The Hostelz.com Review
Westend Backpackers (formerly called Footprints Westend, and then Legend Has It Westend, before it was renamed yet again) is located on Pitt Street, approximately five minutes' walk from central station. There is a convenience store next door, fast food outlets nearby, and backpackers bars close by. It is quite easy to find -- just look for the smokers sitting outside on the steps (smoking is not allowed inside the hostel), and you should be in the right place.
The reception is bright and inviting, and there are plenty of notice boards dotted about with information ranging from nights out, local cheap eats, jobs, and items for sale. There is a small internet area also. The building is high rise, but there are two lifts for anyone feeling particularly idle.
The cheapest of the dorms sleeps twenty-eight people (mixed) and is called the church -- probably only due to the windows being stained glass, as nothing else would equate it to being a house of God! The floor is dirty, and the room is very messy, but the bins are emptied regularly, and it doesn't smell too much. The bed linen appear clean, and we didn't find any nasty bites after having slept in the sheets. However, the beds are all bunks, and none have ladders.
There are four unisex toilets for the dorm, four unisex showers, and one disabled toilet/shower room. The water is hot, the doors lock, and there is always toilet paper. They are of a reasonable standard of cleanliness, but the plug on the hand dryer doesn't actually reach the socket, so it is a little pointless. The kitchen is of a decent size, and never seems too crowded. There aren't quite enough cups to go round, but better equipped than many other hostels. Every one seems quite tidy, the sides are clean, and no dirty dishes are left lying around. There is a large eating area, and also a TV room adjacent.
The hostel is nothing special, and it offers a reasonable standard of accommodation. However, what makes this hostel better than many of the others is the vibe that it has. Everyone is really friendly, and in the big Church dorm, every mixes and socialises together. If you want to be centrally located, and party until your feet drop off, then this place may have what you need.
The reception is bright and inviting, and there are plenty of notice boards dotted about with information ranging from nights out, local cheap eats, jobs, and items for sale. There is a small internet area also. The building is high rise, but there are two lifts for anyone feeling particularly idle.
The cheapest of the dorms sleeps twenty-eight people (mixed) and is called the church -- probably only due to the windows being stained glass, as nothing else would equate it to being a house of God! The floor is dirty, and the room is very messy, but the bins are emptied regularly, and it doesn't smell too much. The bed linen appear clean, and we didn't find any nasty bites after having slept in the sheets. However, the beds are all bunks, and none have ladders.
There are four unisex toilets for the dorm, four unisex showers, and one disabled toilet/shower room. The water is hot, the doors lock, and there is always toilet paper. They are of a reasonable standard of cleanliness, but the plug on the hand dryer doesn't actually reach the socket, so it is a little pointless. The kitchen is of a decent size, and never seems too crowded. There aren't quite enough cups to go round, but better equipped than many other hostels. Every one seems quite tidy, the sides are clean, and no dirty dishes are left lying around. There is a large eating area, and also a TV room adjacent.
The hostel is nothing special, and it offers a reasonable standard of accommodation. However, what makes this hostel better than many of the others is the vibe that it has. Everyone is really friendly, and in the big Church dorm, every mixes and socialises together. If you want to be centrally located, and party until your feet drop off, then this place may have what you need.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2007
Their Description
For a FREE* Airport pickup call us on free call (minimum stay three or more nights and only available between 6am and 7pm)
Free pasta and free rice everyday
Cancellation:
* No charge by Westend Backpackers will be made to guests if cancellation occurs 48 hours prior to their arrival date, except during peak periods where 7 days notice is required.
* Cancellations that occur with less than 48 hours notice will incur a fee of the first night of the total booking.
* All groups of 10 or more must contact West end directly.
* Groups of 10 or more are not entitled to free airport pickup
* Cancellations that occur with less than 7 days notice during Peak Periods will incur a fee of 50% of the total booking.
* Credit card payment will incur a surcharge of 2.5%*
Peak Periods:
* If you plan to arrive between the 21st December 2011 and 4th January 2012 a minimum stay of 10 nights is required.
* Reservations are to be secured by prepayment or guaranteed by credit card. All reservations GTD by credit card will be charged in full on the 01st December 2011. Credit Cards which decline will have their reservations cancelled.
* Cancellations after the 1st December 2011 and before arrival date) will incur a penalty equal to that of your accommodation. No Refunds will be given.
* Failure to arrive on the reserved day will incur a full charge and cancellation of the said reservation.
Please note, if booking more than one person into a dorm room we cannot guarantee you will be in the same room. We will try our best!
Free pasta and free rice everyday
Cancellation:
* No charge by Westend Backpackers will be made to guests if cancellation occurs 48 hours prior to their arrival date, except during peak periods where 7 days notice is required.
* Cancellations that occur with less than 48 hours notice will incur a fee of the first night of the total booking.
* All groups of 10 or more must contact West end directly.
* Groups of 10 or more are not entitled to free airport pickup
* Cancellations that occur with less than 7 days notice during Peak Periods will incur a fee of 50% of the total booking.
* Credit card payment will incur a surcharge of 2.5%*
Peak Periods:
* If you plan to arrive between the 21st December 2011 and 4th January 2012 a minimum stay of 10 nights is required.
* Reservations are to be secured by prepayment or guaranteed by credit card. All reservations GTD by credit card will be charged in full on the 01st December 2011. Credit Cards which decline will have their reservations cancelled.
* Cancellations after the 1st December 2011 and before arrival date) will incur a penalty equal to that of your accommodation. No Refunds will be given.
* Failure to arrive on the reserved day will incur a full charge and cancellation of the said reservation.
Please note, if booking more than one person into a dorm room we cannot guarantee you will be in the same room. We will try our best!
Nomads Westend Details
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Location/ContactHow is Nomads Westend rated on other websites?
Nomads Westend Reviews on Other Websites
location and staff friendliness
— Leila Jamied (2012-01-17)
Hostelbookers
friendly staff and good location
— Customer review (2012-01-17)
Hostelbookers
Nothing
— Customer review (2012-01-17)
Hostelbookers
It is good for having lots of parties and drinking but not if you are looking for work. The free pasta and rice is good.
— Customer review (2012-01-12)
Hostelbookers
Myself and 4 friends were in a family room, sheets on bed were stained, bedding damp, noisy air con, thick mould on window, constant dripping sound from above bathroom, filthy carpet and bathroom, we used anti bac wipes to clean shower and wipes were thick muck after! Room far to small for 5 people with luggage, no storage. Lifts were hot smelly and slow. Kitchen was filthy, never any clean pots! Laundry room average, although we found our laundry had been taken out of dryer early and dumped in the bin! Broken ironing board. Lobby smelt very belt of urine. Only positives are that they put on good nights/ days out free wine and BBQ etc, good place to meet people and socialise. Friendly helpful staff.
— Customer review (2012-01-06)
Hostelbookers
In a good location
— Emily Fallick (2012-01-03)
Hostelbookers
Great location, good event organisation, nice friendly staff.
— Alexandra Bonnett (2011-11-20)
Hostelbookers
Great location and nice stuff at the reception
— ELENA JOBES (2011-11-11)
Hostelbookers
Nothing really
— Imelda Gillick (2011-10-28)
Hostelbookers
staff was great
— Customer review (2011-10-24)
Hostelbookers
The staned glass windows, friendly staff, the lovely people i met, the free pasta and rice.
— Melissa Gilligan (2011-10-17)
Hostelbookers
The situation and the kitchen facilities
— Customer review (2011-10-14)
Hostelbookers
i loved all the reception staff they where very helpfull and lots of fun!! i would like to stay there after my travels!! i have made lots of friend there, its a great place to meet other travellers!! there was alway fun activities to be done!! brilliant!!
— meta croft (2011-10-13)
Hostelbookers
Staff and guests
— Customer review (2011-10-10)
Hostelbookers
The kitchen was open 24h which is good if you're hungry after a night out.
— Customer review (2011-10-03)
Hostelbookers
Friendly staff.
— Customer review (2011-09-29)
Hostelbookers
The Australian Receptionist and some other members of staff were great. The other travellers I met there were lovely.
— Customer review (2011-09-12)
Hostelbookers
I've stayed in this hostel on five separate occasions now i.e. whenever I'm in Sydney. Each and every time I have enjoyed my stay, and not wanted to leave. It's one of those super-friendly hostels where you are bound to meet other people, the long termers aren't cliquey and a goon filled evening is guaranteed (the hostel provides free goon several nights a week) if you want it. For those who want a quiet night in, it's also available, because the lack of a bar means that there's no pumping music to keep you awake. People love it so much, there's several who have been there for more than six months. Also, the hostel has given me free upgrades at least twice, meaning that I only paid $15 for a 6-bed dorm last time I stayed there. Free pasta and rice every day. At one stage it was in a state of disrepair, but they've now got on top of that and renovated a substantial proportion of the hostel.
— Helena Gardner (2011-09-04)
Hostelbookers
I like the location and freebies
— Customer review (2011-08-30)
Hostelbookers
i quite enjoyed the stay at your hostel, but it was simply very dirty and that was sad.
— Sandra, Germany (2011-01-15)
Hostelsclub
Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Be careful! This is not the worst backpackers I have stayed in. You need to be extremely careful, though. The staff are (although friendly) often trying to make you pay for something you didn't book or you already paid for. Before I arrived in Sydney I booked this backpackers for me and two of my friends. We clearly stated that we wished to stay in the six-bed room. When we arrived a staff member told us that we had booked the family room (this room is more expensive). I told them that we did not book the family room and that we wanted to stay in the six-bed room but the staff member said that there were no free beds there and that we had to stay in the family room. We were very tired and exhausted so we just agreed to stay there and went to sleep. A few hours later the staff member woke us up and told us that they had made a mistake and that the family room wasn't available and we should move to the six-bed room (and what a surprise they now had free beds there and not only three but five). Later they also told my friend that she hadn't paid for one of the nights even though she did (good thing she kept the receipt). Our bathroom door was broken as well (you couldn't close it properly and had to lift it up to close it). We asked for it to be repaired about twenty times before they finally sent someone to fix it. This is not the worst backpackers to stay in but be careful! Keep all of your receipts! You may need them. — Lily , Australia (2008-04-28) very basic the hostel was cleanish very basic we had a double room with a bathroom opp which was cleaned everyday. only problem was the bathroom door was for some reason was slatered so u could atually see into the bathroom from the hall which was quite werid and i spents lots of time checking if people were walking past before jumping out of shower! i was a good hostel to meet people tho as theres something to do everynight. when we stayed there there was a school group of about 20 kids and was not happy when they had to get up for whatever trip they was going on at 5am and was running and screaming along corridors.... so be aware they book in schools!!! — laura , england (2008-01-15) Horrible This was by far the worst hostel I've stayed in Australia -- and I've stayed in a lot of hostels. Our room had cockroaches crawling all up and down the wall, the ceiling was covered in mold, the bathroom was absolutely disgusting, and the staff was extremely unfriendly. "Legend has it -- this place sucks!" Do yourself a favor and stay anywhere else in Sydney. — Lauren , USA (2007-06-14) Was booked in here as part of our Visa package -- reading reviews on way out left me v concerned. Overall though this is not as bad as some reviews would have it. Our room (private twin) was clean, but tiny and one double bed. Also had air con which was needed in Jan!! Had private bathroom (though this was across hall). Kitchen was large and well stocked, with the breakfast reasonable for the money paid. However, the hostel is HUGE and so has no atmosphere. Front of House staff are rude and do not help to sell the place to you -- and considering the number of guests, the presence of only 4 computers -- one of which was broken -- was poor. Also the bathroom doors have metal slats in the central panel, meaning that you have no privacy while in there as it is possible to see through -- unacceptable. There are MUCH better hostels in this area. Some major refurbishment and change of staff are required to make this the great hostel it should be. Ok for a night's sleep but not much more. — Jacqui , Ireland (2007-05-17) just terrible, feels like you've been condemned to serve time. you do anything to avoid going back to the hostel, so you spend lots of money in the surrounding areas as a reprieve, which is bad news all round for travelers. — jono , england (2007-04-16) i think that this hostel is actually pretty good. i stayed in the church which is a twenty-eight-bed dorm and was surprisingly quieter than many of the smaller dorms i have been in. the room has a large air con unit so it is always a nice temperature to sleep in. there are large basket style lockers underneath your bed -- which you just need a padlock for. and cleaners come tidy the room every morning. it's not the greatest hostel in the world but better than many that i have been in before and i think it deserves a little more credit than it has been given. — stewart (2007-02-03) Not exactly the nicest hostel I've stayed in, but I'm putting it as a two-star one as the majority of the staff were lovely! Really helpful, and welcoming and wanted to get you involved in everything, which is a plus! But the room wasn't the greatest, there were holes in the walls, broken windows (as in couldn't close them), extremely dirty bathroom and bed sheets, and just not the nicest place! — Evelyn (2007-01-16) This is the best hostel I have stayed at in my 5 months of traveling.The staff are super friendly and helpful, I ended up staying here for a month. The kitchen is cleaned daily and so are the rooms. The cleaners always had a smile for me. There is always something happening in the evenings, they like to keep you entertained. The table area is not that clean but that's due to people not tiding up after themselves not the staff! I could stay at this place forever! — Lucy (2007-01-14) This is definitely the worst hostel we have stayed in during our three months away. The duvet in the room was brown with stains and the smell was so bad we had to stuff it in a wardrobe just to get through the first night. The following day we asked for the duvet to be changed, this was done but the cleaning staff took our own sleeping bag liner and it was never returned (they could not find it anywhere in their laundry and quite frankly they weren't bothered about finding it, they said we would have to contact the cleaning company directly). There were condom wrappers under the bed and cockroaches in the room. Eventually we changed rooms (the only reason we stayed was because we had paid upfront and couldn't afford to lose money). The kitchen is so small and hardly has any utensils to cook with. The feeling from this hostel is that because you are a backpacker you have no standards and you should just be grateful for a bed even though you are a paying customer. In our opinion, do not stay here. — Gareth & Charlene (2006-10-19) What a revolting place. Unhelpful staff to say the least. I got some kind of freakish bites all over my body whilst staying there, had to pay $60 to go to the doctor, I told the staff and managers numerous times but I was made feel like a leper. People would come into the room I was staying in and leave the hostel straight away again as I looked so badly bitten. I had to pay to launder all my clothes, sheets, sleeping bag, there was no help given by the staff. They just wanted rid of me. Then more people started to get bitten and it was taken more seriously. It was filthy dirty and I would say please don't go there if you want to enjoy Sydney. There is nothing good about it and its too expensive for what it is. Don't believe all the free things they are supposed to give you either because they don't deliver. — shazza (2006-10-18) What an absolute sh*thole. I think "Skidmarks" would be a more fitting name for this place than "Footprints." The shower curtains in all the bathrooms are without a doubt the dirtiest ones you have seen in all your life! And as soon as you open the tap and they get wet, the smell comes at you from all sides. The only good thing to say about the place is that they had a stunning Norwegian girl working at reception, whose smile still made life sort of worthwhile in this dumphole. Absolute no-go!!! — Jules (2006-03-30) What a complete and utter dump. The rooms are very tatty and are in serious need of a re-vamp - they are much too dark and our room had no air conditioning which made staying there in the height of the summer pretty unbearable. The staff are pretty useless too - despite pre-booking (and paying for) our stay for 8 nights whilst still in England, the staff seemed intent on posting signs on our door claiming that we owed them more money! The only positive aspect of the staff was the fit blonde who worked there! — Anon (2006-02-26) Footprints is a great hostel, especially if you're travelling on your own. Some of the guests go away for a while and then come back so there is always a friendly face who knows Sydney and all the good bars/places to go.The staff are very friendly and organize things like quiz nights etc. You also have the opportunity to work/help out with breakfast, etc. and get your bed for a lesser price per night. I have made friends for life in this hostel. As in any hostel if you leave your stuff lying around, they will get stolen. There are lockers you have to pay for. If you want an ultra super sterile/cold hostel, maybe look elsewhere but for me, Footprints Rocks and I will come back through out my year in Australia. — Maria (2005-07-27) Me and a friend unfortunately stayed there for 9 nights. The fire alarm went off seven times, twice in the middle of the night. The kitchen was much too small for the number of people that stayed there, and there was not enough cookware as well. The rooms were gross and cold, and the heater/air-conditioner smelled when it was on. Actually everything in the hostel smelled, especially the downstairs where you had to pay to for lockers. We used the tour services and they messed up our further accommodations. They told us that the shuttle to the airport was nonstop; well, actually 15 stops and 45 minutes later we were at the airport. Overall this was the worst hostel, not even worth the cheap price. — Anonymous (2005-07-21) We stayed there in July 2004. I'm afraid I can't see how it wins any awards, as 90 percent of the other hostels we stayed in were much better.
The kitchen and common areas are way too small for the number of people. The kitchen is best avoided for most of the day, as you cannot use the hobs, etc., as they're being used for cooking rice or whatever (no, I'm not joking). Our food was stolen, too.
The staff try, though, and the location is central. But I'm afraid I can't recommend it. — Matt (2005-06-13)