Cheap Beds, Cool Peeps – A look at Hostels in Guangzhou

Cheap Beds, Cool Peeps – A look at Hostels in Guangzhou
By Beth Green , eChinacities.com

Attention backpackers: Despite what you might have heard, Guangzhou does have hostels! While the quantity of lodging is not as abundant as in some other Chinese cities, in the past few years there have been some welcome additions to Guangzhou’s accommodation scene—making cheap dorm beds and traveller-friendly common rooms a possibility for your stay in the Guangdong capital.

However, a word to the wise: Guangzhou is not one of those cities where you can rock up with your backpack and bargain for a hostel bed, and just go somewhere else if the hostel is full up or not to your liking. Guangzhou's hostels are spread over a large area and are mostly located without prominent signage on residential side streets. The addresses are so obscure taxi drivers may not know them. Making a booking either online through a site like hostelworld.com or hostels.com or over the phone is a must. Printing the directions out in English and Chinese is a good idea, especially if you can't arrange for the hostel staff to pick you up from the metro station. While there are times when getting lost in a new city is just part of the experience of travel, some of these hostels are tucked so far into the writhing mass of urban life that it’s better to get there first, drop your bag off and then explore. 

All of the hostels mentioned here can be booked online and have mostly favourable comments from online reviewers. Prices quoted are the rates on the internet at the time of writing and may change during peak seasons such as the weeks around the Canton Fair or any major Chinese holidays.

1) Riverside View In Map
The most famous hostel in Guangzhou is the RiverSide, which is affiliated with the YHA organization.  They have 6-bed dorms for 65 RMB, as well as private rooms for one to three people. A nearby ferry port will let you explore by river as well. This hostel has wifi access, though there have been online complaints about the strength of the connection. It is easier to find than some of the other Guangzhou options. Food and drink is served at the hostel and there are also lots of eating and drinking outlets nearby.

Add: 15 Changdi Street, Luju Lu, Fangcun, Liwan District, Guangzhou
地址: 广州市芳村荔湾区陆居路长堤接街15号
Tel: 020 2239 2500, 020 8163 0015
Website: yhachina.com
Getting there: Metro Line 1 to Fangcun station, Exit B2. Take Luju Lu to the end, then turn right on Changdi Jie.

2) Geographers' Youth Hostel View In Map
Another hostel that gets good reviews from travellers is the Geographers' Youth Hostel, also south of the Pearl River, near Sun Yat Sen University. Unlike some of the high-rise hostels elsewhere in the city, this is in a low-rise villa on a lane surrounded by a nice residential neighbourhood. There is no English signage outside so make sure you have their phone number handy in case you can't find it. There is a giant ParknShop grocery store nearby which is good for self-catering or stocking up on essentials.  They offer six and four-bed dormitories from 55 RMB and private rooms from 110 RMB.

Add: 11 Lane Nine, Yile Lu, Haizhu District, Guangzhou
地址: 广州市海珠区怡乐路九巷11号
Tel: 020 3424 7066
Website: http://blog.sina.com.cn/geographers (in Chinese)
Getting there: Metro Line 8 to Sun Yat Sen University stop (中大) and follow Xin Gan Xi Road to the west, turning right on to Yi Le Road. Turn right on the lane between the bookstore/cafe and the Jiayi Hotel.

3) Hi Inn Xihua Road View In Map
Hi Inn Xihua Road is an option near Lihua Park that has been praised in online reviews for its cleanliness. However, the hotel staff don't all speak English and some travellers have written that it feels more like a hotel than a homey hostel. It only has private rooms and wifi is available.

Add: 134 Xihua Lu, Liwan District, Guangzhou
地址: 广州市荔湾区西华路134号
Tel: 020-28358288
Getting there: Metro Line 1, Chen Clan Academy stop. Walk north on Kangwang Bei Lu and turn left on Xihua Lu.

4) Sunflower's Home Hostel View In Map
North of the Pearl River, near Tianhe Park is the hostel with the cutest name in Guangzhou. Sunflower's Home Hostel describes itself as a “family hostel” and in this vein offers a kitchen for travellers to use and sometimes the hosts cook for their guests. They offer a four and an eight-bed mixed sex dormitory at 50 RMB per bed and two private rooms from 110 RMB. It offers free wifi. Some travellers have found it hard to find on their first visit.

Add: Room 706, Building E, Dongjing Garden, Yuancun 2nd Cross Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou
地址:广州市天河区员村二横路东璟花园E栋706室
Tel: 138 2561 5748, 135 7026 2126
Website:http://blog.sina.com.cn/sunflowerhostel (in Chinese)
Getting there: Metro Line 5, Yuancun station, Exit C. Cross the road, turn right and walk straight.

5) Journey HouseView In Map
For an experience staying in a Chinese high-rise, check out the Journey House on the 27th floor of a building in Tianhe. Conveniently located in the heart of Guangzhou, Journey House has a six and an eight-bed mixed dorm from 50 RMB and some private rooms from 120 RMB. Reviewers praise the friendliness of the owners and staff.

Add: 27F Building 1, No.445 North TianHe Road, TianHe District    
地址:     广州市天河区天河北路445号嘉怡苑1座27F
Tel: 139 2223 7650
Website: http://www.douban.com/group/journeyhostel/ (in Chinese)
Getting there: Metro Line 3, Linhexi Station, Exit D. The hostel recommends calling from the station for further directions. 

Warning:The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: Hostels Guangzhou cheap accommodation Guangzhou backpacker accommodation Guangzhou

0 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.