My trip was going to take me to Malaysia for five days before heading to South Korea. Since I’d never been to Kuala Lumpur and my time was limited, I decided to stick around and try to get the feel of the city. Since I knew I would be staying and I wanted to spend as little as possible without sleeping outside, I booked my first three nights in the Forever Young Guest House.
There were a few things that caused me to book there. First of all, I found the owner on Facebook and we were able to have a direct conversation. Second, he’d only opened his hostel a few weeks before. Third, I just really liked the sort of goofy sounding name, which it turns out, comes from the name of his father’s Traditional Chinese Medicine practice downstairs from the hostel.
Now, at the outset, I have to admit, it was a little confusing to find based on the online directions. When I arrived, I suggested that we fix his directions. So, if you get lost on the way there now, you can blame me…and the rapidly changing construction of the city.
I found Forever Young Guesthouse to be Friendly, cheap, clean, and central. Almost perfect budget dorms. There were a couple of things I wasn’t crazy about, but I’ll get into that in a minute. Here is what I liked.
Forever Young is right in the heart of KL without putting you on a busy sidewalk in Chinatown. This is straight up a budget hostel with no private rooms, but the dorms are clean, the common areas have a nice local feel to them, and while the wifi wasn’t super strong, it was there and they didn’t try to charge extra for it.
Haz and his girlfriend remodeled, decorated, and run the place themselves. They keep things clean and tidy and they are available to help you find what you need. Breakfast is simple but included in the price. Toast, jam, peanut butter, coffee, and while I was there big oranges.
If you spend the day walking around and have sore feet, you can go downstairs and for about $8 (25 RM) you can get a half hour foot and leg massage or you can spend a little more and get the whole deal. This is in Haz’s father’s place, the Forever Young Energy House. You can also have a wide range of traditional Chinese remedies and treatments including acupuncture, acupressure, and herbal treatments.
Forever Young Guest House is a safe, clean place. My two complaints were pretty trivial. First of all, there weren’t any lockers while I was there. Haz assured me that he had ordered them, so if you go, there will probably be some. Second, smoking in all areas of the hostel. While I appreciate that smokers love to smoke, I think it’s important to have no smoking areas in a hostel. In particular, it was unpleasant to find a big dirty ashtray on the breakfast table with the breakfast food.
Guests can choose standard or AC rooms. None of them come with en suite bathrooms. There are two bathrooms and two showers for all guests to share but since this is a small place, that didn’t present any problems. One word of warning, if you opt for the AC rooms, the street can be pretty loud. Just make sure you have earplugs as there is action on the streets of KL all night long.
Finally, when you visit Forever Young Guest House, please tell Haz, his girlfriend Az, and Fifi (the puppy mascot) that Vago sends his regards.
Forever Young Guest House.
Standard Dorm 25 RM per day
Dorm with A/C 30 RM per day
Male and Female 4 Bed Dorm Rooms
No. 36C (Level 3) Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin,
Bukit Bintang, 50200
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: +60172100669
Room Rate:
Standard Dorm (a/c) – MYR30.00 per night/per bed
Basic Dorm (fan) – MYR25.00 per night/per bed