Caloundra City Backpackers

Caloundra City Backpackers is pretty affordable. The place was better than expected -- it's a small hostel but good enough for a night's stay.

The Location

This hostel is close to the main street, Bulcock Street. It is about two minutes' walk to K-mart and Coles, and five minutes' walk to the beach! It is not that easy to find at night, if you don't have a GPS system and you have to rely on the traditional street directory (like we did). The neighbourhood is pretty quiet and dimly-lighted by 7 p.m. The area is boring at night -- nothing to do except have dinner! One good point is that the hostel has its own small parking area.

Rooms and Bathrooms

We stayed in a six-share dorm. There aren't any in-room lockers -- probably the lady knew we were a group of six and we didn't have a need for lockers. We got two sets of keys to lock the dorm. The lady even taught us what we had to do to get back in if we went out after 9 p.m.

The beds are not comfortable -- you can actually feel the springs in the bed poking out. But the room and beds are extremely clean -- no bedbugs, no worries. The bathrooms are also really clean! From the pictures, you can see that there is space to change in the shower cubicles and hooks/shelves for your clothes.

Common Spaces

The hostel is quite small, but there are two kitchens (one on ground level, one on upper level)! There are tables in the kitchen, and the balcony area to just chill out. They have a vending machine for your midnight cravings! But do not use the internet -- it is rubbish! We put money in to use the internet and we couldn't even check out email, no matter how much we tried. It is a dull and quiet hostel -- people usually come in groups and they stick to their groups. You could get to meet other backpackers if you wanted, but there are very few people staying there. They have a laundry room and an open area to sun the clothes.

Summary

The hostel provides the basic amenities, but there is simply nothing to do at night around the area. The pool table is in a bad condition because too many people have sat on the pool table. The billiard balls actually roll back!

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review