The Hostelz.com Review
Annie's Place Hostel is a lively hostel. The bar and restaurant at the back of this place is probably the most entertaining place to go in Alice Springs. Besides, for solo travelers, especially women, being on the street at night to go out does not really feel all that safe. The hostel is bigger than we expected but certainly has a fun, young vibe to it.
The Location
Street parking is readily available and not a problem. It is a ten- to fifteen-minute walk to downtown shops, restaurant, and the grocery store. There are also places to rent cars if you fancy driving through the Outback yourself. But the walk from the hostel to these places is not the nicest. Many parts of Alice Springs seems rundown and a bit unsafe at night.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The decor of the rooms and the entire hostel is great! They've really put in an effort to make this place "hip." The movie posters that cover the walls in the rooms and reception are evidence of that. Mostly, the rooms are clean; bathrooms are small and poorly lit in the four-bed dorm but pretty clean. The beds are smaller than most hostel-standard beds and not that comfortable (but hey, it is a hostel!).
Common Spaces
The outside patio next to the pool is wonderful! They show movies on a projector some nights and you can take your dinner and a drink and sit out there. The reading area/computer room is also convenient, but a little too small for a hostel this size. The bar area is great for socializing and really sets this hostel apart. The food, however, is not the best. Many people are staying at Annie's because they have booked a tour to the Outback. Some of the best times occur the night tour groups come back -- it's like a giant party in the back!
The kitchen is roomy and has plenty of storage, but could be cleaner. Better sponges and better cooking equipment should be provided -- one of the burners does not work.
Summary
Staying at Annie's is probably more of a necessity in Alice Springs than choice. It's not an area like Cairns or Sydney with tons of choices of hostels. This hostel falls somewhere in the middle -- it could be cleaner with a better location, but it certainly isn't the worst as it is fun, roomy, and priced right.
The Location
Street parking is readily available and not a problem. It is a ten- to fifteen-minute walk to downtown shops, restaurant, and the grocery store. There are also places to rent cars if you fancy driving through the Outback yourself. But the walk from the hostel to these places is not the nicest. Many parts of Alice Springs seems rundown and a bit unsafe at night.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The decor of the rooms and the entire hostel is great! They've really put in an effort to make this place "hip." The movie posters that cover the walls in the rooms and reception are evidence of that. Mostly, the rooms are clean; bathrooms are small and poorly lit in the four-bed dorm but pretty clean. The beds are smaller than most hostel-standard beds and not that comfortable (but hey, it is a hostel!).
Common Spaces
The outside patio next to the pool is wonderful! They show movies on a projector some nights and you can take your dinner and a drink and sit out there. The reading area/computer room is also convenient, but a little too small for a hostel this size. The bar area is great for socializing and really sets this hostel apart. The food, however, is not the best. Many people are staying at Annie's because they have booked a tour to the Outback. Some of the best times occur the night tour groups come back -- it's like a giant party in the back!
The kitchen is roomy and has plenty of storage, but could be cleaner. Better sponges and better cooking equipment should be provided -- one of the burners does not work.
Summary
Staying at Annie's is probably more of a necessity in Alice Springs than choice. It's not an area like Cairns or Sydney with tons of choices of hostels. This hostel falls somewhere in the middle -- it could be cleaner with a better location, but it certainly isn't the worst as it is fun, roomy, and priced right.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
February 2011
Their Description
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Annie's Place Hostel Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
BEDBUGS, noisy, poor location Dont come to annies! Do yourself a favour and look for something else, even if it means paying some extra dollars. Annies is noisy all day long, specially at evening\night with music blasting on a daily basis until 1 am. The staff is nowhere to be seen after the bar is closed so drunk people sleeping there, who decide to keep on going with the party when music is shut, can be really annoying ... specially around the pool. In the rooms facing the street the situation isnt much better, as people leaving the bar also keep on being loud for quite long time after being kicked out. I have seen 2 fights going on in a week ... The location could be better; annies is located at the outskirts of alice so expect @ least 15-20min to the center of the town ... it maybe dont seem that long but the streets become really dodgy during night time and the sun is a killer during the day ... But, BY FAR, the worst thing of this place are the bedbugs. Ive been sleeping all over asia, including some creepy rooms in India, China, Thailand and never seen anything like it. The 1st day I thought it was an allergic reaction to the mattress, but by day two I fully realized it was something else. my arms and back were with @ least 50-60 bites. bedbug bites are very disgusting as they take long to disappear and are itchy ... it just dont seem real how a place in australia can be so infested with this f***ing creatures ... Be wise, DO NOT COME TO THIS PLACE. — Anonymous , France (2012-05-08) Vey Average. Bedbugs. Dirty. Rude Staff, Noisy Dont stay here unless you like to be abused, bitten, and ignored. — Anonymous (2011-06-21) BEDBUGS GALORE! BEDBUGS GALORE! We had been told by the cleaning ladies that there could be bedbugs in the room we were given. The girl at reception told us that the room had been disinfected and was absolutely ok, so we trusted her. Big mistake!!!! The next morning, our beds were full of bedbugs, gorged with our blood. We then went down to reception to ask for explanations -- no explanations or excuses given. Well yes, there was an explanation "Bedbugs are normal in backpackers." Yep, as you hear it!! PLEASE, AVOID ANNIES PLACE AT ALL COST!!!! — Road 111 , Spain (2011-04-25) Not impressed! It was a bad omen right from the start, I booked my room and free pick up from the greyhound bus station and after waiting and waiting I gave up and walked only to be told 10 minutes later (and 3 inches shorter), whoops "we always forget about they greyhound pick ups, oh well it's not far is it?" No, I guess in the grand scheme of things its not far but when you have been on a coach for 33 hours straight and you're carrying an extra 25 kilograms every little helps right? Never mind, everyone makes mistakes. I'll have some tuna pasta, that will make me feel better. I regretted it immediately, the kitchen is woefully inadequate boasting the grand total of one sink, there are also only two saucepans available so if you are the third person deciding to make a carbohydrate based meal at any one time you better stake out your pan and wait your turn. Another piece of advice I wish somebody had told me -- don't eat canned foods or else bring your own tin opener as the counter mounted one provided looks a) like a medieval torture device and is b) broken. It took five long minutes of jabbing with the blade and manually rotating my tuna tin before it was halfway open and I could just about scrape out the contents. I then found I was unable to to turn off the gas and had to scurry to reception to find someone with pliers before the place potentially burned up. Phew, pasta ordeal over, time for some desert, yogurt -- eaten with a fork of course, don't be unreasonable and expect to find a spoon for goodness sake! Maybe some rest and relaxation will help, watching a little T.V. in my room, now that does sound appealing, although I say watching I actually mean listening as the picture is so grainy I fear for my vision. Oh well, I'll turn the heater down and have a nap (it does sound rather like a small aircraft), but wait, the remote control is missing? And there's no manual control on the heater itself? Okay so no sleep for me then -- remind me what am I paying for again? In my experience Annie's place is a cool place, a fun place (the bar is great), and a clean place but it is not a place for living. One night for me was more than enough, which is such a shame because it has the potential to be brilliant. I would however recommend it if you want some forced exercise, only eat salad at 3am, can sleep through a bomb blast, and prefer to use your imagination whilst watching television. If those apply to you, you'll love it here! — Not impressed , UK (2010-07-24) Loud! I was only staying one night at Annie's Place, and one good thing I can say about the hostel is that I was offered a free shuttle to the airport as soon as I checked it -- very good value when my bed only cost $20! Another nice thing was the en-suite bathroom in the room (except that it smelt gross -- like mould). And the bar seemed like it would have been fun, had I wanted to go to the bar that night. As for negatives -- the lounge area that had computers, couches, and books closed at 9 p.m. Since it was cold outside that night, and all other areas of the hostel are open air, that left the option of going to bed at 9 p.m., or going to the (very crowded) bar. I was tired, so I tried going to bed -- except the music from the bar could still be heard from inside my room, and kept me up for ages. After the bar closed, I could hear people going in and out of their rooms and to the kitchen all night -- I hardly got any sleep, and I usually dont have problems sleeping in hostels. I wasnt given a blanket -- just a bedsheet -- and so I was freezing cold all night. The room itself was a little on the dirty side, and had what looked like a luggage storage room as part of the room, which had cobwebs in it. The breakfast was pitiful -- a loaf of bread on the counter of the open air kitchen, left there next to an open container of peanut butter. — Michelle , Canada (2008-09-10) Probably the best hostel I've stayed in in Australia I wanna be honest, the rooms aren't amazing, they're fine with a TV and a shower for each room. But what's really great about this hostel is the staff and atmosphere in it. They make you feel welcome, and make sure there's a fun atmosphere. The bar downstairs offers $5 meal specials (great, big meals too), the beer is cheap, there's free breakfast (although you have to wake up very early for it). The Mulga tour is crazy fun, with great guides (I've been on one and met another guide too), and is the cheapest in town. Their competition say it's because they sleep on Aboriginal land, but I don't know how true is that, and anyway, they didn't seem to do anything off on the tour. The place is always busy, fun and the bar is great. Some of the coolest people I've met in Oz were in Annie's. Make sure you give them a call because they pick you up from the airport or the bus station for free. Oh, one more thing. They'll try to get you to book a room at Annie's in Adelaide. Don't. It's not the same as it's in Alice and not nearly as fun. — Michael , Israel (2007-12-28) Bright, cheerful, very polite staff Annie's Place is probably one of the better hostels we have stayed in. The staff are really friendly and polite, and the rooms have decent thick mattresses, but the pillows have seen better days. Every room has a TV which is a nice luxury and we found it very clean everywhere. The bar and restaurant was great, with decent meals for $5, you can't go wrong really. We did the three-day $250 Mulga's tour and it was amazing and so cheap compared to other companies. All in all we had a wicked time. — faye and steve , england (2007-05-25) The hostel in Alice Springs! Nice, air-conditioned rooms, big pool, extremely friendly and helpful staff, and not far from the centre. And the best is yet to come -- their Ayer's Rock tour! It's great value for money, very well organized, and great fun. A special thanks to Shelly for organizing and booking everything for me! My stay was perfect in every respect! — Judith , Germany (2007-05-21) Great place -- didn't do their tour and it didn't seem to bother them at all. Cheap, clean, really friendly, with the added bonus of a great bar with big cheap meals. — Ros , England (2007-05-03) Annie's was a good hostel. The light fittings and plugs often don't work, and the lift to the airport is no longer free, it's $5. They do pick you up for free though. Other than those small complaints, I had a good time at Annie's Place. The pool and the cheap meals are good and I met some good people there. I went on the three-day tour to Ayer's Rock and King's Canyon, which was good value. — PJ (2007-01-23) Just stayed a week at Annie's and had a great time! This place has a great vibe, the staff is great, and is just comfortable and fun. The pool area is nice, and their cafe has good food for only $5. They actually have real mattresses and the rooms are all air-conditioned (you will need it in Alice Springs, trust me)! Do yourself a favor and go on their tour (Mulga's three-day adventures) -- it's not as rough as it sounds, it's lots of fun, and it's by far the best deal in the red centre -- all the tours go to the same places but this one's the cheapest and most fun! — c (2006-11-22) This is a lovely little place and from what i've heard from other backpackers, it's the best one. (people who havent stayed there wish they had!) go there, its real nice and much cheaper than the bad other ones. go to the kangaroo santuary in town! — Lizzie (2006-06-09) Cheap, clean and friendly, Annie's is a good option in Alice Springs. I didn't go on their tour but it was no big deal. The bar serves good meals for five bucks, and there's a swimming pool on-site. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Downsides include the bit of a walk to the city centre, which can be a problem since Alice is not the safest place to walk around as a solo female at night. Also, reception and internet close at eight p.m., which can be inconvenient for people coming in from tours that arrive later. Aside from that, I'd recommend Annie's. — Sarah (2006-05-25) A few things annoy me about Annie's. Firstly, the website states that dorms are four to six people, with a couple eight-bed for larger groups. So when I booked in to find myself in a ten bed dorm, I was a little annoyed. I found the bathroom was a little scummy and the bath was for hobbits. Secondly, it's not a ten minute walk to town. More like fifteen to twenty-minute walk. Supermarkets are not close. Also if you're not doing their tours, they're not interested in you -- I got that feeling as well. I'm using Greyhound to get to Uluru, once they found this out, they didn't bother telling me anything about the area or the hostel -- unlike the other backpacker who was doing their $300 tour right in front of me.
Gripes aside -- it's pleasant enough, rooms are okay, bar is good, net access cheap in the day. — DRW (2006-05-19) This place is fantastic! So colourful, friendly, absoloutely stands out from the rest. Do the tour. I had so much fun, and met some amazing people. It is great value for money, cheapest in town apparently. Food was great, fantastic, great atmosphere. Our tour guide, Beej, was an absoloute legend. — Amy (2006-03-26)