The Fernloft dorm rooms are messy, creaky, and rather stuffy - par for the course for any backpacker hostel. Besides, who in their right mind wants to dawdle in the dorms? The common areas are where the action's at, and if you're lucky, the city's finest tourist attractions should be right at the doorstep.

On the latter two points, the Fernloft definitely delivers.

The Fernloft's Common Areas - the Lobby and Bathrooms

Each floor contains one common bathroom; the bathroom this traveler used on the third floor was well-lit, being on the end of the building with windows.

Shower stalls were separate from the toilet stalls, three on each side; the bathrooms, as far as I could tell, were unisex. Individual heaters in each stall provided hot water showers. Drainage was good, but given the turnover, it seemed wrong to shower without flip-flops.

The main common area on the second floor contains the front desk and a number of amenities for guests:

• a refrigerator for cold drinks;
• two PCs for guests' use, with printer;
• a bulletin board;
• a luggage storage area;
• and a TV area with bean bags.

The common area is air conditioned and equipped with WiFi. Several free powerpoints allow guests to plug in their laptops to work/play. (Availability of power outlets is not a problem in the Fernloft; each dorm bed has access to at least two.)

The sickly green fluorescent glow of the dorm rooms is nowhere to be found here - the lighting in the common area is warm and welcoming, and the bean bags in front of the flat screen TV encourage guests to hang out. The cable TV doesn't seem to have many channels to choose from, though.

The WiFi theoretically extends to the whole hostel, but reception in the dorm room was spotty at best.

This traveler made ample use of the common area's services. I printed my e-ticket at the common computer, checked my email over WiFi in the evenings, and scored a few cold drinks from the ref. On the day I checked out, I made use of the luggage storage rack on the morning I checked out, as I was taking a walking food tour of Petaling Street that day.

Smoking travelers can sneak their puffs at the roof deck, a small and somewhat ramshackle area with tables and chairs for dining and plain hanging out. The hostel's meager breakfast is served here - nothing more than just bread and a few spreads.

Getting Around

This traveler is willing to forgive almost anything in a hostel, so long as it has a central location in the city. And so it is with the Fernloft: its location on Jalan Hang Kasturi is literally less than eight minutes' walk from everything you need.

• One minute away: a 7-Eleven and a Ramly Burger stand;
• Five minutes away: the Pasar Seni LRT station to the south, the Central Market to the north (the Kasturi walk annex is actually just the pedestrianized part of the street where the Fernloft stands)
• Eight minutes away: the Lai Foong Kopitiam, and across it, the Petaling Street shopping area.

Traffic can be quite choked up along the Kasturi/Jl. Tan Tun Cheng Lock junction, but who needs to ride a cab when the nearest LRT station is literally across the street? Pasar Seni is only a single stop away from the KL Sentral station, the city's central transport node for long-distance trains and express shuttles to KLIA. Read about KL's train system; it's not as complicated as it looks at first sight!

Pasar Seni is also the terminus for one of the Go KL free bus' lines - from this bus, you can travel free to Bukit Bintang and KLCC.

Fernloft Hostel KL at a Glance

Location: 60A Jalan Hang Kasturi, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Location of the Fernloft Hostel (Google Maps). One LRT stop from KL Sentral, an hour's drive from KL International Airport.

Rooms: 4-, 6-, 20-, and 24-bed mixed dorm rooms; 6- and 8-bed female-only dorm rooms; twin room with bathroom en suite; three private rooms (non-bathroom en suite) with double, twin, and single beds respectively.

Amenities: Free WiFi in common area. Two public PCs for guests use. TV in common area with DVD library. Free transportation to other Fernloft hostels (for guests checking in to the other hostel).

Contact Details: Phone +60 320 220 688, fernloft.com.