The Hostelz.com Review
Palace Backpackers is located in the heart of Brisbane, opposite Central Station. The hostel itself is a very large highrise building with several floors of accommodation. The dorm rooms are spacious, and contain locker space for all of its tenants. Some rooms have a balcony, while others do not. The building is generally clean and well maintained, but this is constantly countered by high backpacker traffic.
The Downunder Bar is located on the basement floor of the building and is guaranteed to go off every night. Unfortunately, the sheer size of the Palace ensures that the atmosphere is pretty empty. The massive kitchen is where most of the activity takes place, and is your best bet to meet fellow travellers. The Downunder Bar also serves food, but with so many other nearby options, it really is a last resort.
Finally, due to its size, Palace Backpackers is not very flexible in terms of early check-ins or late check-outs. To mitigate this inconvenience, a large storage room is provided at no charge.
The Downunder Bar is located on the basement floor of the building and is guaranteed to go off every night. Unfortunately, the sheer size of the Palace ensures that the atmosphere is pretty empty. The massive kitchen is where most of the activity takes place, and is your best bet to meet fellow travellers. The Downunder Bar also serves food, but with so many other nearby options, it really is a last resort.
Finally, due to its size, Palace Backpackers is not very flexible in terms of early check-ins or late check-outs. To mitigate this inconvenience, a large storage room is provided at no charge.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2004
Their Description
Base Brisbane - Central Details
|
|
(To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.)
Map Location/ContactHow is Base Brisbane - Central rated on other websites?
Base Brisbane - Central Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Great! Stayed here for a couple of nights back in February for the Brisbane International Motor Show. The bad news is that the males bathrooms are, well, not pretty. Like, they're clean and everything, but they look really crummy. Other than that though, its fine -- the beds are comfortable, and so long as you're far enough upstairs its quiet at night. And being right across the road from Central Station is very convenient, you can access most of the city via the QR CityTrain network, so having the station right across the road is very convenient. Plan to come back in a couple of weeks, can't wait! All in all, a good place, so long as you keep an open mind, and have been backpacking before. Have fun with the lift! — Dave , Queensland, Australia (2008-04-04) Worst I have experienced This was the worst backpackers/hostel I have ever visited. I have traveled Australia and New Zealand before, Asia, Africa, and North America. The dominant attitude at the hostel seemed to be "take what you can and screw everyone else." The rooms were overpriced and dirty, they did not follow up on promised services (free bus to transit station), the internet and food was a rip-off, and worst of all they had loudspeakers hung in the hallways so that some moron could yell into a mic for five minutes at a time to try to entice you to the bar with prolonged idiotic banter. This "take what you can and screw everyone else" attitude permeated other guests as well. Toilets were not flushed, dishes were not cleaned, there was snot on the walls, and people were generally noisy and obnoxious. We hid in our room throughout our stay and nonetheless were disappointed or offended at every turn. — Jonathan White , Canadian (2008-02-19) Good location, good bar, good night club i left there yesterday feeling cheated, make sure when you pay for your room get a receipt. i had paid for two nights and then i extended my stay twice which means i paid for four nights, and she accused me of only paying for three nights when i was checking out, so not having a receipt to prove that i had payed it was a pointless argument.and got charged an extra $25. so someone in their staff is filling their pockets with other people's money. the first time i had extended my stay was when the guy on night shift was on, he never put it through the computer. after spending seven weeks in South america, which is supposed to the third world i never had any problems with getting ripped off, then i find myself been cheated when i go to the Palace Backpackers in Brisbane. i was so pissed off. so always ask for a receipt if you go there. — Doug campbell , scotland (2007-09-16) Great Location This hostel is in a great location right near the main shopping street in Brisbane-also opposite a train station!! The room I stayed in -- 6 bed dorm -- was really big and had a balcony. The only downside was the noise and lights from the busy intersection outside, we had to leave the door open due to it being warm. Was a bit of a walk from the room to the bathroom facilities but I guess that just depends on what room you get. — Hels , UK (2007-09-02) Best hostel ever! We have stayed here three times in the last year, we love the place! Rooms are big and clean. Bathrooms are spotless and are cleaned every day without fail. Downunder bar rocks! I can seriously say it is the best bar in the city with fun theme nights, it is packed every night! The place is really large but it is so easy to meet people walking down the hall. If you want to have fun stay here! Loved it! — Anon , Australia (2007-05-15) We stayed here for two nights in December 2004 and it was a fairly comfortable stay. The hostel is well located in the centre of the city and has been converted from an old hotel. Because of this and the sheer size, the ambiance is still much like that of a hotel rather than a backpacker's accommodation. The Palace does offer a free transit service to and from the bus station but this was not particularly well run. We had to wait over half an hour for the minibus to collect us and left fifteen minutes late to head back, which meant that we very nearly missed the next Greyhound to Surfers Paradise. Our private twin room on the fourth floor was fine if very small but be wary of the old elevator with the spring metal doors that could easily take an arm off when it slams shut! The Downunder Bar is located in the basement and this was actually good -- decent beer and food served at cheap prices. Brisbane itself is a very pretty and friendly place but ultimately dull as ditchwater. There is literally nothing to do when the sun is not shining. Overall, this hostel is fine but make sure that you move on sooner rather than later as you will be bored within just a few days. — Howlin' Mad (2007-03-23) This place is a hole! It's dirty, smelly, cold, and noisy and the job desk staff are crap! — Liz (2006-09-12) I stayed at the Palace. The staff were unfriendly except for one bloke and they had absolutely no knowledge of the area or the country. The rooms all had bed bugs and the staff were very unsympathetic towards the situation. Toilets were allways dirty and weren't cleaned for the four days I was there and nor were the bathrooms. If you want to waste your money stay here! — Tim - Nz (2006-03-04) I was lucky enough to have only one other person in the room with me during the stay. It was quiet, cool (in the room), centrally located, secure, and an overall good place. — Kat (2005-09-17) This was my first backpackers that I stayed in. It was very nice — I liked it a lot. You should stay here if you are travelling with other people. It's more fun there that way! — Tara, Glasgow (2005-08-27) Excellent location, clean room with nice bed. Lovely wooden floors and freshly painted room. Good security on doors. Clean bathrooms. The bar downstairs is nice. — Emma (2005-07-18) This place is excellent!! The kitchen is big enough, and some of the reception staff are hot!!! The DUB is a good bar; you need to go just to see the bar. — Anonymous (2005-04-23) The staff are absolutely lovely. I CANNOT believe the people who diss this place man. Take the time. Get to know everyone and you'll have a blast. It was a really special experience in my travels. I'll be back soon. — Anonymous (2005-04-11) This place has a great, central location. But if you're looking for a quiet place to crash, this is not the place for you. It can get quite loud, as there is a bar attached to it. HOWEVER, the bar has cheap beer and a good ambience. — Anonymous (2005-01-31) This place is in a top location and the Downunder Bar has a great location with loads going on. It also has an active job recruitment desk to help you pay for your stay! — Samson (2005-01-20)