Calypso is the among the most highly regarded hostels it Cairns. It offers a scenic swimming pool, surrounded by a canopy-covered common area that connects to Zanzibar, the hostel's on-site bar. Zanzibar also offers an all-you-can-eat buffet every night of the week for $7.
A unique blend of chill-out music can be heard throughout the day by the pool side and in the common area. Due to the sheer volume of backpackers that travel through Cairns, Calypso maintains a good crowd of guests and the bar goes off nearly every night. Because the hostel is about a fifteen minute walk from the city core, the Calypso van offers complimentary return service throughout the day, with the last trip at 10pm. The main drawback here is that you will either have to stumble back from the bar by foot, or pay for a taxi. One item to note is that Calypso tends to attract a slightly more mature crowd, with ages trending toward the 23-26 range.
The rooms at Calypso are segregated into several separate units that are in good condition. While the hostel has been decorated with an elaborate funky paint job, the dorm rooms are about as basic as they come (i.e. air conditioning consists of a window). Clenliness is fair, with the exception of the common-use kitchen which seems to be neglected (possibly to encourage guests to eat at Zanzibar).
Overall, Calypso is a great place to stay for a few nights in Cairns. The atmosphere is fantastic and you are sure to make more than a few friends here. However, if you choose to stay longer than a few nights, you may find that some of the smaller imperfections may begin to irritate. For example, some of the bathrooms do not provide hand soap, the shower curtains are laden with mildew, and the buffet can get quite tiresome. Its too bad that only a few inexpensive modifications could make this good hostel a great hostel. Despite some people complaining that staff had been too pushy about booking day-trips through Calypso, this was not my experience.
-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
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