Smile Capsule Hostel

A note for Jackie: we took a photo and hope you can see it. Thanks for seeing me off before I left. For anyone reading this, the hostel has just been taken over by its new owner. The bad reviews from before were about "City Capsule," not this "Smiling Capsule." You can come see for yourself, and get a good rest here. I stayed three nights and couldn’t understand why the rating was so low. After New Year, there weren’t many affordable hostels, and I was nervous because of the negative reviews. But Jackie greeted me with a smile and was patient with all my requests. He was gentle and friendly, like a brother or a friend. He also runs a travel agency, which made it easy to get information. For this price, the hostel has everything I needed. There’s a small free kitchen on the first floor and drinking water. The ten-person beds were especially large, with plenty of room for backpackers to hang and organize their things. I didn’t see any bugs during the week. The location is great, in the center of the old city near the South Gate, with places reachable on foot. The cleanliness could be better, and there’s no hair dryer. If you’re not extremely particular about cleanliness, it’s a very good-value choice. I found a safe, cozy, convenient place without spending much, and felt lucky to find it. I’ll miss this place. Thank you, Jackie.

I woke up with bed bug bites on the fourth floor and got only two hours of sleep because of them. It’s a really cheap hostel, but I didn’t feel comfortable there at all. The location is good, but it wasn’t worth it, and it smelled weird everywhere. They do provide free water, but I can’t recommend staying here.

Right in the middle of Chiang Mai, so you can reach everything on foot. The rooms and bathrooms were clean, and the owner was really friendly. A great budget hostel.

It’s quiet and reasonably clean, and fine for backpackers on a budget. For the price, it’s reasonable, though there’s plenty of room to improve. More garbage bins might help people keep the place tidy, and a proper locked shower door would be better than a curtain.