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Cellblock Backpackers

Bundaberg

8 of 12
Address
Quay and Maryborough Street, Bundaberg Queensland, Australia   Map
Location/Contact
Details
Online booking is not offered for this Hostel. Contact them for availability and reservations (any contact info we have is listed above). See Bundaberg for other available Bundaberg accommodations.
Description
How is Cellblock Backpackers rated on other websites? (NEW)
Hostelworld
Not listed on Hostelworld.
Hostels.com
Not listed on Hostels.com.
HostelBookers
Not listed on HostelBookers.
Hostelsclub
Not listed on Hostelsclub.

Ratings & Comments

2.8 Average from 31 Ratings

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We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site — so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Jon Zakunts, France
January 2010
5 Money hungry C****
I gave them 5 stars at being Excellent at screwing you over! If you want to be in a hostel run by a money hungry C*nt, this is the place for you. Dirty, filthy, uncleaned hole smelling like rotten seafood left in the sun.
Comment by Tracey, New Zealand
December 2009
1 OWNER IS THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE I HAVE EVER MET!!!!
The Hostel is a pig sty, Owner JOHN is a money hungry C**T who treats his employees and backpackers like dirt. The reason why you dont get your deposits back is because it all goes into the pokies. The man cannot run a business to save himself is about to go bankrupt. Dont stay here unless you have heaps of money (cause there is no work) or you enjoy getting perved on by John and all his OLD so called friends. (Alcoholic PIGS.)
Comment by Chris, Canada
September 2009
2 Very poor
The people that were staying there were great, I had a great time with them but I had nothing but problems with John. He treated me like I was dirt all the time such as asking if I was deaf because I wasn't in the hostel to hear his announcement and after being in the hostel for a couple weeks I ended up going broke because I was getting two days a week and he took me off the work list because I couldn't pay the transport fees and I ended up having to borrow money from home. I ended up getting kicked out of the hostel along with my roommate because they assumed I was going to skip rent without even talking to me and took all my stuff out of my room and told me I had to leave immediately. I ended up going back to talk to John afterward to try and get my deposit back but because I didn't have my receipt, he wouldn't give me my $50 back. I would never ever recommend this hostel to anyone, they are more interested in money than good relations.
Comment by Amy, UK
March 2008
1 If you've any sense stay somewhere else -- the gutter would be better
Took over an hour to check in by understaffed and imcompetent staff. Then in the most disgusting smelling room ever with aircon which didn't work and the staff made no attempt to fix. Bathrooms filthy and not cleaned on time. I quote "I overslept" by cleaner, vomit over the corridor floor not cleaned up, and the kitchen was a health hazard -- and no staff available to try and fix the problem. Worst place I've ever stayed!
Comment by Brittany, Canada
December 2007
4 Go in with an open mind and a smile and you'll do fine!
Well my first impression wasn't the best and i was very unsure about how i was going to get though my three months. In the end i couldn't leave and ended up staying for an extra month. not everything is perfect but bus driver Ray really kept me going. The job i was given was awesome, i worked monday to friday around eleven to twelve hours a day and the money was good. The farm we worked for (simpsons) had some of the nicest people i've ever met. They would walk around and hand out candy during the day and when i left i received presents, cake, and tones of hugs. overall no matter where you stay in bundaberg there's not much to do, but at cellblock John would give us free beer on sundays and start up the pool parties. i met tones of awesome people and i know that i would always have somewhere to go if i needed a hand. thanks for all the good times.
Comment by emmanuelle, french
October 2007
1 Forget
if you like rubbishes come and stay at Cellblock! without apologies of the staff, you could find used condoms and a lot of things which could be more older than you. If you want that under your bed it's clean do yourself (like said the cleaner, she never did that before!). cellblock has been smart enough to make a bar, which makes people too drunk to see how disgusting it is. you spend your time to wait! waiting for a job, waiting for pans and pots which are locked, waiting in front of your door with the key which doesn't work (even if you make it fix twice in two minutes), and the best -- waiting ninety minutes after the end of your job, under a big sunshine that the bus come. it's just a fuc**** backpacker, dirty. if you want go please ask a copy of your contract. without that, jhonn will try to keep you $50 deposit. he did for some of us (and more if you're french -- they don't really like us).
Comment by Ludivine, France
October 2007
2 Clean but not very nice
Before checking in at the cellblock, just have a look at the guest book, then you will have the ex-residents opinion. This hostel is the cleanest of bundaberg but this hostel is a real mafia organisation -- everything is made in order to make you spend money! And more! Cleaners kept the pans and pots of the kitchen as hostages because they thought we were making their job harder than it was! So dirty kitchens and nothing to cook and nothing to wash our dishes! The work management sucks too -- the jobs are not good money compared to others backpackers of bundaberg. But i have to admit that i met very nice people in this hostel and backpacker form a very strong team against the f***ing staff of this hostel, because we are in the same sh** and we try to help each others. But Warning! Some backpackers appears to be nice but the are very diligent with management and they will not hesitate to denounce you to the staff if you do something wrong. Be careful. Advice -- there is a night bar where everybody go on saturday night named "Central" and thanks to the Cellblock stamp you have free entrance, but in order to have this stamp you have to drink a lot at the backpackers bar. Also you will have to do if you want a good job.
Comment by S Devon, British
September 2007
2 Good hostel (you pay through the nose for it though) but run by idiots
My advice to anyone looking for work in Bundy is do not come to Cellblock! If however you're only looking to get pissed by the pool then this is the place for you. The people I've met here are fantastic but you get screwed over from day one. If you are stupid enough to actually pay the $50 deposit to the John the "work manager" and I do use the word "work" very loosely because unless you're a girl flaunting yourself at him or a bloke getting pissed with him you don't really have much chance of getting any work! He claims you'll get your $50 back at the end of your time here, together with all your other deposits, but it is doubtful even if you do manage to get a receipt from him. Don't trust him, right now the standby list for work is at least five times bigger than the actual work list, and I don't know anyone on the standby list who's actually getting any work. He treats you like you're stupid and that he's doing you some big favour -- trust me the only person he's doing the favour is himself. I'm sure you can guess where all those deposits are going -- that's right, his pocket! Save yourself the time and trouble and go somewhere else, there are always lots of great people to meet everywhere.
Comment by SlickChicka, UK
August 2007
3 Hmmm
Well, it's not the only hostel in Bundy to have a pool but it is the only one to have a bar. So if you want to get wasted after picking tomatoes or packing caps for days on end then go wild. But there's lots of bars in Bundy -- and yes they are generally ugly, but that's Bundy. There are too many reviews about owners who drink too much to ignore on this site. Be careful, pull your head in, and take care if you're a decent looking girl! There is so much work in Bundy then visit CellBlock on Friday nights to party but for goodness sake don't stay there!
Comment by james, qld
June 2007
1 It sucks
it is a sh*thole. Don't go there.
Comment by Simon - The king of cellblock, Pommey
June 2007
5 Wherever you do your fruit picking, whether it is for that extra cash or that extra year down under, the work and the hours aint gonna be great but if you do it at cellblock the drinking, gambling, partying, and makeing good mates will get you through it with some great laughs on the way. The hostel has good facilities, bar, pool and TV room, and very much a work hard play hard attitude! Was a good home for three months and made the struggle of getting up at 5 a.m. for work harder due to hangovers but more bearable in the long run. Get to cellblock, it's a great crack.
Comment by sb, british
June 2007
2 Nice hostel, run by money-grabbing idiots
John, the owner is a absolute ass. You pay $50 deposit for work, then they don't give it back to you even though they have a record you've paid it. It's shocking that he is basically stealing money from backpackers for his own greedy needs. Ray the work manager is ok, but to be honest, you are fed a pack of lies from the moment you get there. Yeah, it's a nice hostel with a bar and pool, but i'd stay somewhere else if i were you. cellblock are more interested about you getting pissed and spending money in the bar than work. richard the co-owner, who comes to visit occasionally, is such a lovely guy and it's a shame for him that his hostel is being run by an alcoholic pig.
Comment by foxy
March 2007
5 i spent three and a half months in cellblock and had a fantastic time. the work is pretty rubbish and can be boring but what else can be expected from fruit picking? there are loads of working hostels in bundaberg but cellblock is by far the best, newer, cleaner with better amenities and the only one to have a pool and a bar so obviously more fun. if you want to earn some cash or that second visa this is the place to do it. i made great friends and had a wicked time especially afternoon drinking in the pool and trips to bundy's premiere nightclub, "Central." work is organised for you and transport is provided, sometimes you do have to wait around for ages but just go to sleep in the sun -- it's no biggy. loads of parties, fancy dress, pole fighting over the pool, syrup wrestling. happy days.
Comment by Dave
March 2007
5 During 2006, i stayed here three times for various reasons, usually because of events happening in bundy i wanted to go to. Every time i went it was nothing short of excellent. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the bar is great. If you're looking to stay at Bundy for whatever reason, go here! I'd have no problems staying here again, and would be more than happy to recommend it to anyone. Definitely looking forward to my next time here.
Comment by dan
February 2007
1 this place is nice but dirty. One time when i was making supper stu came in there and snapped at the mess that was left by someone else. He said that I would be kicked out if i didnt clean it up. Stu and jon think they are your bosses. They are both d*cks and i wouldn't stay there again if they paid me. They are both old and think that because they run a hostel that all the young girls will screw them. Stu got drunk and tried picking up my girlfriend several times and treated us both like sh*t when he didnt succeed. Also most days after work was at least an hour before I got picked up. Drunk Stewie also tried picking a fight with a guy because he wouldn't go to work. The guy was just passing through, he wasn't there to work! He has threatened to "knock ya out" to several people because he is always sitting there drunk with all his buddies. I would sleep in a dumpster before i ever stayed there.
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Total Combined Rating
for Cellblock Backpackers
64%
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