Once Artistic Inn Luoyang

Kate Fire | Feb 24, 2014

I lived here in early 2011 for some months. Because I stayed for a long time, I received an upgrade. The room was really spacy for hostel conditions, it was extremely clean and had good furniture: A big desk with a TV on it (24 channels and more, no foreign channels but an English speaking Chinese news channel), a spacious bed with two side desks and lower cupboard. In this room I enjoyed the luxury of my own bathroom with sink, toilet and open-shower. Like it's usual in China the bed was very hard. I stayed there during/after Chinese new year, so it was very cold. The building is not well isolated so the outward walls are very cold, too. Instead of an installed heating there was heating by air conditioning, which was mostly sufficient. It was no problem to receive a second thick blanket. The stuff was ultimately nice, the boss and at least two members of the staff speak English very well, the nightshift is Chinese only though - but I recommend speaking at least basic Chinese if you travel to Luoyang by yourself, anyway. There is always hot water in large cans you can carry to your room for use or to wash your clothes for a small fee in the hostel own top-loaders in the first floor. The reception has a small shop you can buy washing powder, drinks and other small stuff locally. There is a restaurant which opening hours I couldn't make out. There is also a kitchen but NOT for common use, it is used during the Chinese cooking courses the staff organizes regularly and which are received with enthusiasm and a lot of fun :) Although the main gate is almost always open the hostel is very safe, there were no foreign people not belonging there, I once forget to lock my room with my laptop in it and nothing happened, can't say that about most European hostels I stayed in. The location is excellent. There are various busses, I never had a problem catching a cab. There is a competent supermarket very close by where you can get almost everything, it also has some extra stands outside for technology and electronics. The people there are also very polite and helpful. There are tons of street kitchens near by which are delicious and don't harm the usual Western stomach. A second larger super market is good to reach and 8 minutes by cab is a giant mall to supply yourself with everything you might need, even clothing in bigger sizes (everyone who has lived for a while in China knows this can be difficult sometimes...) A ten- to fifteen minutes walk away is the Old Town quarter which is a must-see in Luoyang. I can only recommend coming here during the new year. There is also a big craftsmen and antiquities market. Almost in front of the hostel is a youth plaza where many events are held, there are a lot of phone shops to reload your local, Chinese mobile phone card and a very nice tea house. If you want to go sightseeing, the hostel also organizes bus tours for example to the famous Shaolin-temple which is not that far away but a bit more complicated to reach for a tourist than the citys own sights. I can only recommend staying at this hostel because it is safe, doesn't cost much, the staff is nice and reliable and it is strategically well-placed.