Rating Hostels I stayed in (East Coast Australia edition)
- jasminewood219
- Nov 26, 2024
- 19 min read
The hostels I stayed in were pre-booked by Ultimate Travel (the group I booked my tour with, more on that coming...), so I didn't get a choice in the matter. As a result I didn't look into any of them before I arrived, my thoughts being 'I can't be let down if I have nothing to expect'. This mind set mostly left me pleasantly surprised, however I think its important to make sure you do DO the research when you're choosing your options. Everyone is different, so different things matter to different people but I've tried to cover most bases and the ones I deem most important (Location, Kitchen, Rooms and Bathrooms).
I've got some lengthy explanations in there so to make things easier for those who don't want to read about me rambling on, I've also included a summary box that has my main Pros and Cons of each hostel. I hope this list is helpful, and please ask as many questions as you like in the comments and I'll try to help as much as I can!!!
Sydney:
Name: Wake Up! Sydney
Address: 509 Pitt Street, Sydney CBD, 2000 Sydney, Australia
My Rating: 7/10
Location: Located next to the main Central train station, tram station and bus station, this hostel has a fantastically convenient location. Although it is situated at the top of a hill (leg day everyday staying here in Sydney), its only a 15/20 minute walk down to Darling Harbour or the Opera house. Meanwhile in the other direction there’s a shopping centre with an Aldi, Target, Woolies and other shops to have a browse in.
Rooms: I stayed in a 10 bed, mixed dorm both times that I stayed in this particular hostel, and both of my stays were perfectly pleasant. The beds are comfy, and while being bunk beds, they’re perfectly secure, no shaking or movement from the person on top at all. My only mention about the bunks is the lack of curtain (but I did learn that these aren’t common in hostels in Australia at all). The rooms themselves are large with plenty of space for everyone to pack and unpack, and they do have lockers. However, it should be mentioned that these lockers do vary in size depending on the room you stay in, the lockers in my first room where short but wide and deep, perfect for unpacking your packing cubes and other small items and bags into but they did not have enough space for the whole backpack. Meanwhile the lockers in my second room where much taller and would’ve been more suited to fitting an entire backpack in, which is probably more suitable for those who aren’t sticking around in Syndey for too long.
Bathrooms: Wake Up! Syndey uses communal, single gendered bathrooms. Within these bathrooms there is 4 showers, 4 stall toilets and 4 sinks that have a large mirror across the wall and a shelf that is perfect for storing your make-up or toiletry bags. The bathrooms were mostly clean while I was there, the only exception being during the night when people had clearly had some trouble while drunk (we’ve all been there).
Kitchen: I’ll be honest I didn’t really cook AT ALL which in hindsight I wish I had, but I did still see the kitchen so I feel like I can judge them a little bit. The kitchen here was pretty decent, there was lots of storage space in fridges and cupboards (I can’t remember if there were freezers, but I wanna say there wasn’t). There were plenty of stoves to cook on and about 4 sinks, but they were pretty cramped together which made washing up difficult when people were cooking. Overall the appliances were good but the kitchen was a little cramped which made it rather stressful when the kitchen was busy.
Other: Something that is defiantly of note for this hostel is the bar in the basement called Side Bar. The bar itself is pretty good, they have themed nights and events like bingo on down there, and who doesn’t love a short stumble to bed at the end of the night. However, when I stayed on floor 1 the music from the bar could be heard through the floor, it wasn’t awful and with a good pair of earplugs or headphones it can be easily drowned out, but it did lower the rating of this hostel a little bit for me.
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Byron Bay
Name: Wake up! Byron Bay
Address: 25 Childe St, Belongil Beach, 2481 Byron Bay, Australia
Link on Booking.com: Wake Up! Byron Bay, Byron Bay
My Rating: 7/10
Location: This hostel is directly across from the beach; I’m talking a 2 minute walk straight forward and you’ve hit sand. However, it is a little bit out of town, its about a 20 minute walk into town to get to the shops and restaurants, however, the hostel does offer a shuttle bus that runs to and from the bus stop which is located in town. I can’t remember how often this shuttle runs but it will run until everyone waiting for it has been dropped off.
Rooms: I was in an 8 bed, mixed dorm in this hostel. The rooms where pretty standard, white metal frame bunk beds and lockers at the end of the room that are big enough to fit a backpack in them. The beds were comfortable and not too shaky either, and the room was plenty big enough for everyone to be able to lay their stuff out as needed.
Bathrooms: The room I was staying in had an ensuite attached to it with 2 toilets and 2 showers in it. This was pretty perfect for the 8 of us staying in the room, however it is a shared ensuite with the room next door. This wasn’t an issue for us as the room next to us didn’t have anyone staying in it, however I could imagine that things could get more complicated should we have had to share 2 showers between 16 of us. However, it should be mentioned that there are also communal showers and toilets as well, so those could’ve been used should we have run into issues.
Kitchen: I personally found this kitchen a lot nicer than the one in Sydney. It was far more open and seemed to never get too busy or stressful, compared to the one in Sydney that always seemed that way. It had plenty of cookers and storage space and overall the layout was really nice.
Other: A definite bonus for this hostel is the bar and pool area. The area is small but it does the job perfectly, the pool is perfect for relaxing by for when the beach is a little too windy, the high walls block the wind perfectly also helping to make it the perfect spot for sunbathing. The bar has a good range of drinks on tap (including my personal favourite alcoholic ginger beer, Little Dragon), and they do some cocktails. Each day there is a different deal on drinks and/or food, and a happy hour that runs every evening. This area was a favourite of my group, it was perfect for when we wanted to go out but didn’t want to commit to going out out in town.
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Surfers Paradise
Name: BUNK
Address: 6 Beach Road, Surfers Paradise, 4217 Gold Coast, Australia
My Rating: 6.5/10
Location: I think its difficult to stay anywhere in Surfers Paradise that has a bad location, so with that being said the location of this hostel is really good. It is right next to the bus station (very useful for if you’re getting Greyhounds, or other buses), and it’s about a 10-minute walk to the beach. The hostel is also right down the road from a tram stop and a shopping centre (which is a fantastic way to spend your day). It is close enough to bars and clubs that its only a short walk home, but its far enough away that you won’t get any noise from clubs (but you might get some noise from the giant slingshot that’s across the road).
Rooms: I stayed in a 6-bed dorm in this hostel, and it was tiny. Between us we managed with the lack of space, but it was definitely made easier by the fact that we knew each other, I think sharing a room that small with strangers could’ve been harder. The room did have storage cubbies for bags, however of those with suitcases would’ve struggled to make them fit, if they fit at all. Our room did also have a small balcony (I’m pretty sure all of the rooms do), which was a nice bonus, perfect for sitting on and calling family in the evening, watching the slingshot or simply to dry swimwear and towels.
Bathroom: This hostel has ensuites attached to each room, so no waiting for the communal shower, instead 6 of you waiting for one shower between you. The bathroom itself is pretty nice, its got a lot of space, a sink that is perfect for doing makeup at, and a shower with decent pressure. The only issue is working out who’s showering next when everyone’s gotta get showered in a time limit.
Kitchen: I actually did cook in this kitchen (I know crazy). While the layout is spacious and there is plenty of sinks and cookers, we found that a few of the cookers either didn’t work or weren’t turned on. There plenty of storage space and its easy to find any plates or utensils that you might need. The kitchen didn’t feel the cleanest compared to some of the other hostels we stayed in, but that isn’t to say it was bad, I think it was mostly this way because of how frequently people were cooking in there (every time I walked through it to get to the pool there was at least 2 people cooking).
Other: The hostel has a pool and a hot tub which is a bonus for when the beach is too windy to enjoy a swim and a sunbathe there. However, there aren’t many sun loungers around the pool and the space is pretty cramped, so if you’re looking at getting a lounger, you’ll want to be up early to get your spot. A slight issue that we did have when we stayed there was that the lift was broken, so that meant that we had to do the thousand (I’m exaggerating but my legs would agree that it did feel like a thousand) steps to get to level 5 every time we had to go to our room. Hopefully this isn’t an issue anymore since I stayed there in September.
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Brisbane
Name: BUNK
Address: 11-21 Gipps St, Fortitude Valley, Fortitude Valley, 4006 Brisbane, Australia
Link on Booking.com: Bunk Brisbane, Brisbane
My Rating: 8/10
Location: The location of this hostel isn’t too bad, if you’re staying in Brisbane for the night life then you’ll love this spot as its right around the corner from tons of bars. It’s also about 10 minute walk from the train station, which feels much longer when you’re carrying your bag but its not a bad walk.
Rooms: My room in this hostel was one of my favourites. While the room I was staying in was a 6 bed dorm, there were only 4 of us in the room which meant we had plenty of room each. There were cubbies for storing your backpacks, and a large mirror which was a nice addition to the room. The beds were super comfy, and the bunk beds themselves were great quality, bolted to the wall, thick ladders, not a single shake insight.
Bathroom: These hostel rooms also had an ensuite, only in this one we had 2 showers and 2 separate toilets for the room of 6 (actually 4 of us). The showers are good, with a separate space to get dressed in afterwards, and there a large mirror in the bathroom by the sinks, the perfect place to get ready while everyone else is in bed!
Kitchen: Once again, I didn’t cook in this hostel, but that doesn’t stop me appreciating a great looking kitchen. The kitchen is really open, with plenty of surface and cooking space, plenty of sinks to aid in washing up which are located in a separate space to the cooking appliances so there’s no flighting for space. To make it even better there’s even a separate little room with a microwave and sink so you don’t have to get in the way of people cooking if that’s all you need.
Other: There’s not really a comfy communal area at this hostel apart from the reception area (which has a comfy sofa that is perfect for nursing a hangover, trust me I know), but there is still a dinning room area off the side of the kitchen.
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Noosa
Name: Flashpackers
Address: 102 Pacific Avenue, 4567 Sunshine Beach, Australia
My Rating: 6/10
Location: The location of this hostel isn’t great, it about a 30-minute walk from the town and beach, and I’d definitely recommend getting the shuttle from the bus station if you’ve got your bags with you, its not the longest walk but with your bag it will seem like it is. While it’s a bit of a walk into town, the hostel does run a shuttle that stops there which runs pretty frequently throughout the day.
Rooms: I was back in a 10 bed, mixed dorm in this hostel, and the room wasn’t too bad. The room itself was large with plenty of space for everyone, however the lockers were only small, so they were only big enough for valuables, which is perfectly fine when you’re in a room with people you know, but I personally like to be able to lock my whole bag away where possible. The beds are decent, they’re comfy enough but they are metal frame bunk beds which means the shaking is back! I also had the fun experience that because I was sleeping on the top bunk by the door, when people entered the room they got a face full of my feet, which is a real bonding experience.
Bathroom: The rooms in this hostel also have ensuites. For our room we had two showers and two separate toilets between the 10 of us, which was easily managed between us, another shower would’ve been nice, but we all had different schedules at this location so there was never really a queue for the shower or toilet. The showers were nice, and they had a separate section for changing that had lots of hooks and a full bench (think swimming pool changing room).
Kitchen: The kitchen here is reasonably small, its not the end of the world because the hostel itself isn’t huge, but it did always seem reasonably busy in there. There were a few large sinks and a couple of stove tops, but overall, the layout of the kitchen was pretty good, and it was clear where all of the plates and utensils were.
Other: My favourite part of this hostel is the dog that lives there called Spider! He is beyond adorable, and if you’re planning on staying here, I hope you like playing fetch because he is relentless in the cutest way. Another bonus is the pool and deck area which is perfect for a day chilling if sand and beaches aren’t your thing, or if you simply want to sunbathe for a few hours before you head out for the day. As well as this, they have events on near enough every night, from free sausage sizzlers to free nachos and sangria, it’s a great way to socialise and make friends.
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Rainbow Beach
Name: Freedom Backpackers
Address: 18 Spectrum Street, 4581 Rainbow Beach, Australia
My Rating: 3.5/10
Location: Rainbow beach doesn’t have much going on, so having a bad location is pretty hard when there’s not much to be near. This hostel has a pretty good location, it’s a 2 minute walk across the road to the beach and a little strip of shops/cafes, and a 5 minute walk the other way to a pretty fantastic fish and chip shop.
Rooms: The rooms here aren’t the best, the bunk beds are shaky, the curtains block almost no light out and the rooms feel a bit empty and lacklustre. At the end of the day when you’re doing hostel living you know some of them are going to be rough, and this is just one of them, it honestly isn’t awful but compared to other hostels its not great. We used this hostel as a stop before and after our trip to K’Gari, and after sleeping on the floor for 2 nights any bed seemed like a blessing.
Bathroom: This hostel also had an ensuite, which was a wet room in this case. The bathroom wasn’t my favourite, the ventilation wasn’t fantastic so after 8 of us had showers the room felt a little sweaty. Having one shower between 8 of us also wasn’t fantastic because there was a queue, it also didn’t help that the toilet was in with he shower so the queue lasted longer as we tried to alternate so that people could use the toilet as well.
Kitchen: Unfortunately, I have nothing good to say about this hostel kitchen. The stoves are old gas ones that require you to light them with a lighter and then hold the dial for a minute before it lights, I’m not against old tech but it was particularly frustrating when several of the tops don’t work. The sink area wasn’t great and the work surface was stained and just didn’t seem like the type of place I wanted to cook (which is annoying because I was planning on cooking here, mostly because there is almost nowhere to go out to eat in Rainbow Beach).
Others: This hostel does have a pool, I didn’t get to use it as the weather wasn’t fantastic while we were in this location. It also has a nice bar area which is lovely in the evenings to entertain yourself. Luckily there is also a comfy communal area with bean bags and a few sofas to chill on during the day, and I say luckily because the wi-fi probably wont reach your room, I stayed in two different rooms and it didn’t reach either of them. There's also not chargers by the bed, which is a definite negative for alarms, but not too awful considering you probably aren’t using your phone in your room because there’s no Wi-Fi.
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This hostel is due a refurb so these things might have changed by the time you stay there! Overall, I would only use Rainbow beach as a gateway to K'Gari!
Airlie
Name: Nomads
Address: 354 Shute Harbour Road, 4802 Airlie Beach, Australia
My Rating: 7/10
Location: Airlie Beach is one of those places where I feel it’s almost impossible to have a bad location, everything is pretty close together. This hostel is at the top of the main street so its super close to cafes and shopping. Although it is a little further from the buss top than is ideal, its not a bad walk, but if you’ve just gotten off of a night bus and its feeling hot then you’ll probably end up choosing to get a taxi like we did.
Rooms: The rooms here aren’t fantastic, they’re pretty standard hostel rooms but they don’t feel particularly cosy, like you probably won’t settle into them the same way you would other hostels like the two BUNKs I mentioned before. However, the beds are comfy, despite being shaky and the rooms are a decent size.
Bathroom: The bathroom situation depends on the rooms your in. My first room of 8 beds had a separate toilet and 2 showers which was pretty ideal. The second room I stayed in only had one shower between the 8 of us, and although the toilet was in its own room, you had to go through the bathroom, where the shower was, to get to the toilet which made it aa little inconvenient if you had to go while someone was in the shower. But overall, the bathrooms were decent.
Kitchen: The kitchen here was lovely, in fact both of them were, that’s right TWO KITCHENS. Both had plenty of surface space and cookers, as well as good sink areas for washing up. There was plenty of storage for food, and they felt really clean.
Other: A downside to this hostel is there aren’t plug sockets by the beds like there usually are, which isn’t too awful but it is inconvenient if you need to set an alarm on your phone, no one wants to be the person waking up the whole room. However, a definite bonus to the hostel is that there are two really nice pool areas and benches around the area. Walking around this hostel feels more like walking around a resort than a hostel.
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Magnetic Island
Name: Nomads
Address: 1 Nelly Bay Road, Nelly Bay, 4819 Nelly Bay, Australia
My Rating: 3/10
Location: This hostel is pretty out of the way on Magnetic Island, but I couldn’t see it fitting anywhere else. The location itself is stunning, with the hostel overlooking the ocean and being surrounded by greenery. However, to get anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE, you either need a car, the get the bus or it’s a long old walk, which is admittedly very scenic. Although you do have to get a bus from the hostel, you really have to get a bus everywhere on Magnetic Island, so again it’s not much of a negative when you’d have to do it anyway.
Rooms: The rooms here aren’t great. They’re pretty tiny, and only some have cubbies for your stuff. The aircon is pretty good, but that doesn’t really make up for the lack of curtain over the windows, or the fact that you can sing along to whatever song is playing in the bar. The beds are standard white metal frame, shaky bunk beds, and every wall is a wonderful shade of white, the rooms feel rather bleak and personally I only spent time in them when I was sleeping.
Kitchen: Did I cook? No. Did I see the kitchen and instantly felt good about that decision? Yes. The kitchen was lacklustre, with very few stove tops and a microwave that you needed a stool to reach. There was some fridge storage in the centre, however one of those did break while we were there. The kitchen space is very cramped and I can’t see how it’s an enjoyable experience unless you’re the only person in it.
Other: The hostel does have a pool and deck area which is pretty nice, it’s a good spot for sunbathing, but it can get pretty busy at times. Theres also a really good bar attached to the hostel that does AMAZING food, I cannot recommend it enough! The bar also hosts events every night, a great way to socialise or be kept up at night from the noise.
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Mission beach
Name: Mission Beach Resort
Address: Lot 4 Wongaling Beach Road, 4852 Mission Beach, Australia
Location: This resort is right around the corner from the bus station and a Woolies which is really convenient. To get into the town you need to take the shuttle, which can be arranged through the resort, you can walk but it is a bit of a distance and its along main roads. Mission beach is a pretty quiet spot so there’s not much to be near or far from.
Rooms: We stayed in rooms that had 3 of us in each room and we were all thrilled, mostly because for the first time we didn’t have bunk beds! These rooms are made up of a double bed and two singles, so it’s a toss up for who gets the double (as a tall girlie I threw that excuse into the ring and got met with no complaints, so the double bed was all mine!).
Bathroom: The rooms have an ensuite which is lovely, the shower is amazing and the whole bathroom feel clean and its got plenty of space for everyone’s things (and enough room to box dye your hair, again I know from experience). The water pressure is fantastic, and you even get some freebies (mini shampoo, conditioner and body wash).
Kitchen: Due to this being a resort, there is no kitchen. However, there are plenty of communal BBQs around the resort grounds, and if you ask you can get a BBQ set from the kitchen to help with your grilling. I can also confirm that the resort room service is damn good (I recommend the steak sandwich).
Other: The resort has an array of different pools for you to choose from, there are some small ones dotted around or the main pool in the middle which gets really deep at one end. The pool areas have a handful of sun loungers, which are perfect for a sunbathe, as well as some shaded areas which are perfect to escape the burning period in.
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Cairns
Name: Gilligans
Address: 57-89 Grafton Street, 4870 Cairns, Australia
My Rating: 6/10
Location: The location of this hostel is okay, it’s a 10/15 minute walk from the bus station, but it is a flat walk so its okay. The lagoon and surrounding shops are only 5/10 minute walk, and in the other direction, another 5 minute walk, is a massive shopping centre.
Rooms: The rooms here are pretty standard, metal frame, slightly shaky bunk beds that are comfy enough. They aren’t massive, so space can be a bit of an issue especially when you’re there for a few days and everyone unpacks more, but there are lockers that can be used (we had just given up using them at this point). Most of the rooms also have a large balcony which is a nice bonus, the perfect place to hang swimwear or towels to dry, or to have a chat on in the evenings.
Bathroom: Each room has an ensuite; this consist of a sink and then a separate toilet and shower. The shower is good, it has a few hooks and a shelf to put your stuff on while you shower. Overall, the sink area is a little small, it’s between the shower and toilet and due to the tightness of the corridor it really only fits one person at a time which isn’t ideal when someone brushing their teeth, and you need to wash your hands.
Kitchen: The kitchen here is lovely, there’s plenty of storage space, its nice and open, and there’s a good few stoves and microwaves. It always felt really nice and clean, there’s tables in the kitchen to eat at or a communal area down the hall that you can easily carry your food too, should you want to sit in there. I’m also pretty sure that there’s multiple kitchen (apparently the one on floor 4 is the best, but I never checked it out).
Other: It should 100% be said that Gilligans is a party hostel, they have themed nights every night in the bar as well as multiple happy hours and food deals each day. The bar gets pretty busy most nights, and it certainly gets loud, I was able to hear the music from the bar clearly on Floor 1, especially when I was in my second room that was right above the bar (in that one I could also feel the base through the floor on the Friday night). The pool area is lovely, with some big cabana beds and sun loungers all around it, it is the perfect place to chill out during the day and catch some sun before partying the night away.
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I hope this little list of hostels has helped you make some informed choices about where you're staying! Please let me know if you'd like to hear anything else about these hostels or anything specific about the East Coast of Australia and I'll try my best to be helpful!
Lots of Love,
Jas
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