BackHome Hostel Review – Kuala Lumpur

This shouldn’t take long, for those that don’t have time to read on, let me summarise this BackHome hostel review for you in one short sentence.

BackHome hostel is one of the best hostels you will find, period.

For those who want to know why, well throughout the BackHome hostel review I will cover some aspects that I consider to be super important, like comfort, security, location, and the ability to have a good nights rest.

BackHome Hostel is smack bang in the centre of Kuala Lumpur, it is walking distance to some of the best activities on offer in the city, in fact I walked everywhere listed in this post, with the exception of Batu Caves.

This is not a party hostel, that’s not what I look for these days so if you want a party hostel, look elsewhere.

To view their website, then click here.

*Disclaimer

Affiliate links may be present on this page. These are links to websites such as Amazon, where if you decide to purchase something, then they will offer me a tiny commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and is just a way for me to try and support myself and the blog. I only link to the best of the best with careful consideration, thank you.

BackHome Hostel Review Video

For those who prefer to take things in with a quick fire video tour of BackHome Hostel, this video exists for you.

Watching the video will give you a far better idea of the layout of BackHome hostel, the way the common area is used, the size of the bathrooms and bedrooms etc.

Hostel Review Sections

 To make the BackHome hostel review easier to navigate I have subdivided this into some of the major categories that I hold value in.

There might be stuff missing, leave a comment if you think I have missed something out. I can’t cover every aspect but I will try be as thorough as possible.

Location

To see the hostels location in relation to some of the best activities in Kuala Lumpur, head over to my video that shows its proximity to everything using Google Earth Pro.

It gives a much better idea than the map posted below for those who don’t know the city well. For those who do want to see the map view, you can see just how central the hostel is to Merdaka Square and KL Tower.

Security

This hostel has very tight security. You can’t even get back in the hostel during the day without being buzzed in by the staff at the reception desk.

Although it sounds annoying, it really works quite simply and without hassle.

On top of this is the individual door locks for each room, and then also massive locker space that we will cover below to hide all of your things, even massive bags full of camera gear like the stuff I carry fits in!

Storage

Huge!

The storage is huge! I travel with an Osprey Soujour 80L, which is bigger than most will bother with, and it fits in the locker with some room to spare.

Besides this I was able to fit my drone (affiliate) and other camera gear that I didn’t want to walk around with in my day bag, I never felt like it was ever in danger thanks to the good people who stay at the hostel as well as the security.

As you can see the storage is not lacking, provide a strong lock and you can leave everything behind without a care in the world while you go exploring.

There is also good storage, as well as a little drop down shelf above your bed as you will see in the 2 photos below.

Bathrooms & Provisions

It is nearly impossible to properly show a bathroom being better than other hostels through images, but trust me, these guys have better bathrooms.

There are body washes and shampoos provided in the showers, hand soaps always replenished and available at the basins, hand dryers in all the bathrooms, and very large bathrooms with heaps of room at the basins.

The showers were separate to the toilets, they had good water pressure and room on the side to hang toiletry bags and towels without getting everything wet while you showered.

Everything just worked.

Bedrooms

The bedrooms here are the biggest I have seen. The space per person is bigger than you will find in nearly any other hostel throughout Southeast Asia. See the picture below for reference.

There is also a sink and mirror inside each bedroom which enables you to get ready, or brush your teeth, without having to walk out to the bathroom.

Bed Comfort

The bed comfort is very good, even for western standards. A lot of hostels have hard beds but these were nice and soft as were the pillows. 

Food and Drink

Breakfast

Breakfast is served from 07:00-10:00.

It is quite basic, but for a hostel it is nice enough. Just some cereals, toast, different toppings and sometimes a local Malaysian breakfast is served as well.

Drink

Free water is available, that is all that matters. You will need it as you tour the humid conditions of the city.

Other Stuff

Towels

Towels are available but they need to be rented for 5 MYR.

Wifi

Wifi is free and was readily available in all bedrooms as well as common areas, it was always strong.

Air Conditioning

Air conditioning is on, is strong (sometimes too strong at night time) and worked a treat. They do sometimes turn it off during the day if there is nobody in the room, as do most hostels.

Noise Levels

With a noise curfew of 22:00 I never had issues getting a good nights sleep at the hostel. I can’t speak for every room in the hostel, but where I was there was no road noise, no nearby bars or clubs either.

Guests / Staff

This is mostly subjective and liable to change for any given visit. However, my time there I saw a mostly sociable and respectful crowd come through the doors.

Everyone was polite, well mannered and there to relax.

Staff were always helpful and attentive to the front door, where everyone needs to be buzzed in. They have plenty of information for those who are wondering what to do during the day.

BackHome Hostel Review Negatives

Although this hostel is one of the best you will find, there is always room for improvement. I think that they could do with some darker conditions in the rooms.

This could be achieved with curtains across the beds, so that if a room mate turns on the main light it affects others in the room a bit less.

Summary

So there you have it, the end of the BackHome hostel review, now time to give it a score.

This hostel for me gets a 10/10.

The experience from check in to check out was smooth, the staff were helpful, the other guests sociable and friendly, the security and wifi were top notch.

Check it out if you’re ever in the area.