Lonely Planet Review

Lots of travellers have recommended this friendly and cheerful hostel, with its little beer-garden terrace, cosy lounge and comfortable, well laid-out dorms. Some doubles have their own bathrooms, but the shared bathrooms allow a lot of privacy.

Young, hip, sociable and often noisy, the Elf welcomes a steady stream of party-hearty backpackers from across the globe to its well-maintained dorms, and many end up staying longer than they originally planned. The dorms, sleeping up to 11 people, are kept immaculately clean and are brightly decorated with graffiti art or the odd mural. Single beds outnumber the bunks. Guests have free use of the communal kitchen, and free Internet access is at hand too. Most people end up at some time or other in the walled beer garden, where the psychedelic graffiti art theme is continued with vigour. On the downside are the distance from the city centre and the frankly scruffy surroundings, but Žižkov has its own earthy character, and this is certainly a side of Prague that few casual tourists ever get to see.