Wilderness Lodge Backpackers

Dirty, damp, and far from ideal!
Staff were accommodating booking me in at the last minute. Quiet hostel, which was good. However, dorms small, damp, very stinky, no ventilation. Kitchen disgusting. There is a free breakfast -- an old milk carton full of pancake mixture that you wouldn't want to trust the filthy pans there to cook. Too few bathrooms although hot water always plentiful. Bathrooms and loos not clean. Male backpackers still have a propensity to pee all over the floor -- nothing new there! Reception was meant to be open from 6 a.m. but the staff quite often didn't turn up on time which made it very difficult to get stuff out of the safe. I guess having a safe there was a bonus though! Helpful booking airport transfers. Staff could be abrupt and rude.

I stayed there last August (2006) for a few days. Air con didn't work. the dude who took my booking screwed up the dates so I had to find my way though the illogically numbered rooms at 1 a.m. to the dorms because the private room I'd booked (a month in advance!) wasn't available. They made it right the next day, though. Kitchen is disgusting! Those backpackers were a feral lot and the staff didn't seem to care! Stinky piles of dishes around the sink every night. The kitchen is covered by a roof but is essentially outdoors. Free pancakes -- yeah, if you like a vat of pancake mix sitting in the heat for three hours! And in the evening, the black crusty piles of pancake goop were still cooked onto the stove. Bathrooms/toilets slightly cleaner than the kitchen but still icky. Toilets didn't always flush. The morning I had to check out and catch a bus to Katherine, the receptionist slept in. I would have left them my key deposit but my passport was in their safe! Thank God the Wilderness Safari (the same company that owns the hostel) guide called the boss and even gave me a lift to the bus station when said receptionist finally got there.

Positives -- pool, colourful and cheery surrounds, friendly staff, free pancakes in morning. Negatives -- old mattresses; thin, yellow, stained pillows (not one was good in a room of six!); dirty kitchen; it's getting very rundown; they seem to have a big problem with security; and staff just didn't seem to care how the hostel was doing. Basically this is just an ok hostel. There are other places to stay in Darwin that cost the same amount, but are better quality.

Sexy stuff - YEAH! right but i reckon that was just a guest cleaning for free acco... I could work there washing cars for few hours to stay free. Easy relaxing job, and good thing. stayed in 8doorm, clean and tidy, i liked it. The pool is full of chlorine, too much but after all it's better being in the pool than sweating under the tree. i got free pancakes everymorning, free tea and i think there was something to eat whenever i looked. i did not buy that much during my stay there. I can recommend that if like rustic simple living for fair prices. and make a trip to fog damm at sundown! it's such a thing seeing billions of snakes crwaling around your feet! i enjoyed catching snakes... =) at least i have to say that stuff is helpful uncomplicated and friendly. everything i wish to have...

Such a poor hostel. On the plus side, it was cheap enough with free pancakes. On the negative side, the air conditioning is only on from 6pm til 8am, so if you can't stay in your room during this time without feeling the heat. Our room also smelt, found dead cockroaches in the communal area, and there was a possum in the kitchen (Kitchen is basically outside)! Stay away. There are better hostels in Darwin.

I spent a few nights here in early May. The place was lovely...basic, but clean and tidy. A great place to stay in Darwin. Quiet and close to everything. Very sexy staff.

This hostel is not that clean or tidy. It is cleaned everyday by other backpackers for free accommodation, so you really can't expect much (no offense). The mattresses smell of urine and the rooms smell. It is a converted house so it is not really built to be a hostel. The staff are friendly enough. The pool is nice, but there is no TV room or any entertainment. I get the impression a lot of people set up digs here. I also had an incident where someone pinched my knickers off the washing line.

Not too bad, I suppose, but I had only been in OZ for three hours when some little scrote nicked my sunnys and my beer. I can't say I really recovered after that!

Cool little hostel with great pool. Excellent place for chilling out in the Territory.