trisha's profile and reviews

Pros :

- Beijing is HUGE, IMMENSE, ABSOLUTELY VAST. This hotel is located at the south, near the Third Ring Road or Nansanhuan Zhonglu. Still, there are many buses to get there from the centre of Beijing so it has not-too-bad a location.

- Many wonderful street-side eateries near a market which is within walking distance

- Cheapest dorm has twenty beds, like a hospital... an excellent place to meet travelers.

- Lockers available

- There are street-side foot massage services available at nearby the shopping centre.

- Lovely garden, pond and pavilion in the backyard. There's a bar with book exchange too.

- Some staff speak English.

- Great atmosphere, I love it here!!!

Cons :

- Boy, the nearby river is really smelly!! In the crowded Beijing bus on the way home, you would smell the river before you see it and you know it is time to press the bell to get off.

- Unisex toilets and bathrooms are a long trek away, down at the basement, through a damp and moldy corridor and up a dingy spiral staircase. Very spooky if you go down there at night. You can almost imagine seeing a pair of twins standing at the end of the corridor and then, blood flowing towards you. The bathroom door could not shut properly too... I wonder if they fixed it.

- Cheapest dorm has twenty beds and the door is left open 24 hours... can be noisy as people enter and leave and things may be stolen so leave your precious stuff in the lockers, laundry lines may be lacking if many of you choose the same day to do laundry.

Cost : 20-bed dorm : Y25 per person (2002)

Pros :

- Uyghur-run, you came all the way to Kashgar to be in the Uyghur culture, didn’t you?

- Convenient location with a lot of amenities and eateries nearby and relatively near the Uyghur region

- Dorm rooms are at a balcony-sort area where three of the walls are windows, nice view if you don’t mind the exposure

Cons :

- Toilets are rather crappy.

- Very confused about hot water availability. Sometimes, I only got cold water. Other times, I could not shower for boiling water was raining down on me.

Dorms : Y15 (2002)

Pros :

- A few travelers shared with me that several hotels they went to in Urumqi refused to accept foreign tourists. I assure you this one does.

- Convenient location with a lot of amenities and eateries nearby

- Dorm rooms are of hotel standard, with TV

- Helpful tourist agency (speak some English) at the entrance of the hotel

Cons :

- Toilets are quite a hike away but clean

- Bathrooms are at the basement in the massage parlors (run by a bevy of beauties) and you have to pay extra Y5.

Dorms : Y20 (2002)

Pros :

- Vine-trellised courtyard and beer garden. There is a swimming pool for Y10, you might be desperate enough to take a dip in this hot town.

- Dorms are air-conditioned.

- Lobby of this fancy hotel has a chandelier... ooo.

Cons :

- The street in front, Qingnian Zhonglu, has been converted eagerly by the Chinese authorities. I suspect it used to be a charming muddy street with vine trellises . Sure, the vine trellises are still there but the authorities had gone and concreted up the street and the overhanging bars where the grapevines grow. There are even inexplicable Greek naked statues at the end of the streets. However, Turpan Hotel is where the concrete street ends and turning left when you step out of the hotel will take you down the charming muddy streets of old.

Dorms : Y25 (2002)