Don’t flush the toilet, don’t drink the water, and don’t expect a good night’s sleep. These are some of the things officials of the Sochi Olympics are telling athletes as they prepare for the games.  We have been waiting for this day for the past four years, but we did not expect that Sochi would be ill-prepared and unfurnished for the big day.

Among the poor accommodations in the Sochi hotels include contaminated water and foul-smelling rooms where even flushing toilet paper after using the toilet cannot be done. Instead, toilet paper has to be thrown in the bins provided in the bathrooms. One athlete even found two glasses of a urine-colored liquid in her room, leading to cleansing their face with Evian water instead of normal tap water from the sink. In almost every Sochi hotel room, certain amenities like hot water, TVs, lamps, chairs, heat, etc. are not provided to the athletes for their stay. Rooms are in shambles and are not even cleaned out for the Olympic athletes. Furthermore, the NHL players have to adjust to sleeping in rooms with Lilliputian-sized beds and nightstands with matching lamps.

While trying to get a good night sleep, journalists are forced to listen to the ear-piercing sound of technic music coming from various nightclubs throughout Sochi. In addition, workers lay bricks on the local streets and the lobbies are packed with stray dogs and cats that found their way into the building from the streets. Some hotels even feature broken elevators, unlit stairways and exposed electrical outlets, leaving a hazardous environment for the athletes during their stay in Sochi.

With all the hype of the Sochi Olympics, the one thing that could possibly bring down the spirit of the games would be the sordid amenities that the athletes have to face in their hotel rooms. Nevertheless, we can all hope for the best for the athletes’ stay during the winter Olympics this year.