Hangzhou Fiona's trip Hostel — Hotel in Hangzhou City

We stayed in this hostel for three nights. Until the last night we would have rated it really highly. For 120RMB a night we had a clean and comfortable (but very small) room with a private bathroom. The hostel staff were helpful. For instance, they happily provided us with a second duvet for our room as the weather was very cold. The location is also good, a short bus ride to both West Lake and the picturesque tea growing village of Long Jing. ||||However, our good impression of the hostel was undermined on our final night. During the evening we started to smell smoke in our room. We went to investigate and found the hostel staff had lit a fire on the terrace directly below our window on the floor above. We asked them to move the fire which they did without any problem. We thought great, problem solved. However about half an hour later the smoke returned. We went downstairs to find that they had moved the burning embers of the fire inside the reception area. I asked them what they were doing and they said they needed it to keep warm as there was no heating downstairs. They offered an air fresher to take away the smell of the smoke. I explained it wasn't the smell that was the problem but rather the fact we didn't want to spend a really unhealthy night breathing in smoke just because they don't have air con or central heating downstairs.||||I don't really blame the staff as admittedly it was very cold in the reception but I wouldn't recommend others stay here until the owner fits some heating downstairs. Obviously in summer this wouldn't be a problem and this would be a good...

We stayed in this hostel for three nights. Until the last night we would have rated it really highly. For 120RMB a night we had a clean and comfortable (but very small) room with a private bathroom. The hostel staff were helpful. For instance, they happily provided us with a second duvet for our room as the weather was very cold. The location is also good, a short bus ride to both West Lake and the picturesque tea growing village of Long Jing. ||||However, our good impression of the hostel was undermined on our final night. During the evening we started to smell smoke in our room. We went to investigate and found the hostel staff had lit a fire on the terrace directly below our window on the floor above. We asked them to move the fire which they did without any problem. We thought great, problem solved. However about half an hour later the smoke returned. We went downstairs to find that they had moved the burning embers of the fire inside the reception area. I asked them what they were doing and they said they needed it to keep warm as there was no heating downstairs. They offered an air fresher to take away the smell of the smoke. I explained it wasn't the smell that was the problem but rather the fact we didn't want to spend a really unhealthy night breathing in smoke just because they don't have air con or central heating downstairs.||||I don't really blame the staff as admittedly it was very cold in the reception but I wouldn't recommend others stay here until the owner fits some heating downstairs. Obviously in summer this wouldn't be a problem and this would be a good...

The rooms in Fiona's Trip are good. The linen in my four bed dormitory was changed every day and there was a small shelf and a personal light next to each bed. Everybody also had their own locker. The showers around the back of the building were clean and there were enough such that I never had to wait.||||However, unfortunately, this hostel is not in a great location. It's close to a very pretty area around the lake but a distance from most of the best sights around West Lake. It's also a fairly long cycle into the city to find somewhere decent to eat etc. Be sure to have instructions to the hostel rather than the address written in Chinese for taxi drivers, as even the address leads many to assume the larger hotel on the other fork of the road.||||Some guests may find sharing the hostel with all the animals who live there problematic too. There are at least three dogs who wander around the complex and the common area, some cats and a cockerel. While I was there the common area reeked of urine, even though the toilet door was closed, and I fear the animals may have been to blame.||||Ignoring these problems, the high quality of the dorms makes this an alright place to stay for a couple of nights. However, it wouldn't be my first choice were I to visit...