Bedgasm Hostel

The damp smell hit us as soon as we walked in, and it was even worse in the room. Parts of the floor were torn up, the bathrooms were filthy and smelled awful, and they clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a while. Construction noise went on almost constantly, from about 6am to 8pm. We’d booked a female dorm on hostel world. No one else was there when we arrived, but later there were two men in the room. That itself was fine, but no one told us the arrangement had changed. Staff had trouble understanding and communicating with us, and honestly didn’t seem to care. We’ve been staying at hostels around SEA for weeks, and this was easily the worst. Save yourself the trouble and don’t stay here. We were very dissatisfied.

Breakfast was nice, and the location was excellent. The staff were very friendly and suggested a good tour for much less than other tour offices were charging. I found it cozy during our three days in Hanoi, slept like a baby each night, and had no problems with noise or cleanliness.

They happily booked me a taxi, which is why I’m giving two stars. Otherwise, this was a poor stay. I’d booked a bed in a four-bed room, but at check-in they said technical problems meant moving me to a 12-bed room. It was expensive for Hanoi hostel prices, and there are much better options. The rooms were ridiculously noisy, and the balcony doors wouldn’t shut fully, so I spent the night breathing Hanoi’s pollution. There weren’t enough showers and toilets for everyone. I also had to leave before breakfast, and they agreed to prepare a cold takeaway meal, but it wasn’t ready when I checked out, so I never got it. The hostel I stayed at the night before cost half as much, and none of this happened there.

The location is very good, close to Notre Dame, and the team is helpful when selling tours. Still, after five weeks of travel this was the worst hostel for me. Construction next door was extremely loud from 7am, so sleeping past that wasn’t possible. It looked like the work would continue well beyond March 2019. Breakfast was busy, with flies on the butter and jam and a roach just a couple of steps away on the floor. One morning staff member preferred looking at the computer and wouldn’t greet us or help unless asked very directly, though another girl was kind and supportive. Our room wasn’t made up for three days. They only removed the waste after we pointed out that it should be done. Toilet paper has to go in a bathroom bin in Vietnam, so it wasn’t nice having the trash left there. There were moths in the room, and the soap bottles stayed empty the whole time. I’m sorry, but every other place was far better.