Houyuan Hostel

Friendly and helpful service from JJ, Sky and the team, who have just taken over. Very clean and spacious room with tiled floor, TV, balcony, en-suite shower and Western toilet for 100RMB a night - good value. We were looking to start our trip in China in a quiet, rural location and this was perfect - it's in a small village about a 10 minute, 30-40RMB taxi ride from Yangshuo bus station. Half of the village has been converted into a tourist attraction, this hostel is in the other half. Very quiet at night (although we were there in the off-season, I can imagine the outdoor bar is good fun when the place is busier), JJ walked us through the village to a local restaurant one night and we also watched DVDs, ate instant noodles and drank cheap beer in the hostel common room a couple of times at JJ's invitation - it's a good place to lay low and save some money mid-week on an extended trip. That said, we also went out late in Yangshuo one night and it was no problem getting a taxi back, although we did switch to a central Yangshuo hostel on the weekend. Like most hostels, Arcadia can help arrange local tourist activities e.g. Cormorant fishing, bamboo river tours etc, and also rented us decent bikes for 20RMB - there is great cycling around the immediate area. We wish the team well!