HI - Chengdu - Dragon Town Hostel

HI - Chengdu - Dragon Town Hostel is located in perhaps the nicest area of Chengdu.

The Location

Located on Kuanxiangzi Alley, it is not directly accessible by vehicle, one has to walk about three minutes through the alley. The alley is a very lovely area with fancy restaurants (both Chinese and Western), street food, and arts and crafts. The area also included a number of high-end bars, which makes the location of this hostel one of the best places in the city. It is an inexpensive cab ride from the main bus station (which is the best way to get there). About a ten-minute walk from the hostel is a main street with a number of bus connections. The employees are very helpful and speak reasonable English, and are always eager to help you finding a bus to get to various attractions in Chengu.

Rooms and Bathrooms

There is a large selection of rooms available at this hostel. Some are outside of the main building area, requiring guests to walk inside to communal toilets, which are toilets in closet-size rooms on the main floor. Most of these toilets are squat toilets. Also, in some of the rooms detached from the main building, there may not be air conditioning, but there will be an abundance of fans. Doors have locks, but there is not really any space to change in these rooms.

The shower, as is typical in Chinese hostels, is a showerhead sticking out of the wall and spraying directly onto the floor. Although some look old and rundown, they are generally always clean. There are also a large number of dorm beds in the main building. Some of these have washrooms attached to them, and some of these include a western, sitting toilet. The beds in the hostels are comfortable and include a comforter and a thick mattress and good enough pillow.

Common Spaces

The common spaces in this hostel are very lovely. The main common area is open air and includes a fish pond with a number of goldfish. Guests are able to hang their clothing to dry in this area. The reception sells bottled water at a reasonable price. There is a DVD area with a good selection of DVDs, and free internet is provided to all guests. However, there are only three computers that are somewhat old, so you may have to wait some time to get on the internet. However, when there is a problem with the internet you can inform the staff and they will do their best to fix it.

Summary

This is a very good and inexpensive hostel with very helpful staff and free internet and located in a beautiful area. In the busy summer months, however, you may be stuck in a room without air conditioning. Also, the internet can be slow.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2009