Al Yakhour Hostel

Hotel is very INACCURATELY depicted on website. It is a HOSTEL, so all rooms are communal, nothing private other than the bed (and door barely locks), LOTS of MOSQUITOS, VERY OVERPRICED. Had a very uncomfortable stay, fighting off mosquitos, sharing the bathroom, begging for an extra blanket, etc. Things it lists as "in the room" are all things the hostel "has" but are not private to you. People who ran it were decent, good area/location, but definitely not worth $100USD! Asked for a refund, as it wasn't correct or reasonable, and they told us "no". Very disappointing.

Let's get the negative out of the way. The dorm room seems to have a lot of spaces where mosquitos get in and I got bitten 3 times one night, giving me a restless night. From my dorm, the bathrooms/showers requires walking through a courtyard which in the winter/rain is most unpleasant. So the positives. The place is very clean and in fact the staff keep the place clean all the time. The beds and blankets where clean and it's obvious the staff great care to wash the beddings often. The place is very popular with guests, but there's always space somewhere for everyone to mingle or just do their own thing. The hostel provides a decent breakfast, mixed and varied and despite all the guests, there's more than enough to go round with staff keeping things topped up. The staff are just amazing, all smiles and really friendly and helpful. The Wifi is great especially when you consider the number of guests using it. Location wise, it's right on Ben Gurian Boulevard lined with restaurants, bars, shops and of course the street leads to the Bahai Shrine. The hostel is right outside several bus stops, so getting anywhere is very easy. There's a bar attached to the hostel and that too is a great place to hang out as the staff play a eclectic collection of music. All things considered, you get a lot for the price paid.

Enjoyed the area and my stay there.