Finn S.
Google
TLDR: Gaslit after injury from unsafe room - no help, no first aid, just denial. Stay away.
I waited six weeks to write this, partly because I didn’t want to relive the stress, but also to give the owner every opportunity to do the right thing after what was a nightmare of a stay.
In mid-July, my friends and I had to cut short the Juta-Roshka hike when our tents failed in a storm. Freezing and wet on the mountain, we hiked down to Juta looking for accomodation. Fifth Season was full, so we ended up at Zeta. It was overpriced (even for Juta), but it was late and we didn’t have a better option.
We checked into two greenhouse-style domes. Within five minutes, it was obvious the build quality was poor - damp patches, dodgy electrics - but we figured it would do for the night. Dinner was overpriced and bland with tiny portions, but again, not our main concern.
Just after going to bed, we heard our friend scream from the other room. He had slipped on the wet shower floor, and his foot was sliced open in three places by the edge of the shower door - which for some reason was razor sharp. The cuts were several centimetres deep and bleeding heavily.
We ran to get help. The staff (an inexperienced woman and an older man who spoke no English) were completely unprepared. No first aid kit, no first aid knowledge, no idea what to do. They just stood there. In fact, the guy touched the shower door and just shrugged at us - insinuating it wasn't sharp and that he hurt himself shaving! -all whilst the floor was covered in blood. We had some supplies of our own, and two other guests stepped in to help - they were trained and took over when the staff didn’t know how to respond.
At one point the woman offered to call emergency rescuers, but then realised they wouldn’t be able to reach us until morning, if at all. The only idea they had was for us to WALK down to the village (200m down) and another 2km to the roadblock, where I had to organise further transport to a hospital.
By 1AM, we’d used everything we had to stop the bleeding and calm our friend through shock. The only option was to wait until morning. The woman arranged a horse to help carry him down, and a car to the roadblock. We were grateful at first, until she charged us over €30 for what was basically an emergency evacuation. No empathy, no understanding - just a bill. We paid without arguing, assuming the owner would reimburse us later.
He didn’t. In fact, he ignored every message we sent. Emails, WhatsApp, phone calls - nothing. We weren’t even asking for compensation at first, just basic accountability and a refund for an objectively unsafe stay. Total silence. Eventually I contacted him from a different number, posing as a new guest. He replied within minutes. When I revealed who I was and explained what had happened, he denied it and even called me a liar. He said no injury occurred. When I offered photos of the wound and the stitches, he stopped replying.
Let that sink in. A serious injury happened on his property, and the owner’s response was to pretend it didn’t happen and ghost us.
I won’t go into how the injury ruined the rest of our trip, you can imagine. The only thing worse than that was the owner's behaviour.
Had none of this happened, I probably would’ve rated Zeta 3/5. The location is beautiful, but the food is awful and the rooms are overpriced. But after our experience - and after being completely ignored and actually gaslit - I honestly believe this place is a safety risk.
If you're hiking in the area, you're probably experienced and prepared and you plan for the risks of terrain, weather etc. What you don’t plan for is getting injured by the room itself and being met with zero support or first aid, and a business owner who refuses to acknowledge any responsibility.
Photos of of our messages with the coward. I hope this review helps someone else make a better decision. Don’t reward this kind of negligence and dishonesty. We gave money to a business that ignored a real emergency and tried to pretend it never happened - so you don’t have to.
