TWH - Tai Wan Hotel

Terrible
the location is amazing, but that is really where anything good about this hostel ends. The pictures are a complete lie -- the room i was in would just have been about ok as a single room not a four-bed dorm if we stood up we couldn't open the door. The bathroom was so small i had to sit on the toilets sideways cause the sink sits on your knee. We had no key cause the door lock didn't work the owner just said we had to take valuables with us -- not great traveling round hong kong just hoping your stuff is not being taken. Overall just don't stay in the chungking mansions -- spend more and go somewhere better.

Do not stay
This place is disgusting! You will get ripped off. We did. Don't be fooled by the pictures, you will not get what is in them. Stayed for three nights and it was the worst place I have ever slept. The toilet is so bad and dirty. It's not even worth staying. Just don't stay, it is that bad.

I'll be a little more generous. I found the place passable. The staff was friendly and helpful, and when I arrived by cab from the airport after midnight the man was down on the sidewalk with my name in hand looking for me. the single room was reasonably clean and I did not have any critters. The decor was depressing. The charge is reasonable and the location is convenient, but am not sure I want to stay there in a few weeks.

Not for the faint of heart. I'm a student traveling on a budget and am normally willing to cut corners when it comes to lodgings in order to free up funds for other things. However, compromising what I consider minimal standards was not worth the few bucks I saved lodging here. This hostel is located in a decrepit tower that sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise glitzy section of Nathan Road. I had originally reserved a bed in a shared dormitory. When I arrived, I was shown to a tiny room where the three threadbare beds practically touched. The stained toilet seat hung from one hinge on the toilet, above which was a shower head and beside, a sink -- a bathroom for four people condensed into a space the size of a closet. I believe their listing mentions something about a locker and a digital access pass but no such things were in evidence. (The sofa, microwave, reading desk, and other amenities mentioned in their listing were also absent when I visited.) When I asked the employee (whose command of English would confer no distinction on her outside the Commonwealth) about them, she replied that the place was full and that I should keep my valuables with me. I decided it would be worth the expense to switch to a private room. I shelled out again the amount I had already paid and was shown to a small room that smelled of insecticide with a window that opened onto a dark shaft. After the sad sight of the shared dorm, I relished the peace of mind this brought but it was not to last very long. During the night, I discovered my bed was swarming with bugs. In the very early morning, two youths came by who had received the key to the same room I was occupying. Where exactly they got this before the reception had even opened was a mystery to me. In any case, as soon as the staff appeared on the scene, I called to their attention that my room was infested. The employee instructed me to bring my belongings into the hall, assuring me that I'd be assigned another room when one became available at mid-day. It took a bit longer but when I came back I was shown to a room with few insects and a private bathroom -- perhaps the best in the house! Although it is not directly under this hostel's control, something should be said about the setting. The old cinderblock building it sits in is chiefly tenanted not by tourists or locals but apparently by semi-stable inhabitants, mostly from the subcontinent and Africa. Most of the ground floor is occupied by businesses that cater to these residents. There is always a line on the ground floor for the elevator and one sometimes has to wait for the elevator to pass a couple of times before there is space for one to board. The stairwell is really stomach-turning and I once came upon a man lying on the steps as I made my way down. Thus, although the hostel is only on the third floor, I mostly opted to endure the inconvenience of the lift. I don't want to end without listing any positives, so I should mention that the location of this hostel is really great, with a range of shops and eateries within strolling distance, just around the corner from the post office and KCR station, across the street from the subway station, a couple of blocks from a nice park and a short walk from the ferry to Central. The owner is a really warm, affable fellow. However, the bottom line is that lodging anywhere in Tsim Tsa Shui at this price is not worth it. Far more comfortable quarters in this budget range are to be found in Mong Kok on this same site. That area is seedier and a couple of subway stops farther from central but offers more decorous quarters.