BUG Review
This is a bright hostel with heaps of facilities including a swimming pool/spa, tennis court, a bar, a café with cheap food, a movie room and a tour desk. Dorms all en suite bathrooms and are clean and well maintained. There is an internet café and a nice outdoor common area with pool tables. The kitchen is not a strong point, however, as it is small and unclean. Reception staff are friendly and helpful with employment advice. They run free hourly shuttle bus into the city.
Price Dorm bed $24-28 summer, $22-26 winter Double/twin room $70-73 Prices are in Australian dollars and are inclusive of all taxes.
Credit Cards American Express,Diners Club,JCB,MasterCard,Visa
Pros:
Quite a few facilities not far from city centre
Cons:
Quite dirty and were quite disorganised
beada
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
When we arrived at the hostel it was quite late and the desk staff seemed very unorganised, placing us in rooms which were already full. However we were eventually placed in rooms with available beds. They were okay, a bit dirty but not the worse i've stayed at, the kitchen on the other hand was very dirty and the fridge smelt horrid! Signs stated that they throw food out every week but im very doubtful that they do! Not a great place to stay but okay if everywhere else is full.
2 of
2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 492)
Adequate but noisy and dirty, June 12, 2006
Reviewer: kristindyet from Wellington, New Zealand
Pros:
Friendly staff, good recreation facilities
Cons:
Hostel was not clean, kitchen was inadequate, too noisy
kristindyet
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
The Brisbane Backpackers Resort was an adequate place to stay. It was a short walk to South Bank, which had a lovely beach. It was possible to walk into town and there was a free bus every hour. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Facilities in the double room were good with TV, fridge, and balcony. I found the hostel too dirty for my liking. Overall things were OK although don't look too close. Windowsills had layers of dirt, floors were sticky, and tabletops had not been wiped properly. The kitchen was very inadequate for the number of people and I think it is a health hazard to prepare food there. The hobs and microwaves were filthy and the one sink for washing dishes was usually full of dirty dishes. The sink for washing hands was usually dirty owing to the lack of other sinks. Surfaces were wiped down daily although inadequate bench space and room in general meant that it was soon filthy again. The atmosphere in the bar was good although many rooms were right above the bar meaning that it was very noisy until the music was turned off at midnight. There were rooms on the other side of the building that could be requested if you do not appreciate noise at these hours.
9 of
11 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9915)
from an aussie perspective, January 19, 2006
Reviewer:
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(1)
Atmosphere
(1)
i wanted to stay here in mid '04, but they wouldn't let me, after 1+1/2hrs walking to find it, as i couldn't afford the hostel i was stayin at,this 1 seemed perfect & in my price range, because i couldn't get them on the phone, i had 2 walk there, anywayz, they would not let me stay - a quite, decent looking girl, who found them from vip book, & had vip card - why wouldn't they let me stay? because i'm aussie - they r racist! it says nothing in the handbook about not letting aussies allowed 2 stay in it, nor anywhere on it's website! so yeah - if u believe in equality & good service, i don't recomend it! If u are from overseas & want to get to know some aussies who are wanting to see their own countgry like u are wanting to see their country - don't go there - no aussies (except maybe the staff) are to be found!
1 of
2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9916)
No Issues! Nice Place, January 4, 2006
Reviewer:
Anthony
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
Apart from a slight lack of atmosphere, the place comes highly recommended. Stayed three weeks and enjoyed. Onsuite, TV (though did electricute myself once changing channels!) and cleaned daily. Good Bar, Cheap beer, ok food. Only bad part really is the communal kitchen - really could do with a make over. Pool is fully operational and quite enjoyable. Not sure what fuss in previous reviews is about - its not the best place i've stayed, but nowhere near the worse. Would really be a 3 1/2 stars - but to give it only 3 would not do the place justice. Forget previous reviews - find out for yourself!
0 of
1 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9917)
Accomodation not bad but the crack makes up for all, February 24, 2004
Reviewer:
Orla
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
I have to agree with some reviewers the advertising is defintely misleading. When I arrived here I was really disappointed but then I went down to the bar, the crack kicked off. I met some of the best people I have met in my whole five months here and the staff were always up for the crack. Spent so little time in the room it didn't matter what it looked like even though couldn't complain too much... clean bed, en suite and a tv in the room better than most places I have stayed. Weather hot but nothing the hostel could do about that. Ended up going back for a second stay. Loved Brisbane but barely left the hostel... so that must tell you something!!! A must for all people looking to enjoy themselves and have a ball, real tourists looking for beautiful sights not the place for you!!!
2 of
3 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9918)
after new owners. A complete makeover!!!, December 13, 2003
Reviewer:
emma
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
i arrived in brisbane just before the new managment took over, and i must admit, my first impressions were not good at all. Kitchens were the worst i had seen!!! Although this was the case, the staff were really friendly so i decided to stick it out. I am so glad that i did. After 2-3 weeks the place completely transformed!! The kitchens closed and a huge communal kitchen opened with loads of pots, pans and cutting knives. I also loved that they started doing activities such as killer pool in the evenings as it got everyone involved (which was good for me seing as im travelling alone. got to meet loads of new friends.) I ended up staying over 5 weeks in the end and it was brilliant. Went from the worst hostel ive ever stayed in, to one of the best.
5 of
5 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9919)
Do not be misled by the hostel brochure its filthy., November 5, 2003
Reviewer:
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(1)
Atmosphere
(1)
I have travelled the entire west coast of Australia, up to Darwin down to Alice over to Cairns and down the east coast to Brisbane. This is the worst accommodation I have seen. As other reviewers have stated, the brochure makes the hostel appear new and clean. It is not. Following check in and paying for a weeks stay, myself and two friends went up to our 8 bed dorm room. There was only one guy in the room but it was scattered with discarded dirty underwear, dirty scummy dishes and the remains of mouldy food. The Bathroom stank and clearly had not been cleaned or the toilet disinfected for a very long time. The beds had barely room between them to stand. On viewing the poky kitchens of which there were two identical ones, all we found were one rusty and filthy hob and toaster in each. Appalling facilities. The only plus point was that on deciding to check out before staying a night there was no argument about providing us with a full refund and off we went. A close shave I'd say.
3 of
5 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9920)
Door bangers....., March 26, 2003
Reviewer:
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(1)
Atmosphere
(1)
If the managment don't run you out maybe the door banging will -BOOOM! BOOOM! I fled after one night.
0 of
1 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9921)
The Worst Hostel I've EVER Been In, February 3, 2003
Reviewer:
catch22
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(1)
Atmosphere
(1)
If you've seen the pretty adverts for this place give look the other way, for they lie and were probably made by satan.I started my trip in Bangkok and travelled down through Asia and through Oz from Darwin - Alice Springs - Cairns then down the east coast.Why am I telling you this?Because BBR is the worst hostel I've stayed in yet (and that's saying something!)The wierd staff consist mostly of the family who (I assume) own the place and they are rude, unfriendly and generally unhelpful. They seemed constantly far too caught up in their personal lives to care about customer service.The rooms where hot and cramped - the only way to cool the room is to open the door onto the communal balcony and point your tiny fan in that direction. Now having a door wide open as you sleep may seem like a slight security risk - thats because it bloody well is. Anyone could reach around a door at 4 in the morning and easily swipe a rucksack.Our room was full of tiny cockroach things - but at least there weren't as many on the beds as there were in the shower.Mind you - I never went for a shower and ended up with blood on my back which happened one night when I was asleep. I've no idea what the hell made it happen, but I squashed a little black round thing and blood splatted over my journal! (revenge!)We were warned by our room mate to avoid the pool because she said she came out feeling slimey. Nice.Also carrying your rucksack, daypack and didj up 3 flights of stairs isn't friendly either.Apart from all those plus points the hostel isn't very nice.
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7 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 9922)
Not what it seems, January 8, 2003
Reviewer:
Steve
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
I had left another hostel in Brisbane to stay at this place because I was lured in by the flashy advertising. In hindsight this was a mistake. I've read the other less glittering reviews here and they are all correct. I found my 3rd story room cramped, dirty and was probably the hottest room I'd ever slept in during my travels. Other complaints listed elsewhere about no atmosphere, the silly tokens, bad service, the overall dingy, seedy feel to the place...these are all things I experienced as well. But there are some related advantages. The local shopping has a market feel to it and there's some interesting shops for those looking for oddities and curio's. A little further away but still easy walk are museum's and galleries while downtown remains accessible by foot. The hostel bus service is good. When I stayed there, overflow accomidations were available across the street for a cheaper rate but it was a dump and no doubt a sweatbox at night. The in-hostel travel agency worked good for me. The fellow running the booth hooked me up with bus ticket and next hostel reservation in just a few minutes.Overall I would skip this hostel if your looking at staying longer than one night. I stayed there for a weekend and that was way to long.
