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Big Hostel

Sydney (Surry Hills), New South Wales, Australia

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Address
212 Elizabeth Street, Sydney (Surry Hills)   Map
Price
from $27 dorms to $95 double en-suite rooms or family rooms from $125 (breakfast inclusive) Check Current Prices by Date Here
Location/Contact
Details
Their Description

Features

  • Free Breakfast
  • Kitchen
  • Lockers
  • Lounge / Common space
  • BBQ
  • Food/Restaurant
  • TV
  • Movie Library/Rental
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Clothes Dryer
  • Elevator/Lift
  • Travel information provided
  • Bike Rental
  • 24 Hour Free Hot Showers
  • Phones (public or in room)
  • Air Conditioning
 
The Hostelz.com Review
Located on Elizabeth Street, BIG is one of Sydney's newest hostels. While the hostel is in an older building, the interior has been fully renovated and offers a modern finish. The facilities are extremely clean by backpacker standards and the building is well maintained. There is a large stainless steel kitchen that is quite user-friendly with significant fridge space. Additionally, free breakfast is available every day, and consists of cereals, breakfast bars, and toast - with all of the necessary condiments provided.

Adjacent to the kitchen is the common room / eating area, where movies and music videos are projected onto a large screen. Unfortunately this impressive screen can take away from the social atmosphere, as most people are content to watch television in the comfort of the surrounding sofas. The absence of an alternate common room highlights this factor, making BIG a difficult place to mingle with other travellers.

In spite of this, BIG is in an excellent location and public transportation is easily accessable. Buses stop regularly outside of the hostel's front door and the train station is about an eight minute walk away. As well, one can walk to Central Station from the hostel in approximately fifteen minutes. George Street is just two streets over and is the home of 'backpacker alley', where many tour operators and Internet cafes can be found.

Overall, I recommend this hostel to someone who has had a long flight and is looking for a good night's sleep. The building has excellent security and the shuttle bus from the airport will drop you off from the airport for $8.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review


Your Comments
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites, we don't censor out the negative comments.
We do not validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Paula, Ireland
January 2008
Clean and nice staff
I stayed at Big for two nights in January and intend on returning if I'm staying on in Sydney. I was in a four-bed en-suite, which was quiet. There's a TV in every room and lockers. The toilets were clean and had hot water all the time. The air con is great, I actually felt cold sometimes! The common area is nice, the couches are comfy and the TV is great. The kitchen can get a bit busy but has all the main facilities. The free breakfast (cereal and toast) is great in the morning.
Comment by Zane, New Zealand
January 2008
Great Value
The free internet (limited use) and free breakfast was fantastic. The hostel had great facilities like a big screen TV, lockers, clean bathrooms, and good kitchen. It was also very close to the central railway station. Not a party hostel, which is a good or bad thing depending on who you are.
Comment by Lisa Edwards, English
August 2007
The best in Australia
Big was my first stop in Australia and the hostel and the staff gave me the impression that Australia was going to be an awesome place. No other hostel throughout the entire country came close to meeting the high standards set by this hostel. I stayed at Big again before I went home and was welcomed with a hug from one of the staff who remembered me! It was just such a fun place, clean, friendly, close to everything but the nights on the rooftop terrace were definitely the best.
Comment by James Goldson, United Kingdom
May 2007
Brilliantly relaxing
This was the best place I stayed in Sydney. The staff were among the friendliest I have encountered on my travels and could help with anything. The kitchen was adequate but very clean and the free breakfast in the morning is better than most. The rooms were quite nice, the bathrooms were very nice, and so overall it was very good. However we only came across it by accident, as it doesn't seem to be very well advertised so maybe they should advertise it more, as it really is a great hostel.
Comment by Michelle, Canadian
May 2007
I loved this hostel -- have never stayed in one this nice. Very clean, quiet, friendly. Good breakfast and the internet is never too busy.
Comment by samadhi, NZ
May 2007
We had a great week's stay here. Good kitchen facilities, friendly staff, and met lots of interesting people. Fantastic location, just a short walk to Chinatown. The roof garden was brilliant. I'd recommend it to anyone. The only downside to our stay was the noisy bunch of students from Queensland, who made themselves a right pain in the rear.
Comment by Ralph Schoemans
March 2007
Ive stayed in this hostel for ten nights total and can say its simply perfect. Spotless clean rooms, good and friendly staff, great location! Dont have a doubt about staying here. just do -- you wont regret!
Comment by Jonathan C
November 2006
This was a great hostel in a good location in Sydney. It had really friendly/helpful staff, clean rooms, relaxed atmosphere. It was much better experience than some of the less personal bigger hostels. And the check-out time of 11 a.m. certainly made things easier! I would definitely stay here again.
Comment by Mark and Debs
July 2006
Excellent place! Checked in and we thought the bloke on reception looked familiar only to discover it was Brett from neighbours (anyone remember him?). Kitchen was a little small but the free breakfasts were great. Make sure you get there on time though as people go all out and it runs out quickly. Room was spacious and clean with no insects in sight!
Comment by Mette Denmark
February 2006
This hostel is very nice. Very helpful staff and with a good atmosphere. I ended up staying here for two weeks....I just couldn't leave.
Comment by Lizzie
December 2005
This hostel is wkd - the best, its Very clean, modern and friendly. Theres nothing bad about this place oh actually one minor thing they didnt have channel 10 on telly!!! Everything else was really gud tho -must of been thought for me to stay over 2 months!!
Comment by GG
November 2005
This is def the best hostel in Sydney! It's clean, the staff are really friendly and the lounge area is really cosy (no bar so makes it much more a relaxed atmosphere). There's also a great cafe attached. I loved this place and would recommend it! (but perhaps not your cup of tea if all you're after is party party party!)
Comment by Stefanie Hömke
September 2005
I had to stay in this hostel my first five days when I arrived in Sydney and the first thought I had was to run away! It was quite dirty and the kitchen is definitely not the place where I'd want to prepare something I really want to eat! In case you already booked this hostel: sorry, there is probably no chance to get out of there. But if you're still choosing you should choose carefully and go to other hostels. Everything is better then this! Reply from the hostel: Big is everything we promise guests, just one person at hostelz.com has complained and rated it one star. Stefanie, you extended your stay and returned 3 months later to stay again!!!! wasn't so bad after all? :)
Comment by Lauren (from the US)
August 2005
I can't say enough good things about this hostel. The rooms and public areas are clean and modern. The staff are extremely helpful with answering any questions (including restaurant recommendations and how to get places) and the vibe is just very homey and comfortable. It's easy to meet people and they do really fun things like hold weekly barbecues and offer free things like movies, soup and stuff like that to make it more social. And the location is perfect. I stumbled upon it after doing a bit of research and was surprised that more people hadn't been there. It is absolutely the best hostel in Sydney and worth every penny. I was so sad to leave.
Comment by Anonymous
March 2005
If you want a clean, safe, secure and central place to stay, this hostel is ideal. It has four-bed all-female dorms with en suite bathrooms and breakfast for $34 (Australian currency). I was lucky and had lovely quiet dorm people — although one English chick came in at night and switched on all the lights and then went to sleep!! However, I give it the thumbs up and as a travel operator I'd guess that it is definitely one of the better hostels anywhere in New South Wales. Book it if you can.
Have you visited this hostel? Post your comments here.

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