Pod Pyramidou Pension Hotel

Facilities
Spent 3 nights at the Pod Pyramidou Bratislava mainly as Id left it far too late to find anywhere better!!
Well where do I start, I expected the worst but at least it was clean. It’s a real eye opener as the place is in the base of the Slovak Radio broadcasting building which is in the shape of an upturned pyramid – straight out of cold war Russia! The place certainly does lack any style or forethought & the rooms are simply “cold war Russia meets Ikea!”
What the place lacks in style & facilities, it makes up for in friendliness of the proprietors. We had a deluxe double room for an extra £6 per night although not really needed it was worth it for the 70’s commy style settee & dreadful pieces of art hanging on the walls! Not to mention the really chintzy & naff “ornaments” on display. Marvellous!
The reception & bar area doubles up as the breakfast area in the morning. Basic continental fair is on offer, cheese, ham slices, rogenbread & fresh baguettes each day. Cereal is a bit naff, must be the local Aldi version or something, Tesco’s basics style cornflakes, muesli etc. Steer clear of the juice, it glowed that much I thought it had come fresh from Chernobyl! The T bags – well take yer own as they supply hot water in a flask. The coffee is strong, I thought it quite nice but it left a coating on my teeth!
There are no other meals available I think. The bar area is nice enough, again the décor is interesting! Cheap too, 60p a pint!
Directions:
To get there, buy a ticket for 18K from the kiosk in arrivals, get on No61 bus to Halva Stanica (main Sta) & get off at RACIANSKE MYTO. Cross Rd & walk 400mtrs down MYTNA & you are there. Ticket machines for buses/trolleybuses & trams can be bought from yellow machines on the street. They only take coins. Nightmare. No one has ever got any damn change! We took tram to main station to get a tourist card, the office was closed! You can get a tourist card from the machines but we never amassed enough change. None of the kiosks we found had them either, just the normal tickets. Don’t get caught without a validated one as it will cost you £26 in a fine! Make sure your bags are within the size limits or you will get nailed for a fine for those as well.
Location:
The location is great, a 5min walk to Ochodna St for shopping & cellar bars. We visited Kelt & Slovak No1 pub which were brill I thought. I paid 40 – 50p a pint in these places. Went to another cellar bar called KGB just up from Slovak No1 which was great, ask for an English Menu as the food was good too. These places seem to be used by young Slovaks & student types. Good atmosphere & very cheap. Slovak No1 was good; we ate there, food cost pennies. Have the traditional goulash for 89K/ £1.80 a bowl. Magic!
Pod Pyramidou is 10min from the old town by foot. Simply leave the accommodation & turn left down Mytna, walk to the Crown Plaza hotel opposite the Presidential Palace, turn left & you are there! Castle area is at the back of the old town. Bars In the old town are more expensive, we went to U Certa on the way up to the castle, that was great too, great atmosphere, Beer again was just 78p max. They do chicken wings & other bar snacks there. No plated food though just snacks. There is another just round the corner but I forget the name, again, pennies.
Things to do/see
Spend an evening on Ochodna doing the cellar bars.
Spend an evening walking through the old town & its square, plenty of cafes & bars for pits stops.
Take a river cruise down the Danube to Devin, give yourself a couple of hrs in Devin to see the castle & walk around.
Take the 205 bus to AUPARK, Bratislava’s biggest retails park. Give yourself 2hrs just to walk around it.
Take the 208 bus from opposite the Crown Plaza up to see the Russian War Memorial, (end of the line) great views of the city if you can find your way – we did & were suitably rewarded!
Don’t bother with a tourist card if you stay at the Pod Pyramidou, you won’t need it. We spent just less than 400K between 2 on public transport. Tourist card costs 90/170/210K for 24/48/72 hrs but you can only get it from Halva Stanica.
Overall I would return just for that “cold war” experience. Don’t book it if you want 5* luxury but do go if its authenticity & convenience you are looking for!