Cairns City Backpackers Hostel

Was an extremely Violent man in my room, xenophobic and extremely agressive. People who stayed the night prior had already complained and asked to leave but management choose not to act. I have asked for a partial refund which was refused on the ground i did not provide enough evidence noting nobody on the entire floor had been able to sleep properly that night.

The staff were very welcoming and I had a good stay. I booked a private room and liked it. The room had a shower and a small sink inside, and the shared toilet and kitchen were very close and easy to access. The air conditioning worked very well, and I was provided with clean bedding and towels on arrival. I didn’t use the facilities much, but the kitchen looked clean and well maintained. The garden was beautiful and very peaceful, which made the place feel relaxing. Although the accommodation itself hasn’t been recently renovated, the staff clearly make a great effort to keep everything running smoothly and as clean as possible. The location is a little far from the beach (around a 30-minute walk), but the shopping centre is quite close (about 10 minutes on foot), which made things convenient. One thing to keep in mind is that the street can feel a bit dark at night, so as a woman travelling alone I didn’t feel completely comfortable walking there late in the evening. That said, I personally didn’t have any issues during my stay. Overall, it was good value for money if you don’t mind walking a bit and staying somewhere simple and peaceful. P.S. This was my first time staying in a hostel, and I had a very positive experience.

Good for the price! Thank you!

This was honestly a horrible experience. We stayed here for 5 nights and the place was disgustingly dirty. The room was extremely humid, so much that even the bedsheets and my clothes felt damp all the time. There was mold all over the ceiling, and the room smelled awful, like humidity and mildew. We couldn’t even air out the room properly because the window only opens about one-third of the way due to the air conditioning unit blocking it, plus there is a mosquito screen that doesn’t open either, so barely any fresh air gets in. There were also only two power outlets in the room: one was already being used for the air conditioning, and the only other one was ridiculously placed near the ceiling, making it completely impractical to use. We also found a used men’s razor in the bathroom. The floor was dirty, and under the mattress there was a thick layer of black dust. But the worst part was definitely the pillows. Thankfully, we only noticed this when removing them at checkout, but the pillows were literally moldy (see photos). It was absolutely disgusting. We would have loved to leave after the first night, but unfortunately for personal reasons we couldn’t. The common areas, especially the kitchen and shared bathroom, were also very dirty and tiny. There was even feces on the toilet. The kitchen is missing a lot of basic utensils too: cups, glasses, spoons, etc. The shower in our room was terrible: almost no water pressure, and the temperature constantly switched from burning hot to freezing cold. Very unpleasant. If you’re planning to dry your swimsuit or clothes in the room, forget about it, everything will end up smelling terrible because the room is so damp and moldy. Oh, and I almost forgot the ants everywhere in the hostel, especially in the kitchen. We made the mistake of leaving packaged muffins in a closed bag, and ants still got into them. We told reception and showed them, and the only response we got was: “Oh yes, that’s normal here, you have to put everything in the fridge!” This was genuinely the worst hostel we have ever stayed in, which is a shame because the place could actually be cute with proper maintenance and cleaning. The lady at reception was lovely though. Of course, we weren’t expecting luxury for this price, but that absolutely does not justify how dirty and unhygienic this place is. Also, don’t rely too much on the reviews, as guests are offered a free drink in exchange for leaving a positive review, which makes the ratings feel misleading and unreliable.

In my opinion, this is a real hidden gem, great location - large rooms (very quiet as there are only 4 beds). There are 2 kitchens with ample equipment/refrigerators. Plenty of space to relax and generally very quiet :)