HOSTEL REVIEW: PAK UP HOSTEL, KRABI

A friend back in Phi Phi had recommended a stay at Pak Up Hostel, raving about how good it was for just 270 baht a night (about £6). This meant that Pak Up was our first port of call when we reached Krabi. The building used to be a school and has now been cleverly converted – they’ve still kept up the educational theme though, by naming the bedrooms after school subjects, writing adverts and offers on blackboard signs, and by the numerous statues of children around the building.

Pak Up’s a homely, modern and fun place to stay in central Krabi town. The reception is an open social space, with pay-by-the-minute computers and information about the local areas. Adventure tours and trips to neighbouring islands can be organised, but we chose to explore Krabi itself by renting two of the hostel’s bicycles, for 120 baht each for the day. The staff here are always available and so friendly, even lighting the candles on our friend’s birthday cake and organising all the hostellers in reception to sing to him!

The rooms themselves are complete with air con, private lights, plug sockets and are protected by swipe cards. However, they’re fairly compact and the bunks are open, so there’s not bags of privacy. We arrived to an empty dorm to relax on the queen sized beds with squashy duvets, and began one of our favourite pastimes – guessing what our other room mates are like based on their belongings and mess. We determined that we were the only girls, sharing a dorm with some elaborately dressed, untidy men, who in spite of the hostel providing enormous drawer lockers underneath the bed, had left a trail of destruction from one bunk to the other.

Uncharacteristically, we decided on an early night due to a day of cycling ahead. Of course, the one time we did this, our fellow room mates turned out to be 6 boisterous Essex boys who we met at 3am. The small perimeter of the dorm left us with no option but to chat along, in a very much ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ type scenario.

The bathrooms are clean and have twice as many hot showers as needed. For a small deposit, towels can be provided too. We liked the big communal sinks for getting ready, a surprising hot spot for making friends! Laundry only costs 40 baht for a wash, and there was ample room for hanging clothes to dry.

The two bars in the hostel are heavily advertised, with drinks offers and events happening every night. The Top-Up bar is aptly located on the top floor, and has great views, but our preferred bar was The Playground, which, as its name suggests, was a wide courtyard with benches and picnic tables. With Krabi town itself being fairly quiet in the evenings, it was a busy and fun place to meet people and join in the organised pool tournaments.

If we ever return to Krabi, we’d stay here again without a second’s hesitation.

Charlotte & Sarah x