The Hostelz.com Review
Cloud 9 Backpackers Resort caters to everyone from budget traveler to long-termers to people in transit. They have an extensive price range and a twenty-four-hour reception, which makes it really convenient for spontaneous or late-night drop-ins.
The Location
The hostel is conveniently located in one of Brisbane's hostel districts, only a few hundred meters from Roma Street Station. This is perfect for everyone arriving via train or bus, as this is the terminal for most trains and almost all long distance buses. To get to the city, it is a ten-minute walk and for groceries there is a big supermarket right across the street. Even though the hostel is right next to one of Brisbane's main roads, it is barely noisy inside.
Rooms and Bathrooms
This is an almost all-dorms hostel -- there are only two or three private rooms. There is a huge difference in dorms, though -- on the ground floor are the ultimate budget dorms with up to sixteen beds and only fan cooling. These are the cheapest dorms in Brisbane. A lot of times people complain it is too crammed and crowded, with doors opening and shutting all the time, and it's stuffy. They also complain about the number of available bathrooms in the hall. But then again, what can you expect from a dorm that cheap? You get what you pay for. On the second floor are the regular priced dorms with en-suite bathrooms. Those are really nice, with decent space, new beds and bedding, clean bathrooms with good showers, and a beautiful design with angled roofs and brick walls. Most of those do have air conditoning.
Common Spaces
Common space is a bit limited in the hostel. Right next to the reception are two computers for internet access (no Wi-Fi available) and a book exchange. Opposite is a really small area with a table seating roughly twelve people -- this is the dining area, as the kitchen is right next to it. The very small kitchen could do with an overhaul -- there are no utensils whatsoever and you have to get everything from reception and bring it back right after you're finished. This is a bit of a pain, but at least it guarantees that the equipment is clean and in good condition. Upstairs from the kitchen and dining area is a TV lounge which has a tiny TV and a lot of space offering little else but room.
The best common space is probably the rooftop terrace, which offers beautiful views over the the river and Southbank. It's unfortunately not for early risers, as it doesn't open before 7a.m. The hostel in general is a rather quiet place (maybe due to alcohol being prohibited) but still really good for meeting fellow travelers, as it is a rather small place and there's not as much of a rush.
Summary
This place is most likely the best budget option in Brisbane.
The Location
The hostel is conveniently located in one of Brisbane's hostel districts, only a few hundred meters from Roma Street Station. This is perfect for everyone arriving via train or bus, as this is the terminal for most trains and almost all long distance buses. To get to the city, it is a ten-minute walk and for groceries there is a big supermarket right across the street. Even though the hostel is right next to one of Brisbane's main roads, it is barely noisy inside.
Rooms and Bathrooms
This is an almost all-dorms hostel -- there are only two or three private rooms. There is a huge difference in dorms, though -- on the ground floor are the ultimate budget dorms with up to sixteen beds and only fan cooling. These are the cheapest dorms in Brisbane. A lot of times people complain it is too crammed and crowded, with doors opening and shutting all the time, and it's stuffy. They also complain about the number of available bathrooms in the hall. But then again, what can you expect from a dorm that cheap? You get what you pay for. On the second floor are the regular priced dorms with en-suite bathrooms. Those are really nice, with decent space, new beds and bedding, clean bathrooms with good showers, and a beautiful design with angled roofs and brick walls. Most of those do have air conditoning.
Common Spaces
Common space is a bit limited in the hostel. Right next to the reception are two computers for internet access (no Wi-Fi available) and a book exchange. Opposite is a really small area with a table seating roughly twelve people -- this is the dining area, as the kitchen is right next to it. The very small kitchen could do with an overhaul -- there are no utensils whatsoever and you have to get everything from reception and bring it back right after you're finished. This is a bit of a pain, but at least it guarantees that the equipment is clean and in good condition. Upstairs from the kitchen and dining area is a TV lounge which has a tiny TV and a lot of space offering little else but room.
The best common space is probably the rooftop terrace, which offers beautiful views over the the river and Southbank. It's unfortunately not for early risers, as it doesn't open before 7a.m. The hostel in general is a rather quiet place (maybe due to alcohol being prohibited) but still really good for meeting fellow travelers, as it is a rather small place and there's not as much of a rush.
Summary
This place is most likely the best budget option in Brisbane.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2011
Their Description
Cloud 9 Backpackers Resort Details
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Cloud 9 Backpackers Resort Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
WORST HOSTEL EVER!!!!! THIS IS THE WORST HOSTEL I'VE EVER BEEN!!!!! I stayed there for 3 weeks because it's the cheapest and because I complained about the bed bugs and the dirty kitchen they kicked me out without refunds and without reasons. Reason why you shouldn't stay there -- ALL ROOMS HAVE "BEDBUGS;" SMALL ROOMS; DIRTY ROOMS; DIRTY TOILETS AND THEY DON'T CLEAN THEM EVERY DAY; VERY DIRTY KITCHEN; KITCHEN FULL OF COCKROACHES; ALMOST NO SPACE FOR YOUR OWN FOOD IN THE KITCHEN; NOTHING WORKS IN THE KITCHEN; THERE'S NO INTERNET AVAILABLE, ONLY THE STAFF HAS IT AND THEY DON'T ALLOW YOU TO USE IT. THE BAR NEXT TO THE HOSTEL IS FROM THE SAME MANAGER AND IT ALSO STINKS. — Tomas Valenzuela , Chilean (2010-01-09) Boring place to stay. Boring hostel. Got bedbugs on my first night. One of the staff members was useless in helping me, another was fairly decent. They washed my clothes free of charge, but I would expect this. No atmosphere in this place. — Paul T , Ireland (2009-08-02) Bad staff, poor location I stayed here for around a month in the summer of '07. Of all the hostels I have been in this was the worst. Facilities poor, and the layout of the place pretty cramped. The staff were extremely difficult. Not easy to get along with. Also, they seemed to have an anti-irish attitude. — Gaz , Irish (2009-03-13) Gross! Don't stay at Cloud 9! A friend and me stayed here as a quick stopover. on the way there we were told that they have been known to have bedbugs, the lady the booked us in was rude and we couldnt really understand what she was saying to us. We got put in to a dorm with ten beds, there wasnt much room for anything else. My friend and i thought this place was so bad, we went out all night came back in the morning, got our stuff, and checked out! If you are going to Brisbane Don't stay there, theres a good chance it will ruin your time in this city. — Tanille , Australia (2009-02-20) some of the staff members are more than rude, they're scum. especially one ginger lanky skinhead boy with thick glasses. the eating area is freezing and drafty and can hold not much more than ten people. when i stayed there, there was bedbugs. its situated in upper roma street, which is like a dual carriageway, this place almost ruined my time in brisbane. cloud 9 should be nuked. — Mike, rubbish (2007-01-26) I stayed here for the price and the distance from the bus station. First of all, reception staff are rude and are more interested eating or spending time in the internet. The rooms are ok, I paid for a six-bed dorm but they put me into a four-bed and it was nice enough, even though the air con is poor. Brisbane is a great city. — Kris (2007-01-24) Cloud 9 is great place to stay, especially with the privileges of a staff member, we got to enjoy in the two months we stayed there. The people were great and friendly and the bar next door the best place to meet people and have fun with the ones you know already. The only negative thing we can name about Cloud 9 is the small and unequipped kitchen. So yes! stay here! — Rike and Lena (2007-01-18) Not so bad this place, it's quite cheap with dorm beds starting from 16 dollars a night. But the kitchen is poor, no plates, no pots, no pans and no knives and forks and spoons, you cannot really cook in there! There's a 24 hour reception, that's good and the people you meet at this place are nice, I reckon, this is the best place to stay in Brisbane. — Francis (2006-12-18) Tiny dirty kitchen. You have to buy plates and cutlery! Only one bathroom (one for male and one for female) so when they clean it, which they do in the morning there aint nowhere you can go! Doesn't have a decent common area. overall a bit dodgy. But for $17 in the city.
Five star, yeah right! — D (2006-10-01) DO NOT STAY IN THE PAY PER NIGHT ROOM (Room 3). It is noisy, there are too many beds, no privacy to get changed and doors slamming every 2 seconds. The rates as stated on their website also did not apply and this is how i ended up in the pay per night room. There is only ONE BATHROOM for girls and one for boys which gets closed for an hour every day at 11am -- so god forbid you need to use the bathroom during this time! I didnt know this was the case and asked the receptionist if there was another bathroom and she said no but to ask the cleaner if i could use the bathroom, the cleaner was just stood chatting to someone in the bathroom and still wouldnt let me use it!!!!! The receptionist just shrugged when i told her! There is an air of cliqueyness in this place where the people who work there think they own the place so you never get chance to chill out as they are mouthing off in every corner! They even came into my room when i was trying to sleep. The kitchen is tiny! the oven they state as having on the website is rubbish -- you cannot change the temperature and have to hover over the oven to make sure your food doesnt burn! One day the kettle blew up so they bought a new one. i got scalded off the new one as it was broken too. And they don't pick you up from the transit centre! The one good thing about this place was a guy called matt -- always friendly and helpful no matter what the time of day. — Anon (2006-06-29) i arrived 30 july 05 as this was the first hostel i was dropped off at after hoping off the plane. not a bad place. sure things could be better but they could be a lot worse. friendly atmosphere all round, could be a bit stricter with the rules but then again the'd be no fun then. pretty cool view up top on the roof and always plenty of laughs happenin'. met plenty of cool people. a few tips -- maybe a bigger kitchen, separate lounge with couches and you'll be sweet! — lee and awhi (2006-05-11) After spending seven months travelling here in Australia, Cloud 9 has been home for the last two months. We planned on staying a few days in Brisbane but weve felt so at home here in this lovely Hostel that we have ended up staying much longer. The staff here are so helpful. They really go out of their way to help and they found me a great job within two days of our arrival. They clean twice a day, and the rooms are quiet and comfortable. We got to know heaps of great people because Cloud 9 is a small up-market Hostel and very social. The staff know most of us by name which is so rare. We loved the roof deck -- the views of the City and water just have to be seen to be believed. In our first week here, they opened their new Backpacker Bar -- this place is honestly the best and funkiest Backpacker Bar I've ever seen. They do the usual stuff -- Karaoke, Pool competitions etc but they also have totally cool bands playing a few times a week and really cheap and interesting drink specials every night. It's no wonder this Hostel is so popular -- the owners Kev and Phil have got it all right and I wish them the best success...we will definitely be back here towards the end of our trip. — jennie canavan (2006-04-29) I have been staying at Cloud 9 for over 2 months already and I am going to be staying until December 2005! I think it is one of the friendliest hostels I have ever stayed at. The staff are great and very welcoming, they will go out of their way to do anything for you. The roof deck is amazing with a beautiful view over the whole of Brisbane, and nightly drinking sessions!!! This is the only hostel to stay in when in BRISBANE. — Anon (2005-10-12) We were expecting a twin en suite, but the shower and toilet were shared with the room next door. The room was not cleaned and was dirty and smelly, and a dead bug was found in the "en suite." We asked the staff to clean the room but they didn't. The staff were very unfriendly; we didn't see any of them smile at all in our dreadful two-day stay. It was also very noisy; we could hear our neighbors. I would not recommend this backpackers to anyone. The description on their Web site is completely misleading. It is not like a 5-star hotel! — Wendy (2005-10-03) I stayed here for a week and enjoyed it a lot! The staff were great, especially "The Champ" and Mary Beth! They were the very helpful and friendly, and Kevin and "Rocket" were extremely helpful and a pleasure to be around. The owner looked like Dave Navarro and was a little crazy, but nice. The roof deck was great; it gave us all a place to hang out in the sun. The hostel is very clean! Definitely stay here if you get the chance! — Leigh Currie (2005-08-20)