Sylvis Hostel Chiangmai — Hotel in Chiang Mai Province

I stayed at this hostel twice for a total of 7 nights before and after my trip to Pai.

The e-mailing prior to my first booking was quick and easy and they responded promptly. Check-in went effortless upon my arrival and the room was clean when I settled myself down.

The first stay I chose a 4p dorm and my second stay a 6p female dorm. In hindsight I definitely should have booked the female dorm only since the quality of the dorm was just better. The bed also had a towel rack and there was more space to move around.

The 4p dorm: Very small, there is barely any space to have luggage on the floor; The lockers are busted; The cats will constantly try to get into the room, and they succeeded; It can be quite loud since the room is downstairs, yet for me not an issue;

The 6p dorm: 3 times the amount of space in the room; Closer to the female bathroom (upstairs); More peaceful.

The bathroom upstairs had plenty of space and pressure. They clean them regularly and they are kept in good condition. They have (female) products available in the bathroom, but only at nighttime?

While staying at the 4p dorm there was a gentleman going crazy in his sleep every night. After making an official complaint they actually chose not to respond to that email and kinda "sweep it off the table and under a rug". That was the whole vibe of the hostel sometimes as well. It didn't feel like an official hostel? The staff, depending on who you got could either be kind and helpful or inpatient and rude. Due tot this reason I didn't book any excursions or tours with them. I'm not contributing if the quality isn't up to their standard.

Don't get me wrong: the beds are comfortable (hard), they have good bathrooms, cold water dispenser, their own bar and bartender, and 'easy going staff". Yet sometimes you actually need someone to step up and show that you work there.

The location of the hostel I found convenient.

Overall I had an okay experience, yet they could be an amazing hostel with some...

Back pain like I have NEVER known.

I’ve slept on college dorm mattresses, broken couches and forest floors that were way more comfy than these beds. Out of 10+ years of staying in hostels these really were the worse beds I’ve ever slept in. It is literally like sleeping on a rock. If you sleep in any other position besides flat on your back you’re in a world of hurt. Unfortunately this really threw a wrench in my plans during my 3 days here, I couldn’t explore as much of the city, having transformed into old hag grimhilde (completely hunched over) from a terrible night sleep.

Music stops consistently around 12:30 but it is a party hostel. It’s decently loud at night but I didn’t have an issue with that. The hostel doesn’t have much in the way of a kitchen so reheating meals/preparing anything other than a PB&J is a struggle (no plates/cutlery nothing). The staff seemed to be very preoccupied hanging out with each other, sometimes hard to get a hold of or to know who was actually working there but they were always friendly besides that. I went with the hostel for the lantern festival and it was a beautiful event regardless but the staff were very unorganized and frazzled. No one knew what they were doing re: lanterns and there was barely any instruction given. I know it must be hard to wrangle a group that big but this experience means a lot to people who travel to Thailand for it so some more care could have been put into it for sure.

On one of the days I was there they had all the dorm doors wide open, it seemed to be they were fixing the AC units but it was way too easy for someone to creep into the rooms and steal stuff. Lockers don’t fit anything more than a 40L backpack (mine barely fit), and there was no small locker for valuables.

Plus side: washrooms and showers were consistently clean! AC always worked in the room. Outlets always worked...

Reviews are so incredibly subjective that I generally avoid leaving them, however, I feel compelled to share my experience of Sylvis hostel because there is false advertisement happening with this business: the facilities are in need of updates/good deep cleaning, there is no restaurant (there is a small kitchen with the word "restaurant" on it, but I did not see anyone cooking at any point during my 4-night stay), there is no free breakfast, and there is no airport transportation.||Other things to note that played into a 2 star rating: despite signs stating NO SMOKING BY STATE LAW, smoking occurs everywhere on the grounds, you can expect loud music from 5:00pm-11:45pm each night (I can't emphasis this enough, there is no area on the grounds where the music can't be clearly heard, including the bedrooms), and lastly, while friendly, staff, at times, displayed little professionalism - they could be seen drinking and smoking throughout the day, and often distracted by their phones. || * the bartender made delicious cocktails *. ||Welp, this setting will certainly work for some people; but to know if it's the right accommodation it's important as costumers to get accurate information. I hope this information helps you make an informed decision about your lodging while you’re in Thailand. (Age 30+, reservations via their website, read reviews via...