The Hostelz.com Review
Tokyo Village is a centrally located, colourful, and friendly hostel, but a bit dingy. It is located a couple blocks behind Central station at the beginning of the Surry Hills neighborhood, where there are supermarkets and lots of cheap eats available, making it a great location for backpackers.
The outside of the hostel looks worn, with peeling paint and several signs all saying different things (the new name of this place is something like "Central Student Accommodation," although it is still called Tokyo Village inside). The outside gives a bit of a glimpse into what you might find inside, but don't let it scare you away. If you don't mind very worn furnishings and peeling paint, this is a bustling and cheery place to stay.
The owners, Charlie and Vanessa, are very helpful and nice, especially good to talk to if you want to take trips out to the Blue Mountains. However, it seems they are spending less and less time here lately and the place is mostly run by backpackers, meaning the quality of service and cleaning can vary greatly depending on who is on duty and whether they really care or not. The bathrooms definitely could benefit from being cleaned a bit more often. The rooms are clean and bright, but the mattresses are of varying quality.
The common room is a room full of very old and worn out couches piled in a semi-circle facing the TV. It's not very sociable, but the outdoor courtyard area has plenty of seating and tables and is usually where people congregate to socialize (weather permitting, of course). There are two great kitchens with plenty of cooking equipment and dishes, and the gigantic rice maker is going all day with free rice (though there is high demand for this, so get in quickly if you want some).
Breakfast is only kind of provided -- they have cereals available, but you must supply whatever you take with it. Coffee and tea is also free during reception hours. To get here from Central station, exit onto Chalmers Street and turn right. Walk past Prince Alfred Park until you reach Cleveland Street. It is on the corner of Cleveland and Chalmers.
The outside of the hostel looks worn, with peeling paint and several signs all saying different things (the new name of this place is something like "Central Student Accommodation," although it is still called Tokyo Village inside). The outside gives a bit of a glimpse into what you might find inside, but don't let it scare you away. If you don't mind very worn furnishings and peeling paint, this is a bustling and cheery place to stay.
The owners, Charlie and Vanessa, are very helpful and nice, especially good to talk to if you want to take trips out to the Blue Mountains. However, it seems they are spending less and less time here lately and the place is mostly run by backpackers, meaning the quality of service and cleaning can vary greatly depending on who is on duty and whether they really care or not. The bathrooms definitely could benefit from being cleaned a bit more often. The rooms are clean and bright, but the mattresses are of varying quality.
The common room is a room full of very old and worn out couches piled in a semi-circle facing the TV. It's not very sociable, but the outdoor courtyard area has plenty of seating and tables and is usually where people congregate to socialize (weather permitting, of course). There are two great kitchens with plenty of cooking equipment and dishes, and the gigantic rice maker is going all day with free rice (though there is high demand for this, so get in quickly if you want some).
Breakfast is only kind of provided -- they have cereals available, but you must supply whatever you take with it. Coffee and tea is also free during reception hours. To get here from Central station, exit onto Chalmers Street and turn right. Walk past Prince Alfred Park until you reach Cleveland Street. It is on the corner of Cleveland and Chalmers.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
November 2006
Their Description
The hostel is a family run business which caters for independent travelers who would like to explore Australia without the use of tour organizations or organized trips. For those wishing to work, Charles the owner and his partner Vanessa can assist in the organization of Tax file number opening of bank accounts, buying and selling of cars as well as the occasional job placement. For the adventurers, bush walkers, hikers or trampers, Charles has a long list of day and overnight walks in and around Sydney including the Blue Mts . We do not sell any tours but will give you all the independent advise how to travel "off the beaten track "
Tokyo Village Details
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Tokyo Village Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Not right i saw the owner was asking people to give him good review on some hostel booking site, it was hostelworld or something. and if you rate more than 80% you get 10h free internet card. (normally it costs $15) Response from the accommodation: Dear Annonymous,(don't you have a name ?) > >Perhaps your lack of comprehending English is to blame for what you have written. > In your review I am accused of rewarding guests for posting reviews > which give me an 80%+ rating. > > Fact is that we offer every guest a free WiFi time if they post an > honest comment about their stay. We explicitly ask them to write the > good and the bad and tell them that we do not seek a rating of 80 > percent or more since it would create expectations in potential > guests that we possibly cannot fulfill. > > We have a compilation of all available comments ready for our guests > to read called 'the good, the bad and the ugly'. The comment > referred to in this letter will be posted in the 'ugly' section since it is outright dishonest. > > I have been operating hostels in Sydney since 1985 and I am well > known to refuse engaging in any misleading advertising or other > schemes to create business. > > Internet reviews have given guests which have for one reason or > another, quite often for disturbing the peace of others , been > reprimanded or asked to leave a chance to 'pay back'. It also has > been used by 'competitors' to encourage guests to write about > neighboring properties........Tripadvisor specifically has been used > for such purposes. Charlie — Anonymous , Germany (2011-12-20)
Nice place like home! The host Charlie was really friendly and helpful and so were the staff! The place is also quit clean and not too noisy at night. But it's a pity that the kitchen may be too busy in the evening. Overall this is a place worth staying! — Yu-Yen , Taiwan (2009-08-31) Funky and chilled out little place I stayed here during World Youth Day in 2008, and found the hostel to be a fantastic little joint. There's a great relaxed vibe, and the owner is an absolute champ (and so's his little dog!). He was most helpful with information if needed. The location is great, just outside the city, but still walking distance. Lots of nice eateries around, and this is a nice part of town away from the madness of the CBD. The guests were pretty chilled out too, and it was easy to meet folk from around the world over a beer or three! The rooms were ok, quite clean, and the bathrooms weren't too bad either. All nice and colourful! Just be warned, if you stay in one of the front rooms, be prepared to be woken by impatient Sydney drivers tooting their horns at the traffic lights! Definitely quite a nice place to stay. — Luke , Australia (2009-07-02) Not too bad I have to say that I stayed here two times and I have to say that it's not too bad, also because I have seen other backpackers in Sydney and I find this quite cheap for the service that have. But also it's nothing special, traveling around australia you can find places that are really of five stars. I suggest this hostel. — sstyle , euro (2008-07-03) This hostel had some good and some bad, like everything. The owner is awesome. Very helpful, friendly, makes you feel welcome for sure. As for the place, at least our room, was a bit dirty. We had some cockroaches crawling our bedroom walls, but the real rough spot was the bathroom. Filthy really. You wouldn't dream of taking a shower without flip-flops much less even walk into the bathroom without them. The location is pretty decent though. There are some excellent eats right around there, especially if you like thai food. The people staying there were nice -- a lot of loud drinking (not surprising for a hostel but we were very tired and right above the noise). Overall, I would not stay there again but would be hesitant to tell others to forget it as the bathroom may have been cleaned since we were there! — Chess , USA (2007-05-02) A very nice hostel, full of a lovely Asian spirit (the name of the hostel suits it very well. I stayed there for four days but could have stayed longer if I hadn't to finish my holidays in Australia. The hostel is located near the central station and Chinatown (five- to ten-minute walk), and from the city centre (fifteen- to twenty-minute walk). You will also find a Coles supermarket within ten-minute walk. I really enjoyed my stay, with a friendly community, a very nice boss -- Charlie, as well as a very cute house-dog, Totoro, which is walking around during the day. I recommend this hostel for its atmosphere and its friendly feeling! — Andy , Switzerland (2007-04-20) Best place ever. Awesome people -- nice location -- wonderful atmosphere. — Hagen (Germany) (2007-01-16) I booked for one week when i arrived in Australia in this backpacker and i stayed ten months. i think it's enough to say how i love this place. Close to Chinatown, central station, and enough bottle shop to have plenty of good evening. Charlie and Vanessa (the boss) are so nice people, i just wanted to say thanks to them for everything. — Gregory (2006-08-29) Stayed here during the new years period. A bit run down, but its clean and homey, very intimate community feeling within the building. The courtyard is a good social place esp at night. Good for drinking beers and chit chat. Rooms can be hot during day time in summer, but who stays in the room at daytime anyway.
Very friendly hostel, nice boss Charlie and Vanessa who seems to remember everyone's name. Their dog totoro is so cute too, like to run around the place. TV room with nintendo console, dvd player, foxtel and quite a collection of books. Free rice everynight in the kitche, and free cereal in the morning.
Location wise, very near to Central station (5 min walks), and across the street to an excellent outdoor swimming pool. 10 min walk to Coles supermarket. And very near chinatown too. Overall, its quite a strategic location.
Mostly Japanese, Koreans and Germans living here. But you will still get ppl from all over Europe from time to time. If u r looking for a hostel thats not so institutionalized like YHA, Tokyo Village is a nice change. — Ephram (2006-03-06) I stayed two months in this place and would like to have stayed more if I hadn't left Australia. I made so many good friends there and felt really like I was at home. Thanks Charlie and Vanessa for all your help and for being so nice to everybody!!! See you on my next Australian trip for sure. — Gaetan from Belgium (2005-10-01) Quality place to go. As a Brit, I found it refreshing to be among such a different crowd. There's loads of Japanese and Koreans and I had a great time chatting away to people. Staff are excellent and the facilities are decent enough. P.S. Vanessa's little dog is cool. — Tom (2005-04-09) This is a great place. I met my current girlfriend there and we are living on our own in Sydney. But Charles (the owner) and Vanessa are my best friends. — Jeroen dldb (2005-01-04) Thanks to Charlie and Vanessa! I had the time of my life here. I met so many nice people in this hostel, and for that reason I spent over two months here. I really enjoyed the place! Excellent! — Alessandro (2004-10-17) I have booked only two nights, but I wish I could stay longer. It's such a lovely hostel. Thanks Vanessa, Charles. I will come back. — Joo Yeon (2004-07-30) My home lovely hostel. I stayed first for 2 months, then came back directly. I love it here because of the atmosphere; the people are just the best! The staff just do their jobs so well, and I loved their rice with barbeque sauce! It's just so excellent and cozy! When I come back to Sydney sometime, I will definitely come back to this place. — Viviana (2004-07-21)