Sleepy Inn Downtown Lakeside Hostel

Sleepy Inn Downtown Lakeside Hostel feels a bit like a motel with the rooms accessible from the outside, but here the rooms are dorms.

The Location

The hostel is located next to the Xihai lake on a nice and quiet street. There aren't many tourists around here, which makes it a perfect place to get the feel of how the locals live in Beijing. It's about a ten-minute walk from the Metro and the entrance is easy to spot with the big sign. There is a really good shopping street just five minutes from the Hostel. And, no, it's not a typical tourist street with hundreds of souvenir shops. With the bicycles for rent, you can get around to most of the sights in the city.

Rooms and Bathrooms

The rooms are a bit small for being six-person dorms, but that's compensated with big in-room lockers that easily fit a whole backpack. A lock can be picked up from the reception for a small deposit. The rooms are clean and they even make your bed while you are out. The bathroom has four booths in which there are a combination of toilet and shower. It's a shower booth with a toilet hole in the middle. It looks a bit awkward at first but it works fine. There is a basket in the booth where you can put your clothes while showering.

Common Spaces

In the reception building there is a TV room and a sitting area with a bar. There are two computers with internet that costs a fee every time you use them (the money goes directly to charity). There is also free Wi-Fi. The staff in the reception are really friendly and can hook you up with what's going on in the city or arrange tours to the wall or other interesting places. Upstairs there is an outside terrace, which is a perfect place for breakfast or just hanging out on sunny days. We stayed at the hostel on the national day week, so there were mostly Chinese families in the hostel -- all really friendly.

Summary

The location is perfect for people who like more calm areas and for those who want it quiet at night. It's clean and tidy. The only bad thing is they don't have a kitchen -- there is only a microwave and water boiler.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2008