The Hostelz.com Review
Base Sydney is a very lively party hostel situated in the heart of Sydney. Their claim of being "more central than central" is certainly justified, however, it is a fair distance from the train/bus stations.
The Location
In terms of location, Sydney base is perfect for those looking for cheap accommodation within the busy city life of Sydney. The hostel is located next door to its resident bar, the "Scary Canary," where cheap drinks and meal deals can be found before a night out in the city. As a result of this, the major demographic of residents at the hostel is very lively, with a constant party atmosphere. We did, however, find that a large proportion of guests (eight out of ten in our dorm, for example) are long term visitors to Sydney looking for work, rather than travelers.
In addition to this, the hostel is located less than five minutes' walk away from Darling Harbour, where a cinema as well as numerous bars, restaurants, and shops can be found. It is also only half an hour's walk away from Circular Quay where the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House are located; as well as being the main ferry port for trips to other areas of the city such as Manly, where quieter beaches can be found. The hostel isn't, however, ideal for those looking to visit the busier beaches such as Bondi -- use of public transport is required to get to these.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Overall, the standard of the rooms is very average, with the cleaning of these seeming to be restricted to large-scale yet irregular spring cleans. Under-bed lockers are available in each room, however, these require the use of personal padlocks in order to secure them and are a very tight squeeze for those with larger backpacks!
The bathrooms and showers, however, are very clean with plenty of toilets, showers, and sinks for everyone -- even during a time of full occupancy, which was the case when we stayed.
Common Spaces
In terms of common spaces, Base Sydney's kitchen and laundry facilities are very large, giving plenty of room for everyone to cook and do the washing without getting in each others' way. Cooking equipment is limited to hobs and microwaves, however, and you must rely on the washing up skills of fellow guests for clean cutlery and dishes. The hostel does seem to lack common areas for guests to relax, with these being limited to a small TV room which is almost constantly full, and table tennis and table football equipment, which is almost always being used.
Summary
Overall, this hostel is very good for people looking for a party atmosphere in the heart of Sydney. The proximity to Darling Harbour also allows for an escape to a more upmarket area of town if desired. However, if you are looking for a more relaxed hostel or a base for Sydney's beaches, this probably isn't the place!
The Location
In terms of location, Sydney base is perfect for those looking for cheap accommodation within the busy city life of Sydney. The hostel is located next door to its resident bar, the "Scary Canary," where cheap drinks and meal deals can be found before a night out in the city. As a result of this, the major demographic of residents at the hostel is very lively, with a constant party atmosphere. We did, however, find that a large proportion of guests (eight out of ten in our dorm, for example) are long term visitors to Sydney looking for work, rather than travelers.
In addition to this, the hostel is located less than five minutes' walk away from Darling Harbour, where a cinema as well as numerous bars, restaurants, and shops can be found. It is also only half an hour's walk away from Circular Quay where the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House are located; as well as being the main ferry port for trips to other areas of the city such as Manly, where quieter beaches can be found. The hostel isn't, however, ideal for those looking to visit the busier beaches such as Bondi -- use of public transport is required to get to these.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Overall, the standard of the rooms is very average, with the cleaning of these seeming to be restricted to large-scale yet irregular spring cleans. Under-bed lockers are available in each room, however, these require the use of personal padlocks in order to secure them and are a very tight squeeze for those with larger backpacks!
The bathrooms and showers, however, are very clean with plenty of toilets, showers, and sinks for everyone -- even during a time of full occupancy, which was the case when we stayed.
Common Spaces
In terms of common spaces, Base Sydney's kitchen and laundry facilities are very large, giving plenty of room for everyone to cook and do the washing without getting in each others' way. Cooking equipment is limited to hobs and microwaves, however, and you must rely on the washing up skills of fellow guests for clean cutlery and dishes. The hostel does seem to lack common areas for guests to relax, with these being limited to a small TV room which is almost constantly full, and table tennis and table football equipment, which is almost always being used.
Summary
Overall, this hostel is very good for people looking for a party atmosphere in the heart of Sydney. The proximity to Darling Harbour also allows for an escape to a more upmarket area of town if desired. However, if you are looking for a more relaxed hostel or a base for Sydney's beaches, this probably isn't the place!
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2011
Their Description
Base Sydney Details
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Base Sydney Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Not the worst but aint the best Done two stints at this hostel, first time I ended up staying here for nearly 3 month. I managed to get set up with a good job in the city, which was only 10 minutes walk away from the Hostel. So I ended up staying here till I had enough to rent an apartment. This hostel has a bad habit of making people turn into w@nkers though, it was harder to make friends here for some reason, and if other backpackers find out your working in a good job they hate you even more. But I just got on with it and met a good bunch of people here. Always found the toilets to be clean think they get clean twice a day. It aint uncommon to hear the guy in the shower next to you jerking though. Kitchen could be a bit nightmarish at times had food go missing a few times here bought 12 eggs on the way home from work once, woke up next day to find that all but 1 had a gone. At least the thieves here are kinda considerate like that (but thats still not cool guys). At one stage I remember trying to find a folk, but it would have been easier finding the secret to eternal youth. That went on for about 1month or so. My advice is to get a food bag you can put a mini padlock on. t.v room ok, you get the usual no hopers hanging around here. The internet is pricey but always up and running. Laundry here is good, washers dryers, iron and ironing board. Like said before though people staying here for long peiods of time tend to form cliques and move all into one room, and if your unlucky enough to get put into that room were they have all know each other for awhile it can be hard work make friends or getting a good night sleep, as on 1 occasion some1 had the speakers blarring out at 2:30am. But If you move rooms you will eventually meet some cool people (it a lottery half the time who you get, thats not the hostels fault.) But you will notice that a alot of backpackers camp down here for quiet some time, the longest was a guy who had stayed there for nearly 10 months. At first I thought they put some sorta nerve gas in the air con as people always seem to tired on energyless to leave. I'd do a whole day at work, come home and at least 3 of my roommates would have still been in bed or gone back to bed.
Always stuff going on a the bar next door, looks a bit lame at first but once you go, you will have a good time, pub quiz is always good, they use to give you free pizza as well, when you bought a beer on quiz night. Overall its a decent place, its clean comfortable, and kinda grows on on ya after a while. There are worst places to stay in Sydney. — Anonymous , Bristish (2010-03-03) Overall pretty good Stayed here for five nights in January, in their "Sanctuary" section (for girls only -- a little bit extra for which you get a towel, free small bottles of Aveda shampoo and vouchers for free drinks, don't believe them when they say "hair straighteners and hairdryer" -- the only hairdryer I could find didn't work!). The rooms were fine, good to have a security drawer beneath the bed (you can buy a padlock or bring your own), shower facilities were some of the best I've come across. The things that let the place down were the size -- it's a lot more difficult to get chatting to people in a hostel bar that's absolutely rammed with groups of people, despite the Scary Canary actually being quite a good laugh. I have never had such a problem with inconsiderate people stealing food as I had here. I went through three bottles of milk -- I only needed one, but they kept being used or going missing altogether. Not cool guys. The kitchen, although big, is not big enough for the amount of people staying there, even at 9 p.m. it was busy. Other facilities were pretty good, it's nice and central -- two minutes' walk from QV Building -- and the staff were friendly enough. I would probably stay here again, but won't be using the kitchen. — Rachel , UK (2009-02-22) Clean I stayed in a couple different rooms, the first one was small and cramped and stunk. The second one was larger and nicer. The place seemed pretty clean and nice, the bathrooms were also nice and clean. The kitchen was pretty good. Internet was $1 per fifteen minutes. Laundry was $3 per wash and $4 per dry.
Located right in the city but on a relatively quiet street. A few of the staff (the very late night) were friendly and helpful, but the rest of them were rude. Has a common area and a TV room also. — Star , USA (2009-01-04) Dirty and expensive With all the advertising raving about this place, your expectations are high. Alas, when you get here, you'll be very very disappointed. A good point is that you can often get rooms here when all the other backpackers in Sydney are booked out. Alas, just three years after opening, Base is falling apart. Bad points -- Room locks don't work, the bathrooms are really tatty, and there are no windows with a view. Just a bit of new paint would brighten the place up. The staff have started charging $10 for a key deposit again (why? The keys rarely work!) but if you look behind the check-in desk you'll see a long list of things that are no longer offered. No lockers. No Solarium. Even the original bar at Base (called Transit [on level -1]) closed pretty soon after opening (it's now a camping shop) and so Base has taken over the bar next door, called the Scary Canary. Alas that has been forced to close for a while by the licensing authorities (a look on the SMH website will show you why -- there were a number of violent fights in there). Base has a very impersonal feel, and it's very difficult to meet people. The staff don't help things much -- they give an impression of not really caring. And finally, either a good or a bad point, the location. Base is stuck in the middle of the CBD -- this means shopping is a short walk (try walking over the road to the Town Hall mall. You can walk underground to Pitt Street or to the cinemas underground from here), alas the area is dead come 6 p.m., and it's a long walk to "backpacker central" where all the backpacker bars (Sidebar, Scubar, the really foul "Scruffy Murphies" [avoid the bouncers there -- they are really bad!]), are. Would I stay here again? Not unless I was desperate! — Lorks , UK (2008-01-06) I stayed hear from march 2007 to april 2007. Really good. Clean, Good helpfull staff, good size kicken. Had no problems. Staff even helps you out unlike in other hostels. — Nathan , Canadaian (2007-04-16) We've been booked to this hostel by organisation for two nights. The crew was unfriendly, the service poor, and the bathrooms are bad. All in all base at Sydney isn't fine. — Hannes (2007-02-02) no atmosphere. too expensive. no value for money! — como (2007-01-17) I expected a lot of this hostel, everyone is talking about it, and the brochures and website look really nice. It didn't really live up to my expectations. Rooms are messy and can't say that the bathrooms had a clean feel to them. Way too much money too. I hate to say it but I am disappointed at Base Sydney! — LN (2007-01-14) I stayed there about two and a half months and it was the best hostel I stayed at in Sydney. I stayed on the girls-only floor and they give you Aveda shampoo and a nice fluffy towel when you arrive. The rooms are super clean and I always had strong hot showers that never ran out of hot water no matter how long I took a shower. It's very quiet and I made some of the best friends ever. The location is great -- just a short walk to the harbour, the aquarium, pubs (The Three Monkeys is a great pub). The staff are really friendly and very helpful. I've traveled lots and this hostel rocks! — Jac (2006-12-13) Best thing about the hostel -- checking out! Worst thing -- checking in and being charged for it! We cut our five-night stay there by four nights. it was seriously manky! check in area was fine. We took the the staircase to our room. It was like a rabbit warren -- doors everywhere and corridors were as welcoming as a WWII concentration camp. Bring a tin of paint with you because you will feel the urge to give the place a bit of a gloss. Got to our private room after nearly stepping on smelly socks in the corridor. We were in the boiler room. badly painted brick walls with huge pipes running across the ceiling. Room had no sunlight, no furniture (expect a school desk), dodgy linen. The only thing missing was Jeremy Beadle and his cameras! Awful. You must never ever go there. We got a great hotel with city views for not much more money. — Merv Bell and Helen Pacey (2006-09-17) Base is fine, it's got great beds and everything is clean. It's just a bit too big and difficult to meet people. — Liz (2006-09-16) I stayed here for 9 nights in a 10 bed dorm. Was pretty good, the cleaners had a habit of just walking in with their loud vaccuum cleaner when people were still sleeping but ah well.
I would recommend this hostel, the location is great! — Mr T (2006-02-14) Good Points: Great location, nice bathrooms, cheap Internet, great travel desk. I stayed in the Sanctuary and it was very nice, really spacious, with loads of room for luggage!
Bad Points: Really impersonal, staff could be rude, no social or communal spirit, the kitchens were really well stocked and generally clean but I had stuff stolen, breakfast was nice but expensive at $5.00.
I loved the location but I didn't really bond with anyone! Stay here for a night or two at the most on your own. If you're in a group or a couple it's fine! There's no key deposit anymore though!
I've just stayed at Base Melbourne and it was great! Don't judge Base on this one hostel! — Little Miss Travel (2005-11-05) To start with this hostel is in a poor location. It seems after 5 p.m. all the workers in this area split and go home, leaving the area a bit of a ghost town at night. Also it's way too pricey for what's on offer. $20 key deposits are ridiculous these days and they charge for just about everything. To me Base seems to be a corporate-run hosteling chain interested in profits before people. — Jim from BC (2005-10-27) Good place to start in Sydney but not recommended to anyone over the age of 24 and above! The bar is like a school disco. I agree with the review by Hostelz.com. Base lacks a backpacker's atmosphere and the other backpackers are very cliquey and frosty! — Kerry (2005-05-03)