Palace Backpackers - Hervey Bay

First impressions great, friendly staff, good atmosphere, large apartment style rooms but don't be misled by what looks like luxury mattresses. I checked out five different apartment blocks before checking out. they were all riddled with bedbugs!

arrived at 1 a.m. at the bus stop, somehow found the hostel, meeting some monstrous bats and an insane dog on the way, and slept on the bench till opening. The whole set up was great, really social, it would be very difficult to not have a wicked time here!

Not good security at this place. Had stuff stolen out of my room while sleeping, lockers were also broken into. Have heard from numerous others of break-ins and items being stolen. If you don't have to stay in Hervey Bay, don't -- go on to Rainbow Beach or Noosa.

I stayed here Feb - Oct 2005 and it was a blast. I miss all the staff that were great. If you go here don't miss out on the pizza night.

Great hostel, the design of the place is awesome-- little apartments with comfy eating and sitting areas. Staff were helpful, facilities were ok-- although there was no bar. We did the Fraser Island self- drive tour through the hostel, which was excellent.

Loved the layout of the hostel... apartment style with your own kitchen area. The staff were really helpul with organising trips to Fraser Island although a bit rude when it came to anything else. The common areas were a little grotty and intimidating.

The hostel has a great potential. The rooms are nice and all in small apartment-like units with kitchens. I did not appreciate the staff though. Often they did not seem to care about the people staying there. They made us wait, and didn't always give us the info we need. I also took the Fraser Island tour with these guys and did not appreciate it. The vans were fine but the tents were crap. (They were big non-waterproof army tents with center posts, not very useful when it's raining and windy, and the tarp doesn't fit over the tent!). The info meeting was held at 6:45 a.m. (Other companies do it the day before and you have time to meet the members of your team then.) And they wanted to charge us $50 each ($500) for salt damage when we came back, when we all knew we did not drive in salt water! I do not recommend doing the Fraser Island tour with this hostel!!!

I had a ball!! The staff were the best so far — nothing was too big of a problem for them. They helped me out with the rest of my travels around the country. Pizza Night was a blast and it's good to see the staff getting pissed with you and giving you a good laugh and making you go out!! Overall this is a great place. I would recommend it to anyone travelling to the area and even to anyone who's not!! It deserves a few days visit!! One night on either side of Fraser is just not enough!!

I thought this hostel is awesome. The staff are great, and the rooms are excellent. I worked here for three months as the courtesy bus driver. I had an amazing time here. Thanks all. Batsey

We stayed in the annex. The kitchen area in the annex needed revamping, as all the other kitchen areas looked much better than ours. Our room was basic with a capital "B". However, the staff were very friendly and they have an all you can eat pizza night regularly, which is a good way to meet people.

The rooms are lovely and set out like apartments with your own kitchenette.