The Hostelz.com Review
Airlie Waterfront Backpackers is a very modern and clean hostel located in the heart of Airlie Beach. It offers a number of excellent facilities and also has a helpful booking office that can help to arrange any tours such as the Whitsunday Islands.
The Location
The hostel is ideally located on the main street and right on the beach front. It is in the centre of everything which goes on in Airlie Beach and you can be at the bus stop, shops, pubs/clubs, lagoon, or sea all within a five-minute maximum walk. The hostel is also really easy to find and is located next to a car park.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are a number of different room options available -- singles, doubles, or triples up to sixteen-man dorms in the loft. All the rooms are very modern and very clean and the private rooms are en-suite and have their own fridge and television. There are no such luxuries in the dorm rooms -- however, the beds are singles and not bunk beds, which is very welcoming.
The shower and bathrooms are also very modern and clean and are easily accessible for all occupants. They are also spacious and contain clothes hooks and plenty of room to change.
Common Spaces
There are a number of excellent common spaces within the hostel. There is a large kitchen and TV area located by the dorm rooms -- this includes two large dining tables, fridges, TV, vending machines, and also all cooking equipment. This is generally where you will find a number of backpackers milling around and socialising. Within this area there is also balcony access looking out onto the seafront, which is very nice when the weather is sunny.
There is also a very big TV area in the centre of the complex with two giant plasma screen televisions, also in this area is around ten tables and a couple of sofas. This is the perfect area to relax and unwind. There is also an internet lounge located within the hostel.
Summary
This hostel is very highly recommended -- the security is excellent as everyone has their own keycard access, the location and facilities are very good, and you are never short of a smiley face or two. It is also probably the most modern and clean hostel in Airlie Beach.
The Location
The hostel is ideally located on the main street and right on the beach front. It is in the centre of everything which goes on in Airlie Beach and you can be at the bus stop, shops, pubs/clubs, lagoon, or sea all within a five-minute maximum walk. The hostel is also really easy to find and is located next to a car park.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are a number of different room options available -- singles, doubles, or triples up to sixteen-man dorms in the loft. All the rooms are very modern and very clean and the private rooms are en-suite and have their own fridge and television. There are no such luxuries in the dorm rooms -- however, the beds are singles and not bunk beds, which is very welcoming.
The shower and bathrooms are also very modern and clean and are easily accessible for all occupants. They are also spacious and contain clothes hooks and plenty of room to change.
Common Spaces
There are a number of excellent common spaces within the hostel. There is a large kitchen and TV area located by the dorm rooms -- this includes two large dining tables, fridges, TV, vending machines, and also all cooking equipment. This is generally where you will find a number of backpackers milling around and socialising. Within this area there is also balcony access looking out onto the seafront, which is very nice when the weather is sunny.
There is also a very big TV area in the centre of the complex with two giant plasma screen televisions, also in this area is around ten tables and a couple of sofas. This is the perfect area to relax and unwind. There is also an internet lounge located within the hostel.
Summary
This hostel is very highly recommended -- the security is excellent as everyone has their own keycard access, the location and facilities are very good, and you are never short of a smiley face or two. It is also probably the most modern and clean hostel in Airlie Beach.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
February 2009
Their Description
Airlie Waterfront Backpackers Details
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Airlie Waterfront Backpackers Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Clean and good view The location is perfect! Near the beach and bus stop away from the main street. It's also very clean and the staff are friendly. Stay away from the big 18 beds dorm, it's a bit loud at nights. Better is the 10 share or 4 share rooms for just a few dollars extra. A bit expensive to stay but it's the best hostel in Airlie beach. The kitchen is the only weakness, bad spice and badly equipped. The fridge is also too small and always full! — Fredrik (2009-09-17) Huge hostel with no privacy and absolutely anonymous, staff are totally unfriendly. If you wanna keep your luggage in hostel during your sailing trip you have to pay for it. — Tomas , Czech Republic (2009-05-24) At night I brought this girl back into the kitchen/lounge of the Hostel, then this woman from the hostel staff came out videotaping me and shouting that it's not allowed to bring people into the hostel, but then she shouted: "It's 50 bucks now or it's the cops!" she spat in my face. She looked kinda surprised when I immediately paid her the 50 and tipped the f*** out of that sh*thole Airlie's Waterfront Backpackers, I know police ain't gonna talk a single word to my ass because she told me they would just put me in a cell for the night or fine me like 500 bucks for being so called drunk which I was not. I'm not the kind of person that's gonna argue with the cops about 50 quid, but I will never visit this sh*thole again. It seems ok but I heard so many bad stories when I told people mine. — Anonymous , Dutch (2009-04-08) Worst hostel I've ever stayed in We booked a double room in this backpackers, which was literally just a bed in the room. Not even a picture on the wall. We were lucky and our bathroom was only shared with one other couple, but because of the lack of bathrooms in the hostel, people from other rooms and dorms came to use ours. Bathrooms were damp and falling apart. In one, i found that the overhead light bulb had gone, so the clever hostel owners had plugged normal lamps in a damp, unventilated bathroom -- surely a health and safety risk. The kitchens were small and ill-equipped and dirty. The common area consisted of one tatty sofa. We did find out as we were leaving there was another common area with a big TV but we weren't told about this when we checked in. The facilities in this place are not suitable for the number of people that stay there. Luckily we were only there one night. — Kristel and Matt , Wales (2007-05-25) They were still cleaning out the bedbugs when we walked into the room after checking in. Cleaning woman told us to make sure the beds stayed away from the wall so the bugs couldn't get on it and gave us a spray bottle. Not nice. Owners were rude and blatantly lied to me when I asked for a towel she gave free to the couple ahead of me. She made me pay $2 for a smelly, tiny towel because that's what the laundry charges per towel. Yeah, ok. Also made us pay $40 for four keys for the room, even though we really only needed one between the four of us. After telling the owner we were leaving at 6 a.m. to get a taxi he neglected to let us know about the drop box for keys before the front desk opened. And calling the off-hours number listed on the door, I was told, too bad, my shift is over, a full two hours before the front desk opened. Good thing I didn't have a real emergency. And I'm out $40. Thanks. — Mary , USA (2007-04-21) This hostel was by far the worst I've ever been! Especially because the mattresses are full of bedbugs -- an experience I'd preferred not to make! Don't try to save money with that hostel, because at the end you will pay more for the doctor and to get rid of the bugs (washing all clothes, bags, shoes)! — Skadi , german (2007-04-08) Not the best we stayed, but far from the worst. It's in a prime location and friendly and very helpful staff. The room had no windows and the air con was on the hallway, which meant leaving your door open to get cool, and shared the bathroom with six other rooms. — Paul (2007-02-04) The hostel is quite average, not far as bad as many people complain on this homepage. The rooms and bathrooms were very clean and sharing the bathrooms worked out well. If it's really urgent you still can use one of the other bathrooms.The owner was really nice and funny. The big plus is that there were no bed bugs which seems to be rare in Airlie. The view from the rooftop terrace is stunning! However, the kitchen has been too small and kind of dirty, too. A separation of showers, sinks, and toilets would be so much better. The place lacks character. — Franziska (2006-10-26) it seems that the dorm rooms might be the best deal in this hostel. I stayed in 5A which was apparently an "upgrade" from the dorm bed i had booked. However, this hostel is one of the noisiest hostels i have ever stayed in due to the paper thin walls and people constantly walking in and out of my area to access the bathroom and thus slamming doors on the way through (something that couldnt be helped -- they have just very heavy loud doors). Airconditioning? you mean the fan in my room? Yeah right. New and clean? far from it, this place was dirty -- the kitchens were scabby along with the bathroom old and falling apart. Do not believe the hype, this place is not new, it might be a newish backpackers taking up an old building but that is all. I really dont recommend this place to anyone. Anyone who enjoyed their stay must have had a big night down the road at Magnums. — Kerry (2006-10-01) The pictures of the kitchen make me laugh so hard! No tea towels, no can openers (!), dirty rooms, expensive, stuffy, not enough bathrooms. It says on the Web site "All rooms benefit from air-conditioning." This means our room will have no external windows, just slats that open to the hallway, which has a huge air-conditioning unit that services about eight rooms... BADLY! — FunkyMunkey (2005-11-14) This hostel looks better on the outside than inside. There seem to be ongoing renovations on the floor below (the hostel is on the 2nd floor) and it has a very strange layout. (Think Soviet-era corridors that stretch for miles.) We stayed in double rooms here of varying quality. The first bedroom we stayed in had the comfiest bed in Australia, but was rather poky and depressing. The second room had a nice bed, but only a window looking out onto the corridor! And the air-conditioner was in the corridor. There were very few bathrooms. There was no atmosphere, but this place is good if you want to be away from the crowds of lager-swilling Brits further down the road. — Clare (2005-03-21) One of the cleanest hostels in Airlie Beach. Really helpful friendly staff. Nice and peaceful. The rooms are very clean and almost all have access to balconies. The kitchens were always spotless and the communal areas very tidy. The only problem was the lack of bathrooms. — Anonymous (2005-02-14) Don't believe the hype, this hostel looks nothing like the pictures (it might have a few years ago!) The chairs in the communal areas smell and are falling apart, and there isn't one single tea towel in the entire place so pots just lay around. There is on average one bathroom to fifteen people, which has a constantly wet floor and nowhere to hang your clothes! In dorm room 7E where I stayed, they had the bright idea of placing an air conditioning unit only half a meter away from the head of the top bunk. You are not allowed to alter the settings of the air conditioner, which is on constantly 24/7 so you are freezing pretty much all of the time! All this on top of the fact that to get to some dorm rooms you have to climb the smallest spiral staircases, not a bright idea with a rucksack on your back. Oh yes, and one final point, the incessant drilling at 8 in the morning from the renovations being done around the building, which don't seem like they are going to end in a long while, although this was sometimes hidden by the air conditioner buzzing in my ear. Did I mention that? I think I did. NOT RECOMMENDED! — Marc (2004-11-27) I couldn't fault this place. I stayed two weeks and didn't have a single problem. The staff are brilliant - they are friendly and genuine. I stayed in the twelve-bed dorm, which was always kept clean. And it was nice and cool, a must for that weather! The location is fantastic - it's a short walk from the nightspots, which is important if you've had one too many!! — Renee (2004-09-27) This hostel is adequate and in a good location. There was a lack of atmosphere, and the rooms smelt a bit, but the staff were wonderful — friendly, chatty and very helpful. It's not a get-pissed-quick hostel, but it's in a good location for the nightlife. — Sandra (2004-09-19)