The Hostelz.com Review
Alice Lodge is an established hostel that has been reasonably maintained over time and has a nice home-like feel. The subdued location and atmosphere caters for young and old travellers alike. The rooms are basic but clean, comfortable, and include fans, fridge, and heaters – the latter is handy in the peak winter season. A range of accommodation levels and pricing is available.
Reception is open 8:30 am until lunch and 4:30 - 7:00 pm during peak times. The management is friendly and happy to service most needs when practical, including free shuttles and bag storage whilst on tour.
Cooking facilities are typical hostel fare. The kitchen is decently appointed (multiple stoves, ovens, microwaves, and ring burners) but as usual, it could be cleaner as guests are required to tidy up after themselves -- and let's face it, many don't. The toilet facilities are well maintained and clean, even in wet weather, and feature some amusing murals of local wildlife. Coin operated laundry facilities are also available on site.
Entertainment-wise the hostel offers a small but clean pool, pleasant courtyard seating, bike hire (from $12 per half day), a small and dark (not very appealing) TV/games room, and a coin operated internet kiosk. Pray for good weather as there's not much to do around the place if the rain sets in.
The delights of central Alice are not far away (further than most hostels however) and if you wish to stay closer to home, a Foodland supermarket, dine-in/take-away Indian, and a great little Fish and Chips shop are a very short walk across the park from the hostel. Tour-wise, reception offers discounts on tours to Ulura, Kings Canyon and other attractions, but there is no obligation to book these through Alice Lodge, as is apparently the case at some competing hostels around town.
In summary the hostel is a small, relaxed, and cost effective option for travellers looking for a quieter place to rest the head than larger, more party-oriented hostels in town.
Directions
Alice Lodge is a 5 minute walk from the north end of Todd Mall and 10 minutes from the town centre. The most direct route is across the Wills Terrace/Undoolya Road causeway, then take a quick right/left/right turn combination in Mueller St. The river crossing can be dangerous after dark.
The other option is the longer route over the Stott Terrace bridge (then 1st left/right/left). Note that Alice Lodge staff will pick travellers up at the train station if arriving on the Ghan – ask when you make your booking.
Reception is open 8:30 am until lunch and 4:30 - 7:00 pm during peak times. The management is friendly and happy to service most needs when practical, including free shuttles and bag storage whilst on tour.
Cooking facilities are typical hostel fare. The kitchen is decently appointed (multiple stoves, ovens, microwaves, and ring burners) but as usual, it could be cleaner as guests are required to tidy up after themselves -- and let's face it, many don't. The toilet facilities are well maintained and clean, even in wet weather, and feature some amusing murals of local wildlife. Coin operated laundry facilities are also available on site.
Entertainment-wise the hostel offers a small but clean pool, pleasant courtyard seating, bike hire (from $12 per half day), a small and dark (not very appealing) TV/games room, and a coin operated internet kiosk. Pray for good weather as there's not much to do around the place if the rain sets in.
The delights of central Alice are not far away (further than most hostels however) and if you wish to stay closer to home, a Foodland supermarket, dine-in/take-away Indian, and a great little Fish and Chips shop are a very short walk across the park from the hostel. Tour-wise, reception offers discounts on tours to Ulura, Kings Canyon and other attractions, but there is no obligation to book these through Alice Lodge, as is apparently the case at some competing hostels around town.
In summary the hostel is a small, relaxed, and cost effective option for travellers looking for a quieter place to rest the head than larger, more party-oriented hostels in town.
Directions
Alice Lodge is a 5 minute walk from the north end of Todd Mall and 10 minutes from the town centre. The most direct route is across the Wills Terrace/Undoolya Road causeway, then take a quick right/left/right turn combination in Mueller St. The river crossing can be dangerous after dark.
The other option is the longer route over the Stott Terrace bridge (then 1st left/right/left). Note that Alice Lodge staff will pick travellers up at the train station if arriving on the Ghan – ask when you make your booking.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2005
Their Description
Alice Lodge Backpackers Details
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Alice Lodge Backpackers Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Rude staff, poor customer service I stayed at this place for two nights and then decided to stay a third. I wad told I had to switch rooms which was fine. I cleared my stuff and left it in their storage room while I went out. I did however forget to take my food out of the fridge. When I got back the food had disappeared which wasn't a big deal. But when I asked the guy at reception he said "that's your tough sh*t". The I went to ask the cleaner and the guy at reception told the cleaner to tell me to piss off. That was my breaking point when I got mad at him for being so rude. He then continued to be a smart ass and in the end I decided to leave to another hostel. Furthermore, when I asked for a tax invoice he refused to give me one. Never staying there again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone at all!!! — Anonymous , Australian (2011-05-30) Spend your Alice Spring days here! Excellent staff here. Brendan and PJ were very friendly and helpful. And Brendans dog is awesome. I miss him! These people know how to run a backpackers place. The rooms were very clean, bathroom and toilets as well. The hostel is not that big, and that makes it a nice and cosy place to stay. You'll have a relaxed time here in this hostel. Highly recommended! — Inge , Belgium (2011-05-27) Rude reception, awful customer service, not a good place to stay We, a group of three, stayed here in mid November, 2010, and had a very unhappy experience with the staff. One of the staffers had recommended us a Uluru tour, which, we believe, was organized by some companies associated with the hostel, but we chose to join a tour from another backpacker hostel instead. When we talked about the tour with the staff, he immediately became extremely rude, and yelled at us "sh*t!!!", "f***!!!!" and many other disrespectful comments. He printed out a review online about the tour we had booked, saying all the bad things you can ever imagine about the tour. He then told us to "go away". We decided to leave this place, and asked him for refund, but he started saying something like "I only care about you" blah blah blah. As customers, we do have the rights to choose which tour we want. We are extremely disappointed that we were treated so badly when we refused to go with them. It was truly the worst hostel we had ever stayed with. — Anonymous , Hong Kong (2010-11-19) Nice place to relax We stayed there in October 2009. Located at the other side of Todd River, there's a ten-minute walk to downtown. This hostel is a pretty small place but it is calm and relaxing. Staff is young and helpful. There's a free breakfast and free internet (but did not work when we were there). Our room was in a caravan -- imaginative! I feared I might be disturbed by noise or be chilling but not an issue in October. The room features a fridge and air conditioning/heat. Our journey there was nice. — Mike , Europe (2010-05-27) Nice place to chill but money grubbing owners Was here for the winter. Hostel beds were great, rooms spacious, and they have a fridge, though quite pricey. The hostel owners shown some dishonesty in the running of their hostel. I told them I was interested in signing for a tour and asked for more information, they asked for my credit details and processed a deposit without my prior consent. No biggie. I wanted to go on the tour anyway. But then i found out some guests were given free nights and a cheaper price when they signed for the same tour with them. And when i pointed out that discrepancy to them, i was given a slap-in-the-face response "It really depends on who the person is." What? If you're in alice to see the rocks and not staying for long, you would probably be better off staying at some other hostel than with one only eager to milk more money from their guests. See if you can spot the owners checking the pay phone for spare dimes if you do decide to stay. unbelievable. — Ben , Singapore (2009-07-18) Excellent! I stayed here for two nights in December 2008 and had a fantastic time! The facilities are excellent and well-maintained, the dorms all have ceiling fans that keep you cool, and the communal TV and internet room is cosy and a really sociable place to be, and the swimming pool offers welcome relief from the heat. The internet operates on an "honestly policy" for payment and works really well, and there is a free luggage store for when you go on your tours of Uluru. It is an easy five-minute walk into town, and four-minute walk to the supermarket, however if you are going out at night make sure you walk in groups of four or more, or catch a taxi. Free airport pick-up and cheap airport drop-off make Alice Lodge an excellent budget option. Highly recommended. — Roz , UK (2008-12-02) Great place to stay A quiet, well-maintained hostel. Clean, free breakfast, free internet, friendly people. You do end up spending more to stay here since you have to take taxis back at night (it's not safe to walk around Alice at night) but I think it's worth it. — ala737 , USA (2007-10-19) Homey, relaxing, friendly This hostel is really chilled out. manager is friendly and very helpful with info about tours and things to see and do in alice. Pool is refreshing and trust me with temps in Alice springs you need it. the hostel has big trees to relax under in the hammocks for reading. all in all nice, friendly relaxed place. oh and it has free breakfast and internet too. — TheDiver , irish (2007-07-13) the hostel is a quiet and nice place. good atmosphere and only five minutes walk from city center. the managers are very helpful and internet was free, also they gave us field mattresses with no extra charge to our uluru trip (although it was a self drive and wasnt booked through the hostel). facilities are in good condition and clean and there's a breakfast and coffee and tea during the day. rooms are spacious with heating and tidy linen and it only cost us eighteen dollars per night. i really cannot say anything bad about this hostel. great time and atmosphere were the best part of our stay. — shai (2006-08-06) This hostel was clean and the owners were friendly and helpful. The double rooms are really cheap and the pool is lovely and clean. From what we have heard about hostels in Alice, this is probably one of the better ones. — Claire (2005-03-06) The people here are very friendly, and very helpful in setting up trips. Alice Springs is hot and the pool is refreshing. But the Web site can be deceiving, for the pool is very small. The grocery store was a close walk from here and the kitchen at the lodge was good. It's a fun place. — Brett (2004-10-23) I found this place to be very clean, comfortable, and secure. The managers were very helpful and compliant. I would recommend it very highly for finding the necessary resources for the things I needed. — Anonymous (2004-07-17) You must have got a different person to the rest of us Cathy..... — Charlie (2004-05-18) This is a relaxed place in a stylish building. I had a nice time there although I think that the person at the reception is not very helpful. But if you are used to organise all your stuff by yourself it is a quiet and great place to stay. — Cathy (2003-05-03)