Finding the Optimum (Hostel)

Once through the immigration and security process, we headed out into the Russian dusk in a hurry to find out hostel before night set in.  Not aware yet that we were far enough north to start feeling the effects of the 'White Nights' and that the sun would not properly set until after midnight.  We went over the foot bridge that was above all of the train tracks of the Vladivostok train station that we would be leaving from the very next day.
There is very little information on how to find the hostel front door online, the majority of comments said just how difficult it was to actually find the hostel.  So we made our way in the general direction, looking for the renovated building with sculptures on top...basically our only hint.  Finally we could see the correct address on a building across the street but we saw no way of getting there.  There is a noticeable lack of crosswalks anywhere around, and we didn't feel comfortable jaywalking after only 10 minutes in Russia.  We continued walking several more blocks into the distance past where we assumed the hostel to be and finally found an underground walkway.  This seems to be the preferred way to get across the street here, probably something to do with the speed of cars driving above ground.  So we go across, U-turned, and made our way back to the building.  We arrived and tried the door directly under the '17' sign, where we had read to go.  We rang the door bell, typed the keypad, banged on the steel doors that would make a bank vault feel feminine, and generally stood there stupefied for 10 minutes.  Turns out we needed to be trying the door about 20 feet to our right.
Once there, we rang the correct bell, and a Russian voice came over the intercom asking if we had a reservation.  We said yes and were allowed past the massive magnetically-sealed steel door.  Into another giant steel door and we came face to face with yet another unsmiling Russian man asking for our reservation.  We tried to tell him we had booked two beds in the 8-person dorm room on an online site and paid the 10% online fee.  He looked through what appeared to be a 50 year old graph book momentarily and simply said, "Nyet."  No reservation.  Our first night in Russia, and nowhere to stay.  "Uhhh..8 person...bed...reservation".....his reply, "Nyet".  He didn't even look at us, just stood up and walked away.  Big trouble.
Fortunately we had a screen shot of the reservation on Jihye's laptop and we opened it up and showed him.  He compared that with his fancy pencil-written list and said again, "Nyet".  Umm..now what?  Finally he said, in what was mostly Russian..."No 8-person room, only more expensive 2-person room".  So there we were, heavy packs dangling off of our backs, with the choice of getting ripped off in a classic con game of, 'no booking here' vs. heading back out onto the streets and making do in a not that safe town as the sun sets.  We paid up and spent the night knowing we would not let that happen again.
The hostel was pretty run-down, over-priced, unfriendly, and generally depressing...but at least it was a bed and had a lock on the door.  And the location was unbeatable...the next closest thing was 15 minutes away.