Warning! This hostel has bedbugs!
Vägglöss! Staying at Skanstull's Hostel was the worst travel experience of my life. I checked in on March 31st 2026. I stayed here for four nights and originally planned on staying longer, but I had to cut my trip short due to finding bedbugs on my futon in Room 43. In addition, I got bed bug bites after sleeping in my room. I booked it through booking.com, but I can't write a review there because my stay was technically cancelled. That's why I'm writing my review for this place on Trustpilot.
When I informed staff that there were bedbugs in my room, the way that the staff responded to this issue (aside from the hostel owner Per) was horrendous. The front desk staff kept invalidating my concerns about having bedbugs and told me to brush it off. They kept refusing to give me a complete refund, despite that the room did not meet bare minimum standards for habitability in Stockholm. The middle manager even stated that he felt that bedbugs were not his responsibility to treat because other people bring them in. He compared bringing bedbugs home to getting the flu and said treating bedbugs at the hostel wasn't his responsibility. This is not compliant with Swedish hygiene regulations, which requires staff to treat bedbugs when found. The middle manager was also quite condescending towards me because of my nationality (American) - repeatedly stating that "bedbugs are normal in Europe". He also accused me of lying and said whatever he could in an effort to deflect responsibility. My initial request for a full refund was rejected and I was only offered a tiny 108 KR. The cleaner also lied to me and claimed that no one had stayed in the room before in an effort to shift the blame on to me, whereas the owner confirmed to me that someone had previously stayed in the room.
The following day, I went to the front desk staff and was insistent that I wanted a full refund. Even the cleaner got defensive and told me that I should just brush it off. The staff basically thought that I should pay to be bit by bedbugs. The way that most of the staff reacted with such extreme defensiveness and hostility makes me wonder if they were already aware of an underlying bedbug issue. The middle manager told me that the hostel had dealt with bedbugs in the past (1-2 years ago). I suspect that my experience may have been the result of an ongoing issue, given that several staff members knew there was a past bedbug problem and feel that bedbugs aren't their responsibility to treat. Despite that Swedish hygiene regulations for hostels clearly state otherwise.
It was not until I escalated and talked to the owner Per that I was finally offered a complete refund and an alternate place to stay. No effort was initially made by other staff to address the situation. The owner Per also told the front desk staff to cancel all reservations for Room 43 until it is treated, which the front desk staff was not originally planning on doing. I am grateful for the owner's response in this situation, as it heavily contrasts how I had been treated by other hostel staff. He did the bare minimum that any hotel employee should do.
Due to this situation, I returned home to the U.S. earlier than expected and had to throw out nearly all of my luggage. I lost much of my wardrobe because I did not want to risk bringing an infestation into my apartment.
For those who are not American, something important to understand is that bedbugs are extremely taboo in my culture. If an American brings back bedbugs from their vacation and their apartment develops an infestation, their landlord can evict them and they can become homeless as a result. This is something that's very common in America. For us, encountering bedbugs is very frightening. I understand that some cultures don't take bedbugs as seriously, but I wish that other staff had at least been respectful and taken some degree of responsibility.
It is worth mentioning that myself and another girl staying at the hostel also experienced sexual harassment on behalf of a man staying at the hostel. This is not the owners' fault, but I do think it gives some insight into the sorts of people who stay at this hostel. Due to the behavior of this guest, my friend felt scared to leave the hostel or walk around the common rooms without her boyfriend. She and her boyfriend have since gone home.