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Billabong Gardens
Last Update:
January
6, 2009
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Displaying Reviews:
21 - 25
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Pages: 1 2 3
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We had a great time. The staff are very helpful., August 4, 2003
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Anonymous
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What a great place! We had a really enjoyable stay - Newtown is definitely one of Sydney's best kept secrets and Billabong has a very homely and warm atmosphere. The staff went out of their way to help us and we found the facilities were clean and well cared for - certainly for a hostel it is one of the best we've ever stayed in. My sister and her boyfriend had their own private room which made us really jealous - it was quiet, very clean and had it's own bathroom and TV. Newtown has excellent transport connections to the rest of Sydney and is lively, fun and off-beat.
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stay away - avoid it!, June 15, 2003
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Anonymous
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What are lonely planet talking about? The reviewer could have been talking about a different place altogether! We had specifically requested a quiet room as we were only in Sydney 2 nights last weekend and wanted to make the most of our time there by getting up early, etc. We were put in the backpacker section when we were meant to have a room in the quiet? terrace next door(which I have since heard is worse!) Anyway, other guests spent the entire night drinking, partying on and being very loud in the courtyard - the whole place is brick and creates an echo chamber and even at normal talking level we could hear these people while we were in bed in our rooms with earplugs in! When they shouted it sounded like they were in our room. Since this is in Newtown we couldn't understand why these people didn't go out to one of the many bars & clubs in the area. Why go to another country then sit outside your room and drink? Apparently there is a rule against drinking in the courtyard, but it isn't enforced. The girl on duty that night couldn't do anything about it. She told us it was a regular occurance. The other worrying thing was that the place is unattended after midnight - the staff go home, so there is no way to contact any member of staff, no after hours number - what would happen if you lost your key, were threatened by one of the drunk lodgers, there was a fire, or any number of things? Don't know if this is legal? As for the room, for $88 we got a reasonably sized double room with a bathroom (mouldy), really dodgy and ugly furniture that hurt our eyes and looked as if they found it in the hard rubbish. No heating either (it was freezing in the middle of winter). The kitchen is filthy. We finally got to sleep at 4:30am after the noise from downstairs stopped, but no apologies from management after we complained (we are still chasing up a refund - why should we pay when we were mislead that the place was quiet and we didn't sleep at all due to unacceptable noise levels) it's no wonder they insist on full payment for the first night at the time of booking. When we checked in the guy tried to get us to pay for our second night upfront too but luckily we have come across this before and refused. When you discover how noisy or dirty it is and you have already paid for your stay in advance, you have no recourse to get your money back. Ask to see the room first! When we complained the next morning we were reminded 'this is a backpackers' - we have stayed at probably hundreds of backpackers in 2 years of backpacking all over the world and have never experienced anything like this - hell for a night. It would have been quieter to sleep rough at Circular Quay. Don't get ripped off by staying here, on our 2nd night we moved to another place, a proper hotel, for $75 got a much nicer, clean, just renovated room in the city near museum station (called the Macquarie Hotel). They promote themselves at Billabong Gardens as being unbelievable value but the place absolutely ruined an otherwise fabulous time in Sydney.
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6 of
7 people found this review helpful
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Main building clean, terrace next door terrible, May 6, 2003
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Anonymous
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May 2003 was the second year I have stayed at Billabong Gardens.May 2002 - I spent a couple of nights in a 6 bed dorm with ensuite, fridge, etc. Quite clean though fairly squashy for that many in one room.May 2003 - the first two nights there I stayed in a single room, not only in the terrible terrace next door to the main building but in one of the add-on rooms out the back. The room was no bigger than to fit a single bed, chair and a hanging rack. The smell of mould assaulted the senses on entering the room. The ceiling on one side of the room was lined in black mould, the bed felt slightly cold. It rained that night and the morning showed water trickling down the inside wall, right over the only powerpoint in the room (lucky the floor was tiled!). One then had to dash (in the wet and rain) to the the share bathroom which was also external to the terrace house. The bathroom floor was wet from the rain that had come under the door the night before, no mirror and the toilet button had been replaced with a dodgey wire that you pulled on. These back rooms are not only accessable throught the terace itself but also via the side alley adjoining the courtyard...with no gate I'd say this was poor security to say the least. All this for AUD$49/night!Two nights later I moved into a share room with some friends in the main building. This was quite clean and a little more spacious, carpeted floors and it was dry! The ensuite too was also reasonably clean. There was a TV in this room but no other facilities...ie, the fridges and kettle that were present in the room the year before had now been removed. One had to specifically ask reception for a supply of tea, coffee and cutlery and then you had to go downstairs to the kitchen for the hot water! The main building does have swipe card access 24hrs a day which is a plus, though the garage door (which leads onto reception) is open throughout the best part of the day.I must say that I was quite appalled at the state of the terrace and it's adjoining rooms but the main building is really rather different in that it was clean, dry and reasonably comfortable. However, I was dissapointed that the fridge, kettle, etc had been taken out of the rooms. I think next year's trip we will find a new place to stay. It's the little things that can sometimes make a huge difference.
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The second building is disgusting, January 17, 2003
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Anonymous
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Well, this hostel has good reviews in Lonely Planet, maybe they did not show them their second facility next to the main building. The bathrooms, showers and kitchen are disgusting. The rooms were okey. One toilet was leaking next to our room, and maybe they can add a mirror in their bathrooms for 66 dollars a night!
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Very disappointing, November 6, 2002
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Anonymous
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Maintenance
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Having looked at their website and review in Lonely Planet, I had quite high hopes of this hostel- they were not fulfilled. It is definitely NOT clean. The kitchen was a particular disappointment - it was dirty and poorly equipped and maintained. The room I was in became hot at night even though the weather was fairly cool. Bedding was not very clean and the beds were poor. The staff seemed to think that the attractions of the area would make up for the shortcomings of the hostel. Overall poor value.
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10 of
12 people found this review helpful
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Pages: 1 2 3
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