Hostels in Hunan, China

[Parks info below] I'm glad that I checked out this hostel, good value for money. Room was nice and tidy, lots of electricity sources in bed and common area, curtains, hot shower. I shared the 6 beds dorm with just another girl, and you make your own bed. No toilet paper, no free water refill, no light in bed. It's worth the price. If you extend your stay directly in the hostel it's cheaper than the app. The reception area is more cramped but you can socialize there. Most of the people are Chinese but I also met some foreigners. The guy in the reception speaks English and can give you information, in addition to that I recommend you to do your own research. There are two baby cats playing around, and an adult one. You can get to the hostel from the west railway station by bus line 17 for 2 yuan - last bus at 8:40pm + 15 minutes walk. Location is close to the main avenue where there's a lot of restaurants, and a 24-hour convenience store close to the corner with this same avenue. There are two night markets in the city, one on the avenue like 10 min distance walking to downtown direction, more local, and another one on the street in front of the tianmen mountain cable car, more touristy. The hostel is 15 minutes walking to the central bus station where you can get the bus to zhangjiajie park and 15-20 to the tianmen mountain cable car station. [ATTRACTIONS] Zhangjiajie (avatar), tianmen (heaven's gate) and canyon (glass bridge) are 3 different parks in different locations. The entrance to zhangjiajie gives you access for 4 days. I went the 4 days and enjoyed it very properly. If you're short on time, 2 days will do, but plan it wisely based on your priorities. Gates are 1 hour trip distance from the central bus station - 1h30 at weekends. Also, note that before entering the park with passport and face scan, you need to do an APPOINTMENT for that hour. You usually do it there at the gate, but for a saturday all appointments for that hour were sold out in advance and I had to wait for 45 minutes to go in. Recommended to check in advance especially on weekends. There are 2 types of tickets you can get: including all cable cars and elevator for unlimited time for 450 yuan; or just the entrance (including only free shuttles) for 215 yuan - you still have the option of buying each transport at the park (75 yuan cablecar one-way, 65 elevator one-way). At first, I had understood that to see the avatar mountains, the ONLY way was through the elevator, so I bought the all-inclusive. Turns out you CAN go by free shuttle + hike + free shuttle if you start in the east gate. My favorite part was the huangshi village. For tianmen, the entrance is 260 yuan. Choose the route in advance because some sell out fast. Gold advice: go at least one hour or more BEFORE the hour that you have the tickets for. The hour of your ticket just matters before the very last point before boarding the cable car. The line was MASSIVE and it took me 2h30 waiting on a Monday - ended up getting in 2 hours late than my ticket time and couldn't finish the whole loop: took only the red trail and went down to the heaven's gate. About the Canyon, I can't say much because I decided to skip it and save the 210 yuan ticket - note that this price DOESN'T include the activities, you must pay separately. The package that includes almost* everything is 360 yuan. Last but not least, if you go to the 72 Wonders, there's also an entrance of 88 yuan. You can go/come back with the bus 17 - same line that serves to the west railway station, last bus 8:40pm.

This is the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in! The host is so unbelievably friendly and kind, and the dinner was so good and I got to meet many travellers staying there too! It is my first time travelling solo and I met amazing people here. The hostel is within walking distance from the forest park’s east gate. There are a few restaurants less than a minute’s walk nearby. The hostel itself is very clean with sheets you can change yourself, as well as having a night light and foldable table. Toilets are shared among the same gender, shampoo and body wash is provided. There’s even a rooftop space for you to hangout at. I highly recommend staying here if you’re a solo traveller as you’ll feel so welcome here! P.S. you can book tickets through the host as it is discounted as well!

The reception was really amazing with helping us book tickets for the park and navigating through it all in the time we had!! Thank you! Overall that made our stay was great. But the room was sadly a smokers room which was unfortunate and they couldn’t move us and the cleanliness was not great… I ended up cleaning the floor myself as there was so much dust and other hair. Beds were comfy but you can hear noise and sounds from everywhere… definitely noisy

Well located, 5 min walking distance to East gate of ZJJ forest park. Also 10 min walk to bus station for public bus to other attractions ie South Gate or to Grand Canyon. Friendly and helpful staff or owner, giving us the map of mountain park and advice on how to navigate the attraction.  Hotel could improve with better standard of cleaning especially bathroom cleaning and walls/floor decor not tidy. Basin tap handle was loose and kept falling off which looked  like longstanding problem which was not fixed. Also bed was on the hard side for me. Ask for softer bed if preferred. Otherwise, if this improved, this is a good base to visit ZZJ national park as staff are friendly and helpful.

The room was incredibly clean, and there wasn't any strange smell from the beds or bathroom. It's rare to find a regular hostel with such high standards of cleanliness; it easily matches the quality of well-known brands like 'Backpackers Ten Years'. The facilities are basic, but the price is affordable, offering great value for money. The landlady is also a very kind and helpful lady. She let us store our luggage for two days for free and gave us a super detailed guide to the forest park, recommending many beautiful spots that weren't crowded. Zhangjiajie is wonderful, and I definitely want to come back! 😄

Excellent service from the owner, she's an absolute gem – very attentive, helpful, and flexible. We were treated wonderfully. Since we were the only guests (I was in a female dorm and my friend in a male dorm) and she had no reservations for today, she let us stay and check out at 4:30 PM. She handles the translator very well and is very sharp; she even gave me information with a map. And the location is excellent! Just 20 meters from the river, right in the most central part, less than 100 meters from the covered bridge. I highly recommend it! The breakfast included was excellent! Everything was delicious, and she even made us espresso (in an Italian moka pot).

The owner is one of a kind. She is extremely kind, caring, and helpful. She helped me plan my three days in the National Park, made tea for me because I got sick, she was always smiling and full of energy. It's my first time meeting a hotel owner so likable.  The room was clean, bed spacious, shower worked perfectly, located just a 6/7 minutes walk to East Gate.  There are many restaurants in the neighborhood, but few vegetarians options. The only downside was the lighting in my room. Even with the two lights turned on, it remained quite dark. I need to say something to foreigners coming to visit China: Please try to speak the minimum chinese. The world does not revolve around you. When you visit a country, you adapt to it. For instance the owner is trying her best to speak english to her guests. So just learn the bare minimum for mandarin. 😇☀️

I had a great stay at Desti Youth Park Changsha. The hostel was very clean, comfortable, and well-maintained. The rooms were cozy, and I really appreciated that there were plenty of bathrooms, so it never felt crowded. They also have a laundry area, which was very convenient during my trip. A special thanks to Eric at the reception — he was friendly, helpful, and made the stay even more enjoyable with his excellent service. Overall, I had a wonderful experience here, and I will definitely come back again the next time I visit Changsha.

Very nice little place. Owners are friendly and helpful. There is a common area and good wifi, many floors (8+) and many different rooms. Free laundry on the balcony and drinking water, microwave and hot water available, with a food steamer as well. The location is easy to find, close to the river and the main area for the night show. Although the humidity is insane in this little town, this hostel tries to fight it with these machines that dehumidify the air. So in the dorms you will see a bit of mould, but I think all in all that can't be avoided in a humid town like this. Overal it is a nice little stay, the only improvement would be for the cleaning to be immaculate. Recommend 100% if you are a low budget backpacker!

The proprietress is very good, and she also upgraded our room for free, great. It takes a little walk to get to the hotel after entering the scenic spot. There were not many people in the scenic spot that day, so you can enjoy the facilities provided. Ironing is quite shocking for our foreigners.