HELLO CHENGDU INTERNATIONAL YOUTH HOSTEL IN CHINA

Hello Chengdu International Youth Hostel followed the theme of the city itself- clean and friendly, which made for a relaxing and enjoyable stay. 

The first thing we noticed was the wonderful oasis this place has created just off a busy street. Stepping through large gates, we entered a shaded garden setting where travelers lounged on numerous chairs and couches in relative peace and quiet.

On their HostelWorld.com profile, Hello Chengdu stated that their great facilities would make it hard to leave, which was the truth. But we couldn’t allow ourselves to get too comfortable as there was too much to see and do around that city. First and foremost- a visit to the pandas! Here’s how the Hello Chengdu International Youth Hostel experience was for us.

Private Room:

After weeks of fairly hard mattresses, it was a real treat to arrive and find a large and incredibly comfortable bed waiting for us. So large in fact, that it took up most of the space in our room. Another surprise was a window that finally provided a view of something more than another wall. Everything was clean, the air conditioning was free and worked very well and there was a television with DVD player that we could have rented DVDs for at the front desk. Obviously when traveling one doesn’t want to spend all day lounging around their bedroom, but I’ll admit it was tougher to get going in the morning while enjoying the comfort of this room. With our room came a clean private bathroom complete with a western toilet, (still not accepting TP though), plenty of hot water and clean towels.

Amenities:

As already stated, the hostel boasted a wonderful garden space that provided plenty of quiet spots to relax and unwind or socialize with other travelers. An in-house restaurant and bar served breakfast, lunch and dinner, (until 10 p.m.), and a wide variety of coffee and drinks. The food photos in the menu didn’t look too appetizing, but the food itself was tasty and filling, (but keep an eye out for the great street food outside). A games room included free pool, table tennis and foosball and there was also a movie lounge.

At the front desk was a travel desk that seemed able to book any tour in China, including Tibet. We ended up only booking a local tour through the desk, but they offered help to hostel residents and other travelers in need of plane, train and bus tickets, tours and other information.

All in all the staff were incredibly friendly, helpful and fluent in English.

Pricing:

A price of 140 CNY a night was well worth it for all the comforts included. Filling Western meals we purchased were between 30-35 CNY and all tasted good. A variety of coffee, tea, cocktails and beers were also sold at decent prices, but best of all were the large, local beers for sale by the gatekeeper up front for only 3 CNY. Our panda tour booked through the front desk was 88 CNY each which was comparable to doing it ourselves, although the tour itself felt a little rushed.

Location:

The hostel is right downtown but not exactly near any tourist destinations. However, the bus system in Chengdu is great and there is a stop right outside the door of the hostel which can get travelers wherever they need to go. There are plenty of food options right around the corner from the hostel including Chengdu’s famous hot pot. We ended up eating mostly street food which included a bbq stand that set up at 10 o’clock each night a short walk away and steamed dumplings on the same street in the morning.

Bonus!

Hello Chengdu International Youth Hostel also got a bonus for the entertainment provided by stray dogs and cats who also made their home there. These two dogs in particular were absolutely adorable, whether wrestling with each other or filling an entire chair to sleep.

The next hostel on our route might be one of our top five favorites: XIANGZIMEN INTERNATIONAL YOUTH HOSTEL IN XI’AN, CHINA!