bunks, making them suitable for up to four people. Dorm beds go for 300Kč per person, while you’ll pay 450Kč per person in a double, 400 in a triple and 350 in a four-person private room.

Big kitchen but no breakfast

None of the rooms have ensuite bathrooms or toilets, but if you’re staying on the third floor, where most of the doubles are located, you only need to share with two other double rooms. There’s a good kitchen on each floor of the hostel, but there’s no breakfast included, and no internet access. Unless you have you own laptop, in which case you’re invited to use the hostel wireless connection for free. In any case, there’s an excellent internet café at the end of the same block and a big supermarket is right around the corner.

Fantastic views

The most common complaint about the hostel is the number of stairs you need to climb. 92 to be exact. The dorms are on the fourth floor and the private rooms are on the third, and it’s a long way up with a heavy backpack. That said, you only need to do it once with your luggage, and the views are fantastic.

From the balcony and kitchen of the hostel you can see the clock tower of the archbishop’s palace and the spires of three churches. Four if it’s a clear day and you count the big yellow church on the hillside in the distance. Being up away from the street also means it’s quieter, you get the fresh breezes in the summer and you can leave the windows open overnight without thieves climbing in.

Heart of the hostel

The heart of the Poets’ Corner Hostel is its big common room. Huge old armchairs and sofas provide the perfect place for absorbing the abundant information on offer, there are info-folders full of suggestions for things to see and do in Olomouc including nightlife, suggestions for cycling trips outside the city limits and enough daytrip-guides to keep you busy for at least two weeks. They also keep a whiteboard updated with all the films, concerts and festivals going on at any given time.

Australian and Czech staff

The hostel is owned by an Australian couple who fell in love with Olomouc while backpacking and their helpers are young local university students who speak the major European languages and will have a go at everything from Japanese to Lithuanian if they need to.

The name of the hostel comes from the former use of the building as a publisher’s house and the nearby streets, which are named after Czech poets. The hostel doesn’t accept school groups or transit guests, and with the common room at the centre of things it tends to be a good place to meet other travellers.

Open year round

The poets’ corner is open year round and with less than 30 beds, it’s a good idea to reserve ahead in summer and on winter weekends, when people visit for skiing in the nearby Jesenik Mountains. The best way to reserve is through the hostel’s own website www.hostelolomouc.com. Note that you will need a credit card if you’re intending to order a private room.

If they happen to be full, there are plenty of other places in town to stay, but with the cheapest beds in the centre, consistently one of the highest ratings in the country (including Prague’s 60+ hostels) and a reputation for sharing their inside-knowledge, the poets are well worth considering for your accommodation in Olomouc.

Poets' Corner Hostel
Sokolská 1
Olomouc 77900
Tel. 777 570730