Cheap, Cosy but unfriendly staff :(
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 3/11/11
Stayed for 3 days & 2 nights. Rooms are okay for the price you pay. Would be a great lil' place if only it's been kept and tidied up.
To keep it simple, below are my experiences during my stay:
- Other than the owner Peter, the rest of the staff are practically unfriendly and perpetually stuck to being online without even giving you a proper eye contact and smile when talking to you, unless you are a gwai lo. Being a fellow Chinese myself (abeit being a Banana; yellow outside, white inside), I find being discriminated upon by a person of the same race very disappointing and perplexing.
Was hanging out in the lobby checking my mail on my phone using the free WiFi access provided one morning and managed to eaves drop on a couple of conversations between the on duty receptionist and some fellow guest.
First guest being a young Englishman wanting the receptionist to call on his behalf to book a trip to the Nantian Hotspring from an outside agent whose rates are cheaper than what the hostel is providing. The receptionist made the call willingly.
Second guest, a Swedish lady with some queries about her trips and wanting the same receptionist to make a call on her behalf to another hotel in another state she previously stayed in China requesting for a refund/payment refusal due to her ignorance in Mandarin. Again, the same receptionist obliged and made the call.
Third guest, a young Frenchman wanted a refund for his next 2 days of stay and his belongings to be kept by the hostel for the 2 days because he changed his travel plans. The receptionist obliged again and paid him on the spot.
When it came to our turn, my friend requested if she could borrow the phone to make a call to a local taxi driver to have him drive us to Nanshan Cultural Park. She turned down our request flatly and said that the phone is only for the use of the hotel and directed us to the public phone in the fruit stall down the lane, outside the hotel.
Goes to show if you're of Overseas Chinese descent with halting command of Mandarin, be prepared for some stare down, nil eye contact and some serious attitude.
- Badly needs some sprucing up of broken fixtures, fresh coat of paint, proper amenities and serious need of some tidying up.
The young stay-in staff are perpetually glued to their computer. The bookshelves, computer area, common washrooms are in a mess. Seems that they are only hired to make sure someone is visible at all times and nothing more.
The night receptionist, seriously lacks product knowledge when he told us that the WuzhiShan is near to the Nantian Hotsprings, Thankfully Peter was around and clarified our queries and recommended our travel itinerary/plans for our trip for the day.
Again I would reiterate that Peter was a great help but the same could not be said about everyone else in the hostel.
- The rooms are adequate and cosy but let down by some little cosmetic damages. A little spruce up would make it truly a better place.
- Great location, near to the beach middle of everywhere. If you're travelling in a group of 4, you can practically take the taxi everywhere cheaply. Even a trip to the Nanshan park on a taxi cost only RMB25/p one way. Beats being sardine packed in the public busses for RMB10 for an hour and elbowed by the conductors.
- Go to Dolphin Pub across the main street to catch some live sports telecast. Great atmosphere, cheap beer, friendly staff and free WiFi access. Watched and celebrated Liverpool thrashing ManUre!!
- Taxi ride to Bar Street is only RMB10 and a great place to enjoy Sanya's nightlife. If you're up to it, it's only a straight stroll down the main road. Hop into Muse for the great music and DJ's.
- Noodle shop in the alley leading to the hotel is serves great noodles and steamed dumplings!!! A good clean and friendly place. Don't forget to get a cup of warm soybean milk from the stall across the shop to wash it down :)
Hope this review would help both fellow travelers and also the hostel.