Cokers Backpackers

Since it's located in a nondescript two story building, you could be forgiven for walking right past Cokers Backpackers. It does have a large neon sign hanging onto the street announcing the hostel, though. The bland exterior hides the building's former life as an upscale hotel -- this also explains the full bar and restaurant also located inside the hostel and parking lot in the back, handy for those who arrive in camper vans. The icing on top would be the travel/activity booking and information service next to reception.

The Location

Cokers is barely a few minutes' walk outside the small city center proper. The free city center bus shuttle that runs in circles stops a block away and the city’s central bus exchange is about a five-minute walk. A bus stop straight to the airport is also about a block away. A hypermarket is two blocks away and will come in handy when you find out what’s in the kitchen of the hostel.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Though no longer a hotel, you can still see some of the former glory in the rooms with en-suite, which contain AC outlets that accept different country plugs. Some even have dressers with mirrors. Though there are no in room lockers, reception will hold personal items for you and there is a luggage room. Rooms come in single all the way up to eight-bunk dorms.

Most of the rooms are en-suite and the bathrooms are nicer than hostel bathrooms. There is one section located in the very back of the ground floor that houses all the rooms that are not en-suite. The communal bathrooms there are generally clean thanks to the all stainless steel showers but they can be a bit cramped. This entire back section of non-en-suite rooms also feels noticeably colder so you may want to think twice in winter for these rooms. The entire hostel has The Far Side cartoons posted throughout so you won’t find yourself bored while using the bathroom.

Common Spaces

The common spaces are where Cokers really shines. The industrial-size kitchen with a ridiculous cornucopia of free-to-use cookware and cutlery gives you the sense that many a banquet has been prepared here. Just when you’ve picked up your jaw, you’ll lose it again when you step into the walk-in refrigerator. There are three stoves each with four burners and a microwave. Combined with the hypermarket down the street, you have everything you need to cook anything for any amount of people.

The dining room doubles as a social area and is equally spacious. There’s even a small outdoor court should you feel the urge to dine al fresco. Across the way, there is the TV room with a large, flat-screen TV along with the hostel’s video collection and comfortable lounge sofas and chairs. There’s another quieter but still roomy lounge upstairs. Internet access comes in the form of four desktops in the reception area that charged by length of use; Wi-Fi is also available throughout most of the hostel, charged per megabyte at a very reasonable rate.

Two pay phones are there as well as a coin-operated laundry facility. The bar and restaurant are sizable, with two pool tables, TVs, and friendly drink specials. It’s usually quiet during the week but picks up on Friday and Saturday nights. Having the bar also tends to separate the raucous activity to the bar side, while the dining/social area usually never exceeds very friendly drunken chatter. The guests are overwhelmingly young backpackers and so during the day the hostel is fairly empty.

Summary

Cokers is a well run hostel with many conveniences and they usually have a few beds left when all the other hostels are booked up. They have a toll-free phone number, handy for when you just arrive at the airport, and twenty-four-hour reception (though be sure to call first if you check in after midnight as the receptionist is usually away from the desk and you need a room key to open the front door).

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2010