The Hostelz.com Review
The Spencer Backpackers is a very homey place, not too large and not too small. It is situated on the corner of Spencer and Rosslyn Streets, just to the north west of the CBD. This location is close enough to the centre, ten minutes' walk, and North Melbourne shops on Errol Street are five minutes away. The Spencer is also very close to Southern Cross Railway Station and major tram lines to St Kilda and the Free City Circle.
The rooms are of a reasonable size and are cleaned daily along with the rest of the hostel. The other facilities include a TV lounge with Foxtel and a DVD player, internet access from two terminals in the lounge, balconies on each floor for smokers, and a roof top area with picnic tables and benches for al fresco dining or just to take in the view of the CBD's tall buildings. The kitchen is clean with ample storage space in the fridge, storage bins, and lockers. The only drawback is a lack of pots for cooking. The bathrooms are also clean and in a decent state of repair. Like all old buildings the Hotel Spencer has the occasional squeaky floorboard and door hinge but this tends to add more the character of the place, which has a very friendly and social environment, with truly helpful long-term members of staff.
For sports fans this hostel is in prime position for any trip to the Telstra Dome and with Southern Cross Station close by, access to the sporting venues of Richmond, the MCG, Melbourne, and Olympic Parks is no problem. The bar/restaurant on the ground floor provides friendly service to locals and backpackers alike, and there are several other bars and small cafes within a few minutes' walk of the hostel. All in all the Spencer is a great place to stay, whether it's just for one night or even a few months.
The rooms are of a reasonable size and are cleaned daily along with the rest of the hostel. The other facilities include a TV lounge with Foxtel and a DVD player, internet access from two terminals in the lounge, balconies on each floor for smokers, and a roof top area with picnic tables and benches for al fresco dining or just to take in the view of the CBD's tall buildings. The kitchen is clean with ample storage space in the fridge, storage bins, and lockers. The only drawback is a lack of pots for cooking. The bathrooms are also clean and in a decent state of repair. Like all old buildings the Hotel Spencer has the occasional squeaky floorboard and door hinge but this tends to add more the character of the place, which has a very friendly and social environment, with truly helpful long-term members of staff.
For sports fans this hostel is in prime position for any trip to the Telstra Dome and with Southern Cross Station close by, access to the sporting venues of Richmond, the MCG, Melbourne, and Olympic Parks is no problem. The bar/restaurant on the ground floor provides friendly service to locals and backpackers alike, and there are several other bars and small cafes within a few minutes' walk of the hostel. All in all the Spencer is a great place to stay, whether it's just for one night or even a few months.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
May 2006
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The Spencer Backpackers Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Had a great time here This hostel is really comfortable and I felt at home here. The kitchen is great for socialising and barbeques. It is also close to the bus station. — Anonymous , Australian (2011-09-11) Bad backpackers the spencer backpackers is clean but manager is very rude and abrupt to customers. too many bedbugs in rooms, leaking water taps in bathrooms, too many young persons using dope in rooms and main lounge rooms. — Anonymous , australian (2011-08-24) Do not stay there!!! we stayed there for a few nights, loud, dirty, bedbugs, poor amenities, uncomfortable beds. way to small for an average bloke. yes it is cheaper but we had a hassle with the woman working there after having made a reservation she said we had not and so forth. and tried the hidden cost trick too!! we are easy going but we got sick and infected form the bedbugs had to get antibiotics and pay for a prescription. trust me it is worth paying a bit more to stay more centrally in Melbourne or just go to St. Kilda! — Anonymous , Canada (2010-04-03) Awesome Really friendly staff, welcoming and easygoing. Organised, clean, comfortable. five-minute walk to southern cross. Overall, after a long, hot, dirty day at the big day out, we were very pleased to be able to come back to this hostel and relax comfortably. Thumbs Up! — Nic&Josh (2009-01-27) Great little cozy place Staff are helpful, friendly, and deal with things quickly; the place has a nice relaxed homely feel. the restaurant downstairs is a bit upmarket for most backpackers but I'd recommend this place just for the atmosphere. the upstairs kitchen and balcony means you can eat and relax outside. I liked it. — Ed , NZ (2008-02-13) Oozes charm! This place has a great feel to it. It's an old building with character features aplenty -- creaky floorboards included! The kitchen is a real hub for meeting people, including staff members who were all great and really friendly. They were great at answering our questions and were quick to deal with any queries we had. We found it not too far from anywhere we wanted to be, and we walked everywhere! The only down side was that the rooms did not have lockers. I'd definitely stay here again. — Sarah , British (2007-10-05) Very good place. It is really friendly and family-run and the people take good care of you. Rooms are clean, showers and kitchen as well. It is not too expensive and the atmosphere is fantastic. A good place to kick back and relax. The only bad thing is that there is not one single knife in the kitchen that's actually sharp!!! — Francis (2007-01-09) Not too bad. The location isn't as central as they say: you are pretty quickly in the CBD, but you have to walk, or something, quite far for St. Kilda, or Fitzroy. Queen Victoria Market is pretty close, which is great if you make your own dinner. Kitchen is reasonable -- not bad, but also definitely not the best I've seen. "The Grand Rooftop" isn't as huge as they say, but still, it makes it possible to eat/drink outside. Floors are really squeaky, and the bathroom isn't very big. TV-room is definitely ok, with cable TV and lots of channels. Dorms are a bit shabby, not very clean, but not too bad. Price is $19 (VIP discount included) a night for a dorm bed. There is also a parking space for your car, and that's really handy. — Max, NL (2006-12-03) This place, yes was cheap, and the staff is friendly. That's about where the perks stop. The rooms were pretty small, pretty dirty, and the whole place is squeaky and the showers were gross -- at least when I was there in April 2006. The location sucks and it's a small hike to anywhere worth being. Stay somewhere more centrally located for probably three to five more bucks. — Lisa (2006-06-27) Thoroughly enjoyed my time here at Hotel Spencer. Not too far from the CBD, Spencer St. Train station and Telstra Dome Stadium. I stayed here in Oct'05 and yes the floor boards are a bit creaky but it adds to the charm of an inner city Tavern/Backpacker Hostel. I found the ground floor bar staff were more friendly and helpful than the hostel staff! Room was clean with a CBD outlook & bathrooms cleaned daily - all you need for a place to stay in a city like Melbourne. — Kiwi (2006-01-17) Very enjoyable stay. Good clean rooms and friendly staff. Very good atmosphere and I had a great time. — Sam (2005-06-01) I spent 6 months at the Spencer. Top place, great management and staff. It just has a good vibe, near to the center of Melbourne. I was there 2002-3 and it rocked. You need to book if you go for the Grand Prix, though. The TV room smells a bit, though. — Mick Carbine (2005-04-19) The floor was very squeaky, there was no hot water, and the rooms weren't big. But it was close to the city center and wasn't expensive. And it had rear car parking. All in all, not too bad. — Anonymous (2005-01-09) I didn't think that this hostel was great. The management were friendly and willing to help you, but our bedroom was quite dirty and small. I also found that it was a little bit of a way out of town. The pub and restaurant downstairs, though, are very nice. — Anonymous (2004-12-08) The rooms are a bit small, but there is a bed with a decent mattress. There is no place to cook and a very tiny community room, with a TV, that everyone crams into. Melbourne is great for nightlife, so a hostel with a bed is all you need for this city. This place has very friendly and helpful staff. — Anonymous (2004-10-23)