Dreamtime Travellers Rest

Clean, cosy. and well located
We stayed here in November 2007 and loved this little hostel. It's very cosy and spotlessly clean. The staff are friendly and efficient and little extras like free towels and free airport pick-up help sweeten the experience further. It also a great location only a few minutes' walk from Cairns centre. The hostel also has a really nice cafe attached which serves up tasty reasonably prices food and has cheap internet access (2 AUD per hour). There are two negatives which let this place down a little. There are not enough showers and toilets to go around and it's about time they joined the twenty-first century and install Wi-Fi internet.

This hostel is the best i have stayed in! We stayed in a double room, and it was great, big, clean, welcoming, and had air conditioning -- which you need! The staff were extremely friendly and booked all our day tours for us, and even dropped us off at them! They were very helpful! We stayed here for eight nights and loved it! I would recommend this hostel to everyone, it's five-star!

I stayed for the best part of 3 weeks on and off here and it's a great hostel. Nice rooms, free towels, clean bathrooms, great location and a very friendly place. I'd concur with the bin criticism - and the kitchen is a bit 'cosy' at times but they are minor criticisms for a great place to stay in Cairns.

Such a good hostel that I feel compelled to post the few negatives because they are so easily fixable and this could so easily become a great hostel. So I really hope someone over at Dreamtime is reading this. I stayed here for three nights at the end of a long trek up the east coast, and it was great to chill out and "recover" before heading out to the Outback. Everyone -- staff, other guests -- was super-friendly. The chess set and board games are nice touches, and there's deliberately no TV. Rooms are large and airy, with a mix of bunk beds and comfy "real" beds. Small, comfy, and homey atmosphere means that you meet other people easily. And the location is pretty good -- across from the shopping mall and you can cut through the mall to the city centre in less than five minutes. So, the few drawbacks? For one thing, for some odd reason, there are no trash cans in any of the rooms. Quite annoying to have to walk downstairs to throw out a tissue. For another, there are only three bathrooms and three showers, which aren't enough so there's frequently a queue. Plus, the light in most rooms and common areas is inadequate for reading. But like I said, these are small drawbacks, and there were renovations going on while I was there so hopefully they'll fix this stuff and Dreamtime can become one of the greats.

I have been travelling for three months now so I have stayed in numerous hostels and pits, I can honestly say this was the best hostel that I have stayed at in Australia. The staff (Chris and Amanda) were so helpful and helped set travel plans, with coaches back to Sydney etc., etc., and they bent over backwards to help you, even with rides into town or to your day tour! The hostel was the cleanest, friendliest place that I stayed in on my Australian trip. The decor is amazing! I can highly recommend this hostel.

Relaxed, Cozy and Cool What can I say about this beautiful oasis called Dreamtime? Not only are the staff second to none, they are absolutely fantastic, including the cleaners. They always say good morning and they are pleasantly helpful and friendly. They organized all my trips including Cairns and Airlie Beach/Fraser Island. These guys know everything you need to know, from diving to sailing, and will obtain the best price for your trips. They have a relaxed and chilled atmosphere and the rooms are clean and tidy. The kitchen is fully equipped and the toilets — I could eat my dinner off them, they are so clean. Thank you to everyone in the hostel in making this a fantastic experience all round. You guys set the standard that other hostels should be envious about. Keep up the great work and I look forward to coming back to see the new developments. Reviewer: Anonymous from Canada April 29, 2005

My experience at Dreamtime was second to none. The staff (Chris and Amanda ) were absolute GEMS. They helped me with all my travel needs, not just in Cairns but for my trip down the East Coast as well. They were honest and gave me invaluable advice on everything. Tours, places to stay — they couldn't do enough for me to make my journey amazing. The hostel was the cleanest, friendliest place that I stayed in on my Australian trip. I can highly recommend this hostel to anyone looking for somewhere that is homely, warm and welcoming. Keep up the great work that you guys do. Obviously the old staff are long gone and people can be assured of a wonderful Dreamtime experience. Thanks again.

This place was extremely friendly and so clean and nice during my stay in November. I can recommend this hostel to everyone coming to Cairns.

Lovely clean twin rooms with air-conditioning, fridge and fan. The Friday barbecue was a superb value and the new staff are ever so helpful and have real local knowledge on the best places to go! We really appreciated the airport pickup and can highly recommend Dreamtime to anyone travelling to beautiful Cairns!

I happen to like this place a lot. HOWEVER, I was there awhile ago. I certainly did not have any rude staff, but I can see that if they were rude I would definitely give the place a bad review. It was clean, small and had character with a nice outdoor area and a landscaped pool (a tiny one, though). But I recall they had some trouble with the locks to the place (the front door wouldn't! lock) and that there were some weird people spotted in the area who had the staff concerned. Also, someone stole my cheese from the fridge! That wasn't cool! But overall, it was a great stay. But apparently just be sure that you aren't stuck with any unpleasant staff.

I am not sure what the old staff must have been like because now they are great and I would recommend to anyone to go here.

Wow, something must have gone seriously wrong with this place, because when I stayed here everyone was awesome!!

People working there are awful, especially that Kiwi woman!

The hostel as such is nice enough. BUT: the staff (everyone!) are INCREDIBLY rude and moody, which spoils everything. It seems they are spoilt by positive remarks in LP (Lonely Planet guidebook), and therefore they must think they can spit on backpackers.