Arts Factory Backpackers Lodge is quite possibly one of the most hyped-up hostels along Australia's east coast. Known for its alternative-lifestyle reputation, the Arts Factory in Byron Bay certainly offers a unique experience to its guests. The experience, however, seems to range quite widely amongst travelers depending on the style of accommodation chosen (they have several), the time of year you are there (avoid schoolies and New Year's), and as always the people who are there at the same time as you.
We happened to be in Byron Bay over New Year's, which straight-away meant the place was booked solid and the prices were jacked up to $30 per night. Yes, the Arts Factory is a big hostel, but when full, it becomes rather crowded. In the case of the kitchen, this couldn't be more true. Not only is there no space to store food on shelves or in the refrigerators, but at peak periods you actually have to wait for a pot and burner to become available. Making more than simple noodles and sauce in this kitchen is quite a battle, made worse by the constant mess that can't be cleaned up as fast as it is made. Ideally, this kitchen would suit a hostel with about half as many guests as the Arts Factory.
The hostel is located about a fifteen-minute walk outside of the town, but it takes nearly thirty minutes to walk to Main Beach from the hostel. Although, a shuttle bus runs regularly into town. You can hire surfboards and boogie boards from the hostel, and there are many in-house activities to keep travelers busy (the games room has a pool table and arcade games). There is a sauna and a nice swimming pool on the premises and there are plenty of shaded areas to relax.
The dorms are not particularly clean (due to sheer volume of travelers), and the bathrooms are slightly worse. On the positive side, the hostel does offer a really cool vibe. Its guests are really chilled out and flow with the whole Byron Bay scene. It is inevitable that any hostel will at one time or another be affected by bedbugs -- unfortunately for us, we were in the wrong bed at the wrong time and this cut short our stay (we moved into a neighbouring hostel in Byron Bay after a few days). It's a hit-and-miss experience at the Arts Factory, but to not give it a chance would be to miss out on part of the experience at Byron Bay.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
April 2004
Location/Contact
4 Average from 17 Ratings
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.