HI - Xi'an - Ancient Street International YH Hostel is a decent choice in Xi'an, especially when the pickins get slim. The staff are top-notch but the hostel itself is a bit lacking in quality. The location is convenient, yet quieter than many others and the building is very attractive.
The Location
The hostel is located at the South Gate just inside the city wall, which is about a fifteen-minute walk from the Bell Tower at the center of Xi'an (also where airport shuttles stop). It is far from the railway and coach stations on foot, but there are many bus routes which will take you to South Gate. From South Gate walk left (to the East) along the wall and you will see the Hosteling International blue sign. The Ancient Street area has many older buildings with shops for tourists. There is a way to get on the wall at South Gate, which is convenient. It is farther from the site than many other hostels, but everything is still walkable except for the railway and coach stations.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The dorms vary greatly in size. They are typically sparsely decorated but air-conditioned. There is a loft in the largest mixed-dorm, which is to be avoided as it is very hot and rather rickety. The dorms and entire hostel are very loud in the morning, which seems normal. The bathrooms are separate from the rooms and there are two toilets (western and squat) and two showers in each. They are relatively clean and in decent repair, but there are just the set of bathrooms for the whole hostel.
Common Spaces
There are plenty of common spaces. In front of the hostel are a few tables where guests can relax on the pedestrian street, additionally there are two courtyards with stone tables in them. Also there is a large common room with a mini-kitchen and two free internet computers in a loft above a sitting area with TV. There are many guests but the spaces are not heavily used except by people who seem to work there. There's a huge variety of guests -- language barrier and cultural barriers are large, even still people are friendly but not too social.
Summary
Overall this is an ok hostel. The helpful staff make up for some of the things that are rundown or broken.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2009
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