Matchbox Bangkok Hostel

I was surprised to find out they didn’t allow luggage storage. Usually hostels let you leave your bags for a while, but here they charged me 500bhat to store mine. I paid it, and felt like my money was wasted.

Good price and location, but cleanliness was a real problem. The shared areas, hallways, stairs, and bathroom smelled bad, and I’d give the hygiene about 2/5. I’d booked 19 days, but my visa expired three days before checkout. They wanted me to leave then without refunding those last three days, so keep that in mind.

I was supposed to stay for two nights, but the heat kept me from sleeping and I couldn’t stay. The air conditioning only runs from 6 pm to 10 am, and with Bangkok at 35 degrees, the daytime was too hot to handle. There wasn’t any space to sit in the lobby, and the bathroom was so dirty and smelly I couldn’t shower. The bedsheet was dirty too, and made me itchy. They charge 100b if a guest leaves the key card inside the room. Outside the hostel, people sat around the cannabis shop smoking weed and watching you come and go. It made me feel unsafe. New guests should run away from this place, believe me.

The bed was huge for a hostel, a double, and I liked that. But the showers and toilets were dirty, the sheets weren’t the cleanest, the soap had run out, and towels cost an extra 20 baths. There was a bad smell, probably from humidity, and the reception person seemed annoyed when we arrived. There’s a weed shop right outside, with people smoking there, so you smell it every time you enter or leave. The room’s balcony can’t be accessed, and each bed has a small TV but no remote. They also don’t provide drinking water, though a fountain would have been appreciated. We travelled as two friends and arrived late because our flight was delayed. We only needed one key, but the receptionist said we had to pay a 500 baths deposit for two keys because we’d booked two beds. They wanted the two key deposits anyway. I’ve backpacked for years and stayed in countless hostels, and this wasn’t the worst, but I really wouldn’t recommend it. I hardly ever write reviews, and the fact I’m doing so says a lot. For a couple of extra baths, you can find much nicer hostels nearby. The location is good, though it’s surrounded by too many hookers. Do yourself a favour and avoid this place :)