喀什老城青年旅舍 — Hotel in Kashgar City

Originally booked a different hostel run by the same people, but when I arrived it had been shut down, so I was ferried over to this one. The courtyard is cool, if occasionally a little messy. There are outlets by the table so you can charge your phone while you’re hanging out. It can get a bit noisy (a bit, ha! - who am I kidding this is China) in the evening, mostly with Chinese guests drinking and chatting, but it seems like the staff do a good job of shutting it down around midnight. Cleanliness is more or less what you would expect for China.||A few things would really improve this place. But because there aren’t a lot of other hostel options in Kashgar, I didn’t get the sense that improvement of any kind is on their radar. ||No lockers - they have a place where you can store valuables behind the desk but everyone hates that. Doors don’t lock either. ||A metal detector inexplicably in the entry way that no one seems to pay attention to (why is it there)?||No towels. When I asked if I could rent one they laughed. Don’t really know what I was expecting to be honest.||Calling the thing I slept on a mattress is an insult to other mattresses. I’ve slept on a lot of terrible beds in my life but this was a joke. It was the thickness of a bath towel (which they don’t have). The good news is that the other beds in the dorms seem to have much better and thicker foam pads. The other people in the dorms said they slept fine. So just make sure you choose a good bed, not the first one you see!||The staff are hot and cold. A few are friendly and speak great English. Some who don’t really speak English are awesome, too. A few others are apparently being paid to lie around the courtyard and look at their phones.||Most importantly, there is a really nice golden retriever, that more than made up for the worst bed I’ve ever slept on. Oh, and hot water! For not having a lot of choices in Kashgar, could be...

Originally booked a different hostel run by the same people, but when I arrived it had been shut down, so I was ferried over to this one. The courtyard is cool, if occasionally a little messy. There are outlets by the table so you can charge your phone while you’re hanging out. It can get a bit noisy (a bit, ha! - who am I kidding this is China) in the evening, mostly with Chinese guests drinking and chatting, but it seems like the staff do a good job of shutting it down around midnight. Cleanliness is more or less what you would expect for China.||A few things would really improve this place. But because there aren’t a lot of other hostel options in Kashgar, I didn’t get the sense that improvement of any kind is on their radar. ||No lockers - they have a place where you can store valuables behind the desk but everyone hates that. Doors don’t lock either. ||A metal detector inexplicably in the entry way that no one seems to pay attention to (why is it there)?||No towels. When I asked if I could rent one they laughed. Don’t really know what I was expecting to be honest.||Calling the thing I slept on a mattress is an insult to other mattresses. I’ve slept on a lot of terrible beds in my life but this was a joke. It was the thickness of a bath towel (which they don’t have). The good news is that the other beds in the dorms seem to have much better and thicker foam pads. The other people in the dorms said they slept fine. So just make sure you choose a good bed, not the first one you see!||The staff are hot and cold. A few are friendly and speak great English. Some who don’t really speak English are awesome, too. A few others are apparently being paid to lie around the courtyard and look at their phones.||Most importantly, there is a really nice golden retriever, that more than made up for the worst bed I’ve ever slept on. Oh, and hot water! For not having a lot of choices in Kashgar, could be...

I stayed for one night and then decided my hostelling days were over. I had a private room with shared bathroom. The doro didn't close properly an there wasn't a proper lock on the door so it didn't feel secure. There is security at the main door though. ||There are not enough bathrooms and I was there at a quiet time of year. The room really needs fresh paint, curtains were hanging off, door didn't close, bed was a low wooden platform which had the thinnest mattress I have ever seen. I actually had to check to see if there was indeed a mattress on the bed. ||This is a great hotel for Chinese but for westerners, I think, they would expect something a bit better. ||It's also very hard to find because although it on a main street inthe old town there are no signs and a local saw me walking around bewildered and showed me the door. I really cannot understand why there is no sign. I think in Kashgar, all the hostels are quite rough and it's fie if you're young and skint, but if you can afford it, go up-market a bit. Kashgar is a dusty city and you will want...