Hostel Standards in Oz

jackbhoy

We are arriving in Darwin next week and just doing bit of research on hostels there and in WA. The average ratings and reviews on sites like hostelworld are woeful, majority are below 75% with mentions of bedbugs, filth and pissheads etc.

We're well used to hostels and cheapo places in Asia/S America etc and we're not really fussy, as long as its relatively clean and we can sleep, that's sound. Not been to Oz before though so no idea of the standard. What are peoples experience there compared to Europe/Asia, is it really that bad (in cheap places) there??

thalia_13

Hostels in oz are fairly good, obviously the cheaper you go the more likely it will be to be a bit lower of standard. Darwin has a few hostels, mitchell street has the majority, it can be noisy in those ones, melaleuca on mitchell is nice but v noisy at night if you want to sleep. The CAv on cavanaugh street is grand its a few mins walk from mitchell and the mall, and is a hostel/motel.
I recommend going into a peterpans/tribal travel in darwin, and asking them what hostels they recommend along the coast within certain priceranges. I can recommend some myself, so if you want to PM me, please do. I managed the east coast and s.a v cheaply with regards to hostels...

As for bedbugs, you could catch them off someone on a greyhound bus, its not restricted to hostels. I never once got bedbugs and I was in and out of hostels for 8 months before I settled in a house.
Hope this helps

cashback

Hostels in Oz are good generally but I never found them to meet the standards of those I stayed in Asia and Sth America.
I like small hostels where you get to meet people but most hostels in Oz are on the large side, pack as many beds in as possible.
Also it can feel a little like being on the Costa del Sol with people lying by the pool and loud music blaring. Not that there's anything wrong with that necessarily, just not everybody's scene!

Some good ones I stayed at:
Eva's Backpackers - Kings Cross, Sydney.
Backpackers by the bay - Airlie Beach.
Port Macquarie Backpackers - Port Macquarie

daftdave

cashback wrote: »

Hostels in Oz are good generally but I never found them to meet the standards of those I stayed in Asia and Sth America.
I like small hostels where you get to meet people but most hostels in Oz are on the large side, pack as many beds in as possible.
Also it can feel a little like being on the Costa del Sol with people lying by the pool and loud music blaring. Not that there's anything wrong with that necessarily, just not everybody's scene!

Some good ones I stayed at:
Eva's Backpackers - Kings Cross, Sydney.
Backpackers by the bay - Airlie Beach.
Port Macquarie Backpackers - Port Macquarie

there are 2 in cairns that i can add to that list - the serpent nomad and also gilligans hostel - both of those are about the best i have seen so far

Shutuplaura

Avoid Chillies Backpackers in Darwin, another resident gace me five stiches in my forehead, had to tell my mother it was a surfing accident so as not to worry her. The night porter when he showed up eventually was no use.

daftdave

Shutuplaura wrote: »

Avoid Chillies Backpackers in Darwin, another resident gace me five stiches in my forehead, had to tell my mother it was a surfing accident so as not to worry her. The night porter when he showed up eventually was no use.

i wouldnt think thats the hostel's fault, more like an idiot that was staying in the hostel assaulted you - calling the cops would have been better than calling a night porter , get the twat arrested

Shutuplaura

daftdave wrote: »

i wouldnt think thats the hostel's fault, more like an idiot that was staying in the hostel assaulted you - calling the cops would have been better than calling a night porter , get the twat arrested

I used work in a boozey hostel in Galway as a nightporter. We always had a night porter who was on hand to diffuse any situation that might arise before the cops need to get involved. Hostels in Darwin are as bad at least for boozy behaviour but any I've experience with don't have a permenant night porter (this is common in Aus I've found) just a number to call in case of trouble - and there may not be another person at the other end of the line. True you can call the cops but its not their job to keep drunken/ violent residents in line.

I dunno, I blamed them as much as the bloke in question. I loved Darwin and like staying in hostels as a way of meeting people but I didn't like that place one bit. Stay across the road at the place with the pool parties instead.