Fueangfu Hostel

Don't book this place if you actually need somewhere to stay. I paid online and arrived well within check-in time, but the hostel was empty and I couldn't call anyone. A man living in the same building eventually let me in and contacted the owner, who was in Bangkok. Nobody was running the hostel. Later, somebody showed me to my room and handed over the keys, but seemed to have nothing to do with the place. I had to ask specifically for the outside door keycard or I could have been stuck outside again. I ended up alone in the building with no running water, so there was no toilet or shower. I couldn't reach the main water valve. Luckily, the valve for the only sink with water was open because the man lived over that room, so I could wash there. The trail of ants in my room was the least of it. Without luck and staying alert, I could have been locked out, unable to get in, or left without any way to wash. The owner didn't seem to care that the service wasn't operational, even though they took my money. PS. Agoda doesn't include my review score in the rating for some reason. The text is the same as here.

Worst experience ever. There wasn't even soap in the washroom, and the door handle was broken. I strongly recommend against staying at this hostel.

I'm sure this could have gone differently without the rain, with more guests around, and if the hostel had known we were arriving. Maybe we were just unlucky. After eight hours of travel, we reached the island in pouring rain and got to the hostel at 7:45pm. Everything was shut, with no lights, no guests, and no staff. We were worried because the website says to let them know if arriving after 9pm, and the sign on the door lists working hours, so someone should have been there. We had no money or internet on our phones, but could see the wifi password through the glass door. We topped up our phones and called the number on the door. They said someone would come, and a staff member arrived 20 or 30 minutes later, turning on the hostel. By then it was around 9pm and we were tired. We were the only guests, and they didn't know about our booking until I showed the confirmation and proof it was paid online. That night the heavy rain knocked out the power. It wasn't the hotel's fault, but it made an already rough night worse because the room got really hot without AC, and we couldn't go out much. The hostel isn't in the nightlife centre or near the beach. It's not too far, but in the downpour we were stuck and just got beers and noodles from the shop across the road. The private double was okay, clean, with a big bed, AC, and a private toilet. The staff seemed nice. There's a shared area with a fridge, kettle, microwave/grill, and dining table. We had to plug in the fridge, and didn't use the microwave/grill because it looked like it might explode or catch fire. The dining room light wasn't working, so it was dark.

Affordable and a good place to stay, with good internet and mattresses. I had the dorm to myself.