We arrived after reading great reviews without reservation and were expecting a sociable and clean place to relax. Our experience was the opposite. At 5pm, they told us there was a room available but that they needed to prepare it. They told us to come back in an hour. Al well and good we thought, until we returned to find we were placed in a dorm room without a window and the room was dirty (I'm not sure if all rooms are the same). There was an aircon with one setting - FREEZING. There were no reading lights in the dorm. The bathrooms had certainly not been cleaned for a while. There was hair and mud trailed through the bathrooms and hallway. There were a number of staff (around 10 or so different people between 12 and 30 years old) from the bar downstairs who hung out playing loud heavy rock music in the reception. Unfortunately their English was not good enough to ask for any advice about the town. We had heard that the lounge was a good place to relax. We were the only people there when we visited and it certainly was neither relaxing nor inviting in any way. We could not match the pictures displayed outside with the sights we saw in the hostel or lounge. I guess it looked better before the renovations.

We decided on the Velvet after doing our research, but we couldn't book it through the internet no matter what. So, we copied down the address & headed straight there upon arriving KK.

It was almost midnight when we reach the hostel. Almost immediately we can sense that the place is near brand new. According to other reviewers, it was re-opened for no more than two months after a major renovation. Luckily for us, there were still rooms available. The rate was RM30 (USD8.4)/bed night, inclusive of breakfast & tax, which is pretty much a standard thing here in KK. Our room has 4 beds, with the luxury of air conditioning.

Electric kettle & mugs are available for all guests to use. Bathrooms are sparkling clean, one for each gender. There are two basins, two toilet bowls & a shower cubicle with electric water heater. Washing machine is free of charge, it's a pity that I didn't use it.

On top of that, there is free WIFI internet access, just get the passkey from the receptionist. Internet PC cost a reasonable RM3 (USD0.84)/hour, but nearby shopping centre charges merely half that price.

The premise consists of 3 levels: First level is the cafe where they sell food & beverages; second level is the lounge where tv, pool tables & bar is located; reception & rooms are located on the third level. Not every room has a window & there is only 5 rooms (20 beds) in total!

One down side is that the blankets were extremely dusty, I started sneezing & had running nose all night. The problem was finally solved after I took the electric kettle & steamed up the room. It was the same trick I used at a hostel back in Australia. Another down side is that this hostel has no common area for guests to interact. As for breakfast, it's plain & simple: milk tea, kaya toast & two hard boiled eggs.

There are many hostels in this area. If you are travelling during an off-peak season, I would advice you save the online booking fee, tour a few hostels personally before settling in one of them. I also recommend Lavander Lodge & Rainforest Lodge, though not as new, but offers better facilities at similar prices.

When we tried booking for Velvet, none of the contacts(web/phone/email) listed online could connect us to it. The 5 of us decided to fly over to Sabah and hunt for it ourselves. Luckily, our persistence paid off when we found Velvet standing right where the address stated.

Apparently, the original Velvet was taken over by another company. It then underwent renovations, retained its name but all contacts have been renewed (except the address). It can now be contacted at +----------.

What I like about Velvet is that it's basic and clean, design with minimalism style in mind. There are less than 10 rooms here, with 4 solid, wooden bunk beds in each of them. The rooms are sufficiently spacious. There are quite a number of toilets and they are cleaned everyday. We were charged RM30 per person, but we have most of the rooms to ourselves unless the other rooms are fully taken.

Velvet is situated on a 3-corner column of shoplots. The rooms are on the top floor. On the 1st floor is Velvet's own open-air Lounge, where you can have a beer while listening to music. They even have a pool table. We spend most of our nights here drinking after a long day of outing. We basically had the entire Lounge to ourselves. On the ground floor is a restaurant(Talk 3 Talk 4) by the same owner. They are throughout the day, and this is where you have your free breakfast. You've gotta try their black-pepper lamb chop rice. It's really good. And the boss is kind enough to give discounts when we went there for lunch.

I wouldn't say location is Velvet's key attraction, but it's convenient enough from my experience. Across the street are 2 cinemas if you're bored. Sunday Market on Gaya Street is less than 10 minutes walk away. There's a foodcourt with mostly seafood just across the street, behind GSC Cinema, albeit abit on the pricey side. If you're looking for tours, you can always ask the owner for suggestions and contacts.

Overall, it fulfills what we looked for, basic and clean bread-&-breakfast, nice customer service, good food, and we missed the Lounge already!

Great place to stay! It was my first hostel and I am spoiled!! The staff were great! They were very outgoing, funny and worked well at introducing guests to one another. I heard their bar/lounge is very nice, but I didn't get a chance to see it THIS TIME around. On my next visit to KK, I will be sure to look them up again. Great job, VL. Keep up that kind of service and you'll have more business than you can handle.

Oh yeah, there were plenty of little places to eat within in walking distance. The round-a-bout out front does, present a challenge if you've had a couple drinks before heading back to VL, though. All in all a great place to rest your head and get a hot shower.