Philippine Hostel

What made the stay awful for me was never feeling safe in the building. We arrived after midnight, and men hanging around the mostly empty shops shouted at us and wouldn't leave us alone. Inside were puddles of strange liquids, food scraps, and insects. I want to warn solo female travellers away. We left the next morning after a restless night. Research Chungking Mansions, and don't be fooled by the positive reviews. The hostel is in Chungking Mansions, and even after finding the right spot we had to take stairs that looked as if they hadn't been cleaned since the building went up. Getting to the room meant crossing the building's maze again. The receptionist was helpful, but charged an extra 100HKD key deposit. Then she told us our room was in a different hostel, though she said it had the same owners. I hadn't booked that hostel, and found the switch unacceptable, regardless of ownership. The room had basics like a fan, towels, soap, and bedding, but it was tiny, noisy, and the AC didn't work. There were bugs, black mold in the bathroom, and cigarette burns on the bedding. The hostel uses a keycard to enter, but the room itself has a simple key lock that I think could be picked with almost anything. I don't have high standards, and knew not to expect luxury given the price and listing photos, but I was shocked by how terrible this was.

We knew to expect a budget place, but were disappointed by how the room arrangements were handled. We arrived early and only asked to leave our bags until check-in. When we returned to see the room, they told us to move to a different hotel, described as an “extension” of the one we'd booked, though nobody had mentioned that. Confused, we followed the Indian guy who said he was the owner to another block. He checked the room and noticed the shower head wasn't fixed and the door knob wasn't working properly. He came back with another Indian guy to discuss repairs. We thought it might take five minutes, but they spent more than 30 minutes fixing things. At least they let us use an adapter for free.

Our room for four was cramped, though decent enough, and it was near attractions, the MTR, and bus stops. Don't expect too much from this place. When we got to the room we wanted to rest, but they had to fix a few small problems with the bathroom and door while we were still there. Apart from that, it was all bearable.

After a long flight, we were left outside for nearly four hours and finally let in at 5:30 am. We'd told the staff in advance that we would arrive late, but no one was there to check us in. We called the number on the door several times and tried all three contact numbers. An Indian staff member told me to call back in five hours, which was unhelpful and inconsiderate given the late hour and our situation. The poor communication and service left us feeling neglected and unwelcome. As a first-time traveller, we had hoped for a pleasant, welcoming stay, but the experience was frustrating and exhausting. Customer satisfaction should be a priority, and I hope the hotel takes this feedback seriously and makes changes so other guests don't go through the same thing.