4 Eyes Backpacker Youth Hostel- Hangzhou, China

Address: 66 Hupao Road, West Lake district, Hangzhou


Website: http://www.hostelhangzhou.com/


With my basic Chinese and assistance from a rare, kindly local we were able to navigate two buses from the south railway station to reach a small neck of the woods near the famous West Lake of Hangzhou. The 4 Eyes Youth Hostel was located at the end of a small street branching off the main road which rose quite steeply but only for a short distance. It was about 2 minutes from the bus stop opposite the zoo and surrounded by three local restaurants which were quite handy. The main building was built of wood with a 'rustic' theme and decorated nicely with lanterns, streamers and posters. The staff were busy serving lunch to guests in their reception area which also was in the restaurant/common area which was arranged with sofas and a pool table. There were also three computers with internet access for which you had to pay for, and relaxing jazz music was the permanent genre of choice.

We checked into a private ensuite room for two people at 130 yuan per night (A$21) which basically was equivalent to an attic room, with a sloping ceiling that was so low, we encountered several head bumps before the end of the first day was out. The room as well as the bathroom were very clean and in good condition, with a tv also provided. The hostel had its private rooms contained in several different blocks, with four or five rooms spread over two levels in each block.

The main problem which marred our stay in Hangzhou was that the rooms had no heater, which in temperatures of close to zero degrees was a nightmare. We both got bad colds during our stay here which lasted well over a week, and would be chilled to the bone as soon as we stepped into the room which wasn't very nice after a day of walking around already bone cold!
The reception/restaurant area where wi fi was available was also never heated despite us discovering a heater behind a sofa on our last day- instead of being rugged up, the staff should definitely have used the heater for its built purpose turned the damn thing on which would also have provided a nice welcome to newcomers. At these prices and in these modern times, heaters in the rooms should be mandatory. The staff dorm was heated all day so I'm not sure how it was deemed unnecessary to provide the same service in the private rooms.

Overall, a nicely decorated hostel staffed by people who were polite but lacked basic English. The one major issue that prevented us from enjoying this pretty town as much as we could have were the freezing rooms which were almost equivalent to sleeping outdoors- not a good look.

Rating: 4/10