THE FIZZ Prague Holešovice, prague

I lived at The Fizz for three years of undergrad. The good outweighs the bad, but the bad is worth considering before you sign. Be aware of the deposit and the noise at night. THE GOOD - Price: 850-1,000+ EUR/month isn't cheap, but it covers all utilities, wifi and amenities. Compared to similar flats and other dorms nearby, it's fair once you factor in location. - Reception: Pretty chill. You act right, they'll act right. The only rude interactions I've seen were with residents who were absolute knobheads. I'm unsure what other reviewers are talking about with abuse, but it sounds like a bunch of spoiled children not used to being told no (or the aforementioned knobs). Shout out Anthony, Stan, and Dan. Solid dudes. - Amenities: The real selling point. Sky lounge, pool tables, study rooms, cinema, garden, grills. It justifies some level of the price. - Community: Very international. It takes some effort if you're shy, but I made plenty of good friends here. Just talk to people. - Location: Prague 7 is the best area in the city. Metro, train station, McDonald's and a petrol station are a minute's walk. Lidl and Alza are a short tram ride. Good cafes and restaurants, close to the river, no tourist crowds. - Rooms: Small, but the best student rooms I've seen in Prague. A private flat might be bigger and cheaper, but you'd miss out on dorm life. - Events: The parties here are great and an easy way to meet people. THE BAD - Deposit: The biggest problem. Expect them to try to deduct for everything, and expect 3+ months for the refund. Clean thoroughly before moving out, photograph your room when you arrive and when you leave, and push back on charges because they do negotiate. Small mold spots in the shower come from a poorly sealed gasket and happen in every room. Don't accept a charge for it. Keep emailing the corporate office until it's resolved. - Groups of a certain nationality regularly party in the corridors at 2am on weeknights and leave the kitchens and study rooms a mess. Huge credit to the cleaning staff. Security and reception can only act if you give them a specific room number, so note it down. Calling the police on them is your only option. This isn't xenophobia like other reviewers claim, this is a consistent behavior and earned reputation that everyone here knows about and hates. - Maintenance: Lifts and washing machines break down often. Expect 2-3 days for a reply to maintenance requests. - Laundry: 3 EUR per load with no alternative, though that's standard for Prague dorms. - Theft: Not common, but reception can't view CCTV without the police. If something is stolen, report it to the police. - Security: Got better in my last year. They'll occasionally shut down the noisy students here, but the language barrier is real. Use Google translate. 3.5 stars overall, but giving 4 stars due to undeserving 1 star reviews.

I have been living in this residence since September, and I want to make one thing clear from the very beginning: I would not recommend that anyone stays here. First of all, don’t expect the place to look anything like the photos. The only thing they seem to take care of is the garden. Everything else is neglected. These people will make you pay for the entire academic year, including July and August, even if you are not living here during those months. In my opinion, that is nothing short of a scam. You should only have to pay for the months you actually live in the residence. Don’t expect a 24-hour reception service either. Reception is closed on weekends, and their opening hours during the week are very limited. So, whatever you do, don’t lose your keys or accidentally leave them inside your room on a Friday, because you won’t be able to get back into your room until Monday—unless you are willing to pay an outrageous amount for an external emergency service to open the door. Speaking of keys, if you accidentally leave yours inside your room—which is something that can happen to anyone, because we’re all human and mistakes happen—they will charge you €20 just for someone at reception to interrupt their “hard work” and unlock your door. You might think, “Well, isn’t there 24-hour security?” Surprisingly, no. On several occasions I needed to contact the security guard, and they weren’t even at their post (who knows where they were). So let’s just hope nobody with bad intentions decides to walk into the residence, because getting inside is far easier than it should be. On top of the poor service and their apparent talent for charging extra fees, the room itself looked as though it had been painted by a three-year-old. My shower didn’t close properly, it was yellow, rusty, and the drain was full of hair, causing a serious blockage that I had to clean myself. Then, when you move out at the end of the year, they’ll still charge you €140 for painting and disinfection. One thing they certainly do well is taking your money. When it comes to charging fees, they are always efficient and on time. Another thing they clearly don’t do very well is maintaining the plumbing. I even have videos showing orange water coming out of the tap. I was lucky not to get seriously ill, because if I had, you would have been facing a lawsuit you wouldn’t have forgotten. And all of this comes at the bargain price of around €800 per month—an amount that, in Spain and many other parts of Europe, would get you accommodation of a much higher standard. Oh, and one last thing: if you’re Spanish, be prepared. In my experience, some people here don’t hesitate to show xenophobic attitudes towards Spaniards. You only need to read the comments below to see how some Spanish guests have been treated. P.S. I also recommend washing your clothes by hand whenever you can, because they charge €4 every time you use the washing machine. Kind regards, and I sincerely hope this place closes one day. — Alberto

I'm in my sixth month at The Fizz and I've had some really great experiences. First of all, the location is excellent; the tram and metro are a four-minute walk away, and you can easily reach the city center in four or five stops. The rooms and building are very clean, and the staff are friendly and helpful. I don't want to praise it excessively, but I don't understand why there are so many negative reviews. As long as you don't misbehave and follow the rules, nobody fines you – that's just my opinion. The only downside is that there's a lot of smoking in other apartments (despite it being forbidden), so the smell is a bit bothersome. Other than that, it's a nice dorm, and I hope I can have even more great experiences here.

Unfortunately, my experience at The Fizz Prague was extremely disappointing. One of the biggest issues are the random fees and the deposit. It feels like almost anything can be used here as a reason to to take money from you and also deduct it from your deposit, which makes the whole process very frustrating and unfair from a resident’s perspective. The management is also very poorly organized. Even employees do not appear to stay for very long, which says a lot about how the place is managed. On top of that, common areas are frequently closed or unavailable, and the elevators often do not work properly. For a residence at this price level, I would expect much better maintenance and management. I am giving one star only because I did manage to have some good moments with friends during my time there. Unfortunately, even those moments were often made unnecessarily stressful by excessive rules and constant interference. Overall, I would not recommend The Fizz Prague. The concept and facilities could have a lot of potential, but the way the residence is managed seriously affects the experience.

6 months to get the wifi fixed, mold in the shower and no response, aggressive security who has assaulted friends here, hit them and leave visible bruises and insult on several occasions. More than 3 months without common areas due to “renovations” and paying 850€ for a 13 square meter room. Reception acts like they are not responsible for anything and the whole service is horrible. Please reconsider seriously twice before coming here, there are many other options in prague which are much better.