Codge Lodge Backpackers

Innisfail

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Hostels in Innisfail

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Address

63 Rankin Street, Innisfail Queensland, Australia Map

Location/Contact

Details

Online booking is not offered for this hostel, contact them for availability and reservations (any contact info we have is listed above).

Description

Ratings & Comments

2.9 Average from 34 Ratings

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Comment by Martin , Germany

August 2009

The Hilton-Ritz of them all
Recently stayed there for six months, met my girlfriend there, we had a good job working on a banana farm. the place is right in town over looking the towns river harbour. the staff are great/helpful. we were eating free meals at the restaurant every evening. they have a liquor license now. the cook is a wonderful lady. real beefy meals. best cook ever, her name is Laurel. Rodney, Margaret, and Sunny look after everyone in the bar. they have a great communal with a walk-in cold room, which is semi alfresco with river views and breezes. the owner has given this place everything with a fishing theme with art and style. he will also take you on his boat to see whales, islands, or snorkeling or fishing. sure there are some rules there but the value for money is cool. Gaynor is trying but still learning. i think the boss is very patient and hopes she will improve.

Comment by Mark, U.K

August 2009

If you need to work, try elsewhere.
First of all I should point out that this rating reflects the place as a working hostel. If you do not intend to work during your stay (unlikely, as there's little else bringing you to Innisfail) or are staying for just a few days, then this place is great. It has a couple of spacious verandas with a great view and and has a great ambiance. The rooms are fine and the kitchen is kept pretty clean. Also, the people we met were fantastic. However, the problems begin and pretty much end with the manager, Gaynor. She is incredibly rude and has little about her you could recommend, but I could put up with this if she actually did her job well. The fact is that she has a tendency to promise people work when there is in fact very little. It was typical for people to have to wait several weeks before getting anything and some even longer. It's only right that there is a first come first served list, and I don't mind that there was little work available. This can happen. The problem is one of lack of transparency. Basically, I have mixed feelings of the place. Really nice hostel with great people, but ruined by an ineffective, disinterested, and above all dishonest manager. Shame.

Comment by David Dolan, Ireland

August 2009

Horrible
As far as hostels go its a very nice place to stay for a few days. but dont stay here if your looking for work. the manager is called gayner and is probely the biggest c*nt you have ever met. picture anna nicole smith god digger type c*nt. she is very rude and is not interested in finding you work unless you owe them rent. i worked two days and never got paid for it. usually the manager is supposed to follow it up but she didnt care. she only cared about the rent. the other guy is very ignorant as well. he made fun of me cause ive got a bit of a stammer which is quite frankly laughable for a twenty-four-year old person like myself. i mean come on like. Worst hostel ever.

Comment by Julia, Sweden

July 2009

Codge lodge is a big joke
Dont ever put your foot in codge lodge. The manager is the most rude person i ever met. The boss is a disgusting pervo. The "cleaner" is a angry old alcoholic. You have to wait at least four weeks for work. They never clean your room. They have one million rules so you cant relax and have a good time.

Comment by Disappointed customer, British

March 2009

Very poor management
Gaynor is a terrible manager. She actually ruins a good hostel, and so does her side Kick Eris. There are some absolutely brilliant people staying there, but Gaynor does not bother to find time to make you feel welcome and Eris just jumps when she say's how high. The work is hard enough as it is, you do not need to be waiting for up to an hour for Gaynor to pick you up or for Eris to be late in the a.m and then tell you he can't get it right all the "f*ing" time. Gaynor is also rude and will not talk to you politely unless you adopt the "Eris" attitude. I also used to find it inappropriate that she would not be bothered to take our money by card (as it meant her walking back over to the office, thirty seconds away) but she would be very happy to drive you to the bank and demand cash, first thing on a monday a.m before work. Nice. There was also a number of people out of work (i was told she had sometimes turned away work offered to her by other hostels as she was supposed to be finding the work from employers directly herself) which is disgusting as this is what you pay an expensive $150 a week for-to be found work.

Comment by DANGER!!, UK

March 2008

Most horrible place in the world!
This place equals danger. There is no work there so don't believe them unless you owe them rent, then there is loads. It smells of feet. The kitchens are a health hazard but the people are actually cool. I had some bloody great drinking sessions and met a lot of great people.

Comment by Jarkko Vasko, Finland

March 2008

Ok, What to start with. Don't go there. Not even Innisfail. The work is sh*t and the money too. me and my mate stayed there for eight weeks and in a double room and that time our room wasn't cleaned not once! And we asked and anyway we had to pay 140AUS for the week. And they really charge for using the aircon and everything that's been already mentioned in these reviews. The cooking facilities are really poor and pots and pans are totally not good for use.(and Kinny wont buy new ones). In my time people there used to get sick and we all thought that's because house number 3 has fungus. Kinny has a bad drinking habit and that really affects the people and things in there. Then there are one hundred and one really stupid rules that you have to obey if you don't want to get trouble. Only house number 1 has proper TV an DVD. There's three not good working computers in the main house so maybe you can read your email but that's it. For laundry you have to pay and dryer too. The lifts to the beach are once in a month and that's it. Yeah there's a pool but the water is freezing and you don't have to use it because it's rains most of the year except summer of course. Hopefully this true story will confirm you not to go there. Save your time.

Comment by oli, england

January 2008

An experience
I stayed at the codge lodge in 2005 i think it was around october. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my time in australia. our first night was spent in a banana fridge in a lay by that dave had told us was a separate hostel with sky TV. we woke up to a plague of insects and the odd rat! after a sleepless night we were picked up at about 5 or 6 a.m. for work the next day. The work is hard, but the money is good. Although i injured my foot humping and worked the rest of the time in a box factory! everyone had jobs during my stay! We were moved into the hostel on the second night onwards. we met lots of people, got drunk quite a lot, and generally worked hard and played hard. rooms were well air conditioned and pool is cool!

Comment by Sabrina, German

November 2007

Great
I loved staying in Innisfail Codge Lodge! Don't stay anywhere else. everything else is very sleazy! I stayed at the Codge Lodge which was great! They will pick you up at the Bus station and also take you back when you leave! Innisfail is a very nice place and also very close to Cairns! Lots of nice people all the time! They look for work and bring you there and pick you up after. Every weekend there is something to do like bus trips to cairns, waterfalls. If you like the beach there's a bus service from the Lodge or you can take the bus to Cairns or Mission Beach! There is also always something to do the pool is great or you can go to the riverside, to the botanical garden, it's a nice view around Innisfail and there are great places to visit! The Accommodation is good and it's not expensive, free Internet, washing, ping pong, games.

Comment by Too Easy Pom, England

October 2007

Worst Management I've Ever Seen
Backpackers, do not stay at this hellhole. this place is officially one of the worst i've ever seen and stayed in. I would not even rate it as One Star, it simply doesn't deserve that reward. The management, well one person -- Kinny (aka man) lies and treats you like dirt. Kinny posts flyers/posters all over Cairns and the surrounding areas of Innisfail which are all bare face lies. I mean Free of Charge Broadband Internet when they only have three computers which are not Broadband and are more like Snails. One has a Blue Screen which is totally impossible to look at, the others all have sticky keys, which result with you having to delete repeated letters when you type an email. None of these pc's have soundcards, so you cannot listen to any music. The cd-r Drives are broken, if you think you're going to be able to rip you photos from a cd and upload them -- then think again. As for Videos, Don't even go there. When you speak to Kinny over the phone to come to work at Codge Lodge she doesn't state that the Internet is only supposed to be used for email. You cannot download anything on these pc's -- They are completely locked down by Kinny. That was the first lie -- Secondly, Free Washing Machines. Another Lie. Was told over the phone that you can use Free Washing Machines to wash your clothes as Banana Picking, Humping is Dirty work and everyone should know this. Washing Machines clean clothes by using Hot Water -- These are Cold Machines, There is No Hot water To clean clothes. Another Bare Faced Lie. Your clothes will be ruined, they will be caked in crap -- not to mention that Kinny uses the same washing machines to Bleach all Bed Sheets. There is a no noise policy after 10. Your Alcohol will be taken away. You cannot eat in the TV room. Kinny will turn off all electricity if you break this rule. Even by having music on. She is an Alcoholic and goes into raging drunken fits against people. This place should be classed as a health hazard.

Comment by Pontus, Sweden

September 2007

Poor
Well, to begin with it's a pretty nice hostel, pretty clean, pretty quiet rooms aren't too bad. I stayed here for a total of fifteen weeks and I can tell you that the manager (Kinny) -- or the little old man as we refer to her -- is a complete two-faced jackass. Take the day I left for instance, I was at work and my bus was supposed to leave at 6 p.m. so I got home, took a shower and packed my stuff. Then I go talk to Kinny and she says I have to pay $10 day-rate. I mean seriously, I had been there for fifteen weeks paying $140/ week for a pretty crappy hostel and then she charges me $10 for a shower?? Anyway stay away from her when she gets drunk (which happens all the time) cause then she can be a complete jerk. She also kicked my friend out (won't mention the reason here but it was really lame) and she called up all the other hostels in town and warned them about my mate, so he couldn't stay in Innisfail anymore. After that incident five of my mates moved to another hostel, and ten more people left within two days because of her. And this is not just a single incident. She is always a greedy jerk. If you are looking for a good time go to any other of the hostels in Innisfail, they are much better, I can promise you that.

Comment by val

March 2007

the hostel is clean and it is quite as there is a no noise policy. the main house has the best rooms, the second and third house are good, too, but not as cosy as the main one. the kitchens are clean and you can actually use them, other hostels in town have really disgusting cooking facilities. if you want to work on a farm or in a shed this is an excellent place to stay as you will need to rest properly and you can relax in the tv room or beside the swimming pool. the manager will help you to find work, but bear in mind you have to tell her how long you intend to work for and make sure she understands exactly what you are expecting. she doesn't take any sh*t and she will help you out with anything if you need help. the best place to stay in town especially if you are working to get the second W/H visa. if you get a double room on if you stay in a dorm this hostel is cheaper than others in town.

Comment by Peta

December 2006

Dave is no longer at Codge Lodge. The hostel is clean and well run. Work was available for me immediately, however Innisfail is still recovering from the cyclone in March and plantation work will not be back in full swing until January '07. Enjoy Xmas and give them a ring then.

Comment by Damo from Ireland

October 2006

stayed in codge lodge for about two months. i was one of the lucky ones who was able to get work (because i got it myself, not through the hostel). Dave the manager should be locked up. He is clearly unstable and needs medical attention. Dave is very dangerous after a few beers and will do anything to get a dollar out of you. Do not stay here if Dave is still running the hostel.

Comment by annica

July 2006

codge lodge sucks! The house is okay, free internet is cool, but the manager is f***** arrogant. Me and my friend had to leave after a week, didn't get paid and simply called him and asked for the phone number of that paper factory we worked at and he absolutely freaked out and hung up. But if you nevertheless should go there dont miss the free soup on tuesday.

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