The Hostelz.com Review
The Hump Hostel in Kunming is a laid back hostel with cheap beds and a cozy atmosphere. But don't look yourself blind on the cheap dorm beds -- at the Hump nothing comes for free.
The Location
It is really easy to find the hostel. If you come by bus or train, just hop on the #3 bus from the station until you get to the "Golden Horse Memorial Archway." From there you just follow the signs. Around the corner is a supermarket and across the street you find the Zhong Yilu shopping area. It can be a bit noisy outside at night, mostly from annoying car alarms going off now and then -- after midnight things get quiet.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The size of the dorms are good for being eight person dorms. They clean the rooms once a day. There are big in-room lockers where you also find your blanket, pillow, and sheets upon arrival. There is a desk and two chairs in each room and about four electric sockets for recharging those cell phone and iPods.
There is one big bathroom with six shared shower booths. The water flow in the showers is really bad, but at least the water is hot. There is a locker in the shower booth where you can put your clothes while showering. There are both western- and Asian-style toilets. The overall bathroom cleanliness is ok, but the toilets smell pretty bad. Remember to bring you own toilet paper, as they charge you for a really tiny roll.
Common Spaces
The sitting area is a big room that combines bar, café, restaurant, computer area, and TV room. You're not allowed to bring your own food to the hostel, but we saw many people eating their own food. The bar is a good place to hang out if you don't want to spend your time around the city. There are really comfortable leather sofas where you can sit and chill out over a cup of tea or step over to the pool table for a match with some fellow travelers. The rooftop garden has an amazing view over the Golden Horse Memorial Archway, especially at night when everything is lit up.
There are many Chinese people staying at the hostel but overall it's half Chinese and half foreigners. It seems to be a place where people like to party. When the hostel bar closes, everybody heads downstairs to the Hump bar where the party goes on till the break of dawn. If you're planning to go on a trip for a couple of days you can drop off your backpack in the luggage room for a charge (just for the day it is free). If you have any questions about anything, ask the staff in the reception -- they can hook you up with almost anything.
Summary
It's central and has a really laid back atmosphere. The rooms are clean and the beds are comfortable. We met lots of fun people here, but it feels a bit average and you get the feeling of the hostel being a bit greedy (with the food restrictions and charge for toilet paper). However, the worst thing was that nobody came to pick us up from the train station the early morning we arrived, even though we had called the hostel a day earlier and asked for a pickup. The explanation we got after waiting for almost an hour and arriving at the hostel by bus was that they don't pick up people that early.
The Location
It is really easy to find the hostel. If you come by bus or train, just hop on the #3 bus from the station until you get to the "Golden Horse Memorial Archway." From there you just follow the signs. Around the corner is a supermarket and across the street you find the Zhong Yilu shopping area. It can be a bit noisy outside at night, mostly from annoying car alarms going off now and then -- after midnight things get quiet.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The size of the dorms are good for being eight person dorms. They clean the rooms once a day. There are big in-room lockers where you also find your blanket, pillow, and sheets upon arrival. There is a desk and two chairs in each room and about four electric sockets for recharging those cell phone and iPods.
There is one big bathroom with six shared shower booths. The water flow in the showers is really bad, but at least the water is hot. There is a locker in the shower booth where you can put your clothes while showering. There are both western- and Asian-style toilets. The overall bathroom cleanliness is ok, but the toilets smell pretty bad. Remember to bring you own toilet paper, as they charge you for a really tiny roll.
Common Spaces
The sitting area is a big room that combines bar, café, restaurant, computer area, and TV room. You're not allowed to bring your own food to the hostel, but we saw many people eating their own food. The bar is a good place to hang out if you don't want to spend your time around the city. There are really comfortable leather sofas where you can sit and chill out over a cup of tea or step over to the pool table for a match with some fellow travelers. The rooftop garden has an amazing view over the Golden Horse Memorial Archway, especially at night when everything is lit up.
There are many Chinese people staying at the hostel but overall it's half Chinese and half foreigners. It seems to be a place where people like to party. When the hostel bar closes, everybody heads downstairs to the Hump bar where the party goes on till the break of dawn. If you're planning to go on a trip for a couple of days you can drop off your backpack in the luggage room for a charge (just for the day it is free). If you have any questions about anything, ask the staff in the reception -- they can hook you up with almost anything.
Summary
It's central and has a really laid back atmosphere. The rooms are clean and the beds are comfortable. We met lots of fun people here, but it feels a bit average and you get the feeling of the hostel being a bit greedy (with the food restrictions and charge for toilet paper). However, the worst thing was that nobody came to pick us up from the train station the early morning we arrived, even though we had called the hostel a day earlier and asked for a pickup. The explanation we got after waiting for almost an hour and arriving at the hostel by bus was that they don't pick up people that early.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2008
Their Description
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F***ing hostel. It's a den of thieves I have been there for three days and I won't recommend it, since it is a very unsafe and dangerous place to stay. You will be stolen! The Hump Hostel sucks. — Oliver , France (2009-11-23) My worst nightmare! I forgot my laptop along with the passport on the table in the Hump hostel restaurant. They have surveillance cameras but they said they didn't see my laptop. Damn it! Five months of vacation picture lost, along with other priceless files. To the one that has my laptop, I hope you'll burn in hell. The damage you have induce to me is irreparable. — Cristi Balasa , Romania (2009-06-26) Bad Internet never works, bedding is never changed, rooms are never cleaned. Single rooms are ludicrously overpriced. Staff are incompetent, check your bill. Food is crap. — Andrew , USA (2008-12-13) Superb! I was really satisfied with everything in this hostel -- maybe they are sometimes a little slow, but that helps you to slow down. — Bernarda , Slovene (2008-08-07) The very fine hostel in Kunming The hump was worth staying -- a lot of fun and it makes your holiday very relaxing without having to deal with the business side of things. the staff there were very genuine, the noise side is true but personally i'd rather deal with that than other things. quite a generous hostel i would say. plus they really know how to make cocktails plus you can drink it with a rooftop view over the city. — Eddie , Chinese (2008-06-22) Great place with no complications The Hump was an excellent place to stay. The staff were very friendly and there English was great. The prices were reasonable and they allow you to bring anything into the hostel, such as food and beer. They are willing to help you with anything you need and most important they never screw you around. Definitely recommend. — Dean , AUStralia (2008-06-11) If you're in Kunming, this is the place to stay. Locationwise, It's in a great area on a beautiful strip, with everything you might need right nearby (any quality of food and shopping areas). Plus being a central area, you don't have to go far to get transportation to anywhere you want to go. And it is a quiet area, even at night, if you're concerned about sleep. Don't go wanderin' around after dark though! As to the place itself, it's got mediocre rooms and a mediocre shower room and mediocre food -- but in China, this is saying a lot for a hostel, and it is definitely quite "upscale" compared to the rest of Yunnan. Add on top of that that it's really not hard to meet new people there, because the bar/sitting area is pretty popular, and you even get the chance to meet up with Chinese students who visit the place (either at parties or just on a sunday afternoon). The emphasis in this place is sort of like a tiny club-med -- you get lots of activities and possibilities in a single place, and this they do very well. Overall, a fun place to be! Watch the foozball table -- that stuff is addictive! — Ishai Bar , Israel (2008-03-15) This could be a five-star hostel. The roof terrace is fantastic and it's in a great location. The rooms are nice and the rates are very reasonable. But what really lets this place down (and I feel bad saying this because they're not bad people) is the staff. They're so dopey and disorganised, and sometimes rude, with no concept of customer service. A word of advice -- don't use the travel booking service here unless you want them to make a complete mess of your travel plans. It's far better you go to the train station or airline office and do it yourself. There is also a nightclub within the same building which appears to have no soundproofing. The hostel provides earplugs in the rooms, but they're not enough if you really need to sleep. — Martin , UK (2007-04-22) It's a nice hostel, but there is one problem: if there is a party you can't find sleep in the rooms. But as there are nearly no parties anymore it's better for people with sensible sleep. The parties were great, so it's a pity that there aren't any anymore. Given that it's in a pub and bar area, the noise is ok. The terrace is great! Nothing to say against this. It's a wonderful place to hang out, night or day.
At the moment they should work on their service and their toilets. Then they might be the most popular hostel in Kunming. — Anonymous (2005-06-11)