My Hangzhou Hostel Experience: Freshly Back & Utterly FUMING!
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Youth hostels inevitably get dirty and run-down over time, especially with many long-term residents. It's best to choose chain hostels that have been open for less than 2 years. Even older chain ones aren't great.
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This one claimed it opened in '24 and had high ratings. Strictly speaking, it's more of a guesthouse. My bad for not looking closely before booking. Who would've thought it could be so misleading?
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A few days ago, I traveled off-peak and stayed at a newly opened hostel near West Lake in Hangzhou. Everything from the design to the service was pretty good, and it was just over 100 yuan for two nights.
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I also went off-peak, stayed on the 29th. I picked it because it was close to Wulin Street and West Lake. Who knew it would be like this? When I checked in, I was in a hurry to drop my stuff and head out, so I didn't look closely. It wasn't until I came back at night to shower that I realized how bad everything was.
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The better hostels I've stayed at were all 200 yuan a night during the May Day holiday.
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May Day is just super expensive; prices go up everywhere. I went on the 29th.
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My first time at 'Dugunai' (or 'Do Good Night') was genuinely the worst. The curtain on my assigned bunk was broken, and the bed was an absolute pigsty. I didn't even take my clothes off and didn't dare use the blanket.
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The top bunk at the place I'm staying at doesn't even have a curtain!
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Which one is it? Name and shame so we can avoid it!
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When I was in Hangzhou before, I stayed at Lü Xiaoer. It was clean and not noisy.
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Now that's what a proper hostel bed looks like. The one I'm in is just like a dorm bunk bed; the top bunk doesn't even have a curtain.
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Youth hostels these days aren't what they used to be. They're mostly full of long-term residents.
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This place is so bad it doesn't even have long-term residents anymore. The girl sharing my room messaged me yesterday saying everyone else had checked out.
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Which hostel is it? I'll make a note. [Crying emoji] Domestic accommodation standards are really declining these days.
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Fulaiju Youth Hostel, it's over by Wulin Road.
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And then there's Kepler 🤮. If you want to experience being inexplicably berated by the front desk, I suggest Kepler. If you want a happy trip but end up feeling like you've eaten dirt because of how disgustingly you're treated during check-in and check-out in Hangzhou, then by all means, go experience Kepler.
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Hello, first of all, welcome to Hangzhou Kepler Planet Youth Hostel. I'm the person in charge at Kepler. If you have any dissatisfaction with our front desk, please let me know, and I will definitely give you a satisfactory response.