Nilv Flower Time International Youth Hostel

This Youth Hostel is wonderful, made me remain the "pathfinder YH" in Wuhan and the "Four Eyes Backpackers International YH" in Hangzhou. The team is really kind, and my stay was quite happy time. Located at a few meters form the South gate of the ancient City, buses that bring to the railway station and to the long distance buses station are not far.

Best youth hostel in in Jianshui. The host understands a minimum English which is a bonus. Kitchen is in Chinese-style that reminds me a bit of the one in my home. Wifi is great for online working as well.

The hostel is well-located, providing access to many locales, but parts of the building may suffer from noise, including from the street. All areas are mostly clean, though the bathroom has some water pooling issues, and the kitchen has moldy spots - but it remains acceptable. Facilities are decent, and include common rooms, affordable bikes, cute pets, a study room, snacks for guests, and more. Some common areas occasionally get crowded by items or people sleeping, and some people may bellow to each other across the first floor. The public WC are only on the first floor, so night usage may be hard, but the room price is good. The staff includes friendly and helpful people, but some other persons are rude. They may refuse to greet or even look at a guest. They didn't say hi when I came and when I left I said goodbye but was ignored. Surprisingly for a place labeled as an "international youth hostel", international guests may feel unwelcome, even if the guests try to make friends with others in common spaces. Some staff gossip about a guest, and along with a few cowardly domestic tourists, make xenophobic remarks, when they think the guest is not listening. This hostel is the first one where I experienced such racist disrespect. But, I tolerated it. They constantly address the guest as "foreigner", as a given name - never wondering how the guest would like to be addressed. Further, valid inquiries from guests are seen as nuisances, rather than as the responsibility of managers or staff to address. They think the guest should keep the manager comfortable, and maybe even address the manager's concerns! LOL. I believe the 5 star reviews by international guests are mostly those who stayed a short time, or who could not understand Chinese. I have 15 years of pretty good references from travelers, guests, and hosts, so my opinion is not uninformed. I would advise international guests to limit their interactions here, as there would not be a just outcome for a "foreigner", if an altercation were to occur. Finally, while security cameras are normal in hotels for safety, here they seem to be used to monitor guests in the public, common, areas. This is not done maliciously -- but it is unsettling, and highlights a lack of communicative and organizational skills.