Hanoi Backpackers Hostel & Rooftop Bar — Hotel in Hà Nội

If you're looking for a calm, relaxing retreat in the middle of Hanoi, turn back now, because Hanoi Backpackers Hostel is nothing short of a glorious, high-octane madhouse. I stepped in thinking I’d found a cheap bed for the night, but little did I know I was entering a nonstop circus of travelers, revelers, and partiers that kept me on my toes for days. Picture this: a lobby buzzing with backpackers from every corner of the world, exchanging stories, planning their next adventure, and nursing oversized beer mugs by noon. It’s less of a hostel and more of a gathering ground for the wild and the wanderlust-ridden.

The rooms are basic but exactly what you'd expect from a place where sleeping is almost an afterthought. With bunks that have seen it all and roommates that, quite frankly, you may never see again, each night here is an adventure in itself. The real attraction, though, isn’t the beds – it’s the epic rooftop bar and the organized events that kick off as soon as the sun starts setting. Every night, the hostel hosts insane pub crawls and theme parties that feel like a small-scale music festival. By the time we hit the third bar on the crawl, my group had grown from six to about twenty people, and we were singing along to karaoke like we'd known each other our whole lives.

The staff are a whole vibe on their own. Think travel gurus who double as party captains – they’ll get you set up with everything from an overnight trip to Ha Long Bay to an unexpected arm wrestling competition at the bar. They make you feel like a VIP, even though there’s a good chance you’ve arrived with zero plans and limited knowledge of the city. With their help, I ended up motorbiking to a temple, eating some mysterious street food, and sharing a meal with locals, all in one chaotic day. They’re the best (and worst) kind of enablers, ensuring that your stay is as unforgettable as it is exhausting.

By the end of my stay, I’d made friends from three continents, had my fair share of embarrassing karaoke performances, and had stories that’ll probably make me cringe and laugh for years to come. Hanoi Backpackers Hostel is a rite of passage for any traveler looking to experience Vietnam’s backpacking scene to the fullest. You won’t get much sleep, you’ll drink way more than you intended, and you might just lose a bit of your dignity, but hey – that’s what makes...

If your booking this hostel for the breakfast alone don’t. My AC was broken I had 2 separate guys go up to fix it and they both did the same thing which was try to turn it down more. One guy even asked me if I tried turning it on as if the 10 people in my room who had terrible sleeps didn’t think of that. It was at the lowest setting it was clearly broken and instead of listening I had 2 of the most uncomfortable hot sleeps in my whole travels of Asia. Also talked to other people saying their AC was broken too in other rooms. I did not feel any sort of kindness from the staff, and I’m not one to leave a bad review but this was a terrible experience. I’m a way too nice for my own good type of girly and even so I felt such rudeness towards me by staff. Terrible customer service my entire stay. I had booked for my last week as well wanting to chill instead of moving around and they wouldn’t give me a refund when I initially wanted to leave because of the broken AC the morning after my second sleep and no one would listen that it was broken. They swapped me into a room that did have AC working so if you book here stay on the 4th floor where the AC works. I’m sad I have to stay here and they wouldn’t let me cancel or refund for the days I booked. You also have to buy the towels as in you don’t get your money back, I asked for a fresh towel and was told I’d had to buy another one even tho I had already paid for one. Same with the water no free water jug to fill up your water bottle just over priced bottles. The wifi is terrible too did not work my entire stay here. And I mean truly didn’t work and I had to use so much data when wanting to chill in my room. Very money oriented, and don’t care about you unlike majority of hostels I’ve stayed in. Not...

Decent location, but the hostel itself was run down compared to the photos. The “friendly” hostel dog tho small was actually aggressive and would bite people. It would also pee on the floor and they’d leave the puddle there for awhile before cleaning it up (they just wiped it with a dry cloth no mopping or cleaner) Picture below of dog pee on the floor.

The staffs children took the pool balls off the table while we were playing and refused to give them back, when we asked the front desk they did nothing and we had to wait until she hid the ball to find it. Which sounds funny in theory but after a long flight and you just wanna relax and play some pool it’s not that great.

The rooms were really crowded, the beds themselves were comfy but they made a lot of noise. I stayed in a room that was a single hallway with beds lined up, the AC didn’t reach my bed and the fan pointed directly into the person bed above me so we couldn’t keep it on or they’d complain. The bathrooms were only in the rooms and they were small and stinky, they claim to wash it daily but they just change the bath mats and then leave, sometimes leaving the full garbage cans.

The staff was rude as well, I tried asking questions and they weren’t helpful at all unless you were asking about ways to spend money. The laundry here was 150k for 4 shirts, 3 shorts and a few pairs of socks, so worth it to go elsewhere. They don’t provide towels or locked lockers so you have to buy locks, go elsewhere to buy them, the ones here one key unlocks them all.

Overall a pretty meh hostel, there are cheaper ones with a more social vibe, better rooftop bars and better amenities. The one hostel was much better and I’d recommend them over this for...