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Rainbow Lodge Backpackers

Perth (East Perth), Western Australia, Australia

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Address
133 Summers Street, Perth (East Perth)   Map
Location/Contact
Details
Their Description
 
The Hostelz.com Review
We stayed at Rainbow Lodge Backpackers for four weeks and had a fantastic time. It's great value -- it may not be the most well-equipped of Perth hostels, but the value for money and sociable atmosphere made it the right choice for us.

It’s located just down the street from East Perth railway station, which is the terminal for the Indian Pacific trains coming from Adelaide. The hostel owner usually sends someone to meet the train, so a lot of people end up here that way. We arrived by plane, found a leaflet for the hostel and called to receive our free pick-up (minimum stay three nights). Ron, the owner, is very friendly and chatty. He’s also pretty, ahem, crazy though, so don’t expect the most practical help from him. On arrival, he immediately managed to place both myself and friend in dorms which were already full. The much more down-to-earth and helpful hostel staff assisted us in calling him back, and he did fix his mistake.

The hostel is one of these somewhat erratically converted buildings, with dormitories opening off each other and the TV room housed in a separate shed-like building out the back. The garden, with picnic tables and barbeque, is the best thing about Rainbow Lodge, as most residents spend much of their time here, socialising -- it’s one of the friendliest hostels I’ve stayed in. Huge barbeques are held pretty much every weekend, along with group trips out to Northbridge clubs at least twice a week.

Dormitories are acceptable, with beds/mattresses varying in comfort. Only two rooms are air-conditioned, and a lot of rooms suffer from a lack of windows. Several dorms have their own fridges and there are also a lot of random wardrobes and shelves around the place. There are only a couple of doubles, which are also used as four-bed dorms. There are two all-female dorms and one all-male.

There are two reasonably well-equipped kitchens. Cutlery/crockery is provided free and the kitchens are some of the cleanest we’ve encountered in Australian hostels. Bathroom facilities are limited – two female showers, two male showers and an extra, unisex bathroom. athroom facilities were our only major complaint.

There's a good noticeboard with work ads. Internet is provided with three PCs but they are busy and very slow. Pool table, table tennis, TV with Foxtel, DVD player and karaoke machine (a new acquisition).

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review


Your Comments
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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 Phil, English
December 2007
This place just grows on you
Well when i first walked in i thought i cant wait to leave but strange enough i got to like this place. If you cant cope with a bit of a rundown hostel dont come here -- this place needs new everything but is such a sort of community hostel. Its also quite far really from supermarket, bars but if you've legs, twenty minutes, you'll get there. one of the good things about this place is its not one of those backpacker factories where everything is big and they want every penny you have and you meet no one. here the common rooms great, seem to get talking to everyone. yes its got super slow internet but its free so again cant complain all for $120 a week. overall ok i enjoyed it and was actually sad to leave.
Comment by Vanessa Stacy
May 2006
The positives for me were the free internet as you don't have to put your name down just wait for one of the three terminals to be free (be aware that it can be very slow at times) as well as the neighbourhood cat that would come and visit! (I'm a cat person.) Otherwise, I don't have much good to say about the place. The bed I was sleeping in my first night was majorly uncomfortable. The showers for the females -- only two showers and one toilet so you can have to pick your time carefully. The kitchen very basic and lacking utensils (so bring your own to be sure you have a knife, etc). I'm damn glad I was only here for two nights as I doubt I would've enjoyed staying longer.
Comment by Sarah & Martina
November 2005
It's a great place. Got stoned all day everyday. Black Betty's is a great spot. Ron (owner) is away with the birds most of the time. Met loads of great people. The barbecue was unbelievable...overall 5 out of 5. You've got to stay there.
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