The Hump Hostel

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.

— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
October 2008