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Please see Bundaberg for other available Bundaberg hostels and accommodations.
Please see Bundaberg for other available Bundaberg hostels and accommodations.
Description
Grand Backpackers Details
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Map
Location/Contact| Address | 12 Queen Street, Bundaberg (Bundaberg North), Queensland, Australia |
| Location | |
| Website | None (if you know the URL of their website, tell us and we'll add it) |
| Telephone | +61 (7) 4154-1166 |
| Fax | +61 (7) 4154-2208 |
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
I have big hate for this hostel In terms of work, you need to arrive at the right time of year to get any. I arrived in Febuary and work was very limited for everyone. Although it started to pick up in march time the management were not very helpful when I kept pressing them for more work, "I'll do the best I can". The hostel is predominantly German or French, limited English folk, which wasn't too bad because for me it was nice to meet people from different places. It was a nice crowd of people. Management inlcudes Detlev, who usually sorts out the work list, biased towards certain travelers and seems quite moody, but will try and help when he can. Wayne, Really nice guy, will go out of his way to help you in any way he can. Barry: Patriotic Australian, fantastic bloke, really relaxed, will always be social and have a laugh with everyone. Rohan, Co-owner, not too bad, he will just do his job but doesn't get involved much in helping helping people out. Reese, Co-owner. The WORST person I have ever met! This is the main reason that anyone that is thinking about staying here, shouldn't. He WILL NOT help you in any way. He IS NOT lenient whatsoever. He is SO arrogant. No one in the hostel has ever said anything positive regarding Reese. Even the other management despise him. If you are a few days late with rent because the farm hasn't yet paid you, he will not hesitate to kick you out and call the police (it happened a couple of times whilst I was there). — Charlie , England (2012-04-10) Better then the Bundaberg average! This hostel has nice facilities, it was a motel, but now it's a backpacker hostel. The rooms are quite big, and almost all of them have their own kitchen and bathroom. When you open the door to your room you are outside, and here they have big wood tables where people hang out, eat etc. They have one tv room with one old tv! I enjoyed this place when i stayed here in 2010, NOTE that the comments from 2009 would not really apply because there is new owners now. When I stayed here 2010 Rohan (bald guy) was the owner, he wasn't to bad actually! Most of the time he was pretty nice and everyone was fairly happy! The only problem at that point was that the hostel didn't have enough jobs, so there was many people on the standby list. Things changed pretty quick, when Reeze entered the picture, Reeze is the son of the owner of City Center. Reeze sold his porsche to buy half of the hostel, so he and Rohan owned their own half. But Reeze seemed to take over it and started to run it his way, he overpower Rohan. One of the first things he did was to apply the new policy, you miss the buss you loose you job. So people that been on the hostel for a couple of month and got seek they lost their jobs, even though the farmers asked for that person, one guy called his farmer and said that the hostel told the farmer that he didn't want to go back to that farm. The second thing was the no alcohol policy, and it was really strict, if you got caught drinking a beer on the hostel area you get thrown out. People were not allowed to even store beer in their fridge. So from being a fairly relaxed hostel with happy backpackers it all changed, they started to spy on the backpackers, started to through people out something that was very uncommon before, something that is extremely uncommon in hostels and hotels all over Australia, but not in Bundaberg. At this point I had enough and left this hostel. The hostel is as far as I know still operated by the same people and comparing to other hostels this is not too bad, just have to be careful if you don't get a job, to try another hostel. — Hank M , Local (2012-01-11) Awful Management I stayed in this hostel for two months from August to October 2009. The management are really unfair. From the new management (Sam/Andrew) took over this hostel has gone downhill. Money is the biggest factor -- they care more about money than the backpackers and think they can treat you whatever way they like because you need work. They treat you well and are nice until you hand your rent money over then their attitude changes. They also probably work with some of the worst farms in Bundaberg -- you will either get paid per bucket or you won't get paid at all. Honestly if you want to earn money and have a good time stay away from this hostel. — Kathryn , Ireland (2009-12-05) Very Poor Management New Management have taken over and make this hostel a nightmare. The management really aren't fair! I know people who have not had any work for eight days because they were late for work (two minutes) or have made a bit of noise during the day. The way they sort who's working and who is not depends in what mood they are in. Very poor managers in all aspects. — Christine , UK (2009-10-27) The best working hostel in Bundaberg This is the best working hostel in the whole of Bundaberg and well organized. The facilities are really good. But it is primarily a working hostel and therefore go there when you want to earn money. Please make it a point to call them before you go there. The nature of work depends upon weather and the seasonal nature of crops. I stayed there for four months in the year 2008. The management is very pleasant to deal with and very fair in their dealings. Hats off to wayne and his team. — dhan.b , new zealander (2009-10-04) Run away if you can the hostel itself is not too shabby. it's clean. if you dont happen to sleep in the dorm and share the kitchen with nine hundred people you got your own en-suite with kitchen and bathroom, and other five fellas. it's a bit out of town, but who cares, it's bundy here. there's nothing you can actually do at night except for a couple of clubs. this the good part. the bad part -- for the management you are $160, treated like a slave, they choose your job. rude and unpolite it's like they are doing you a favour when you ask for something. they work with the most terrible farms you can ever imagine (aker's, godfrey's, ford's -- you get sworn at, yelled at worse than a pig). most of the work is on contract. so if you dont like it, you have to leave. i left. nobody i have stayed there with was making money (for a month, last july). every week i was having problems with my pay. it was like i had to ring the farm to make sure i would get my wage. just frustrating. i still havent got paid by mr ford, but sure as hell ill get my money. just dont go there (the other bps been told are not much better, probably worse). dont go to bundaberg at all. hard work (and god knows how hard was picking spuds six days or cherry tomatoes for 50 dollars) no money. mistreated, no fun. never, never, never again. ask around people -- they'll all tell you the same — stefano , italy (2008-10-21) This is the best backpackers in bundabarg I stayed in this backpackers for three months. I think this is by far the best backpackers in bundaberg actually. the rooms are kept clean by a cleaner. and the atmosphere is good as well. — MJ , japan (2008-07-28) Check this out and get work For everyone out there -- This hostel is wicked. I never ever stayed in a better one. I arrived with the idea to stay a couple of weeks. I left after three months and came again to work another two. Good people, good after work time. Check it out! — Achim (2007-09-21) good hostel. — A,men (2007-02-22) Hey guys, i just can say that the grand is the best hostel in bundaberg, i stayed in some of them. anyway, the hostel is very clean except when the workers are coming home, but thats normal in a fruit picking hostel. every dorm got six big beds (except one ten-bed i think), one kitchen each room (except for three dorms, they share one, but a bigger one, so its still very good), and everyone got an own bathroom (and again except the three dorms, they share one bathroom). then there is lots of work (thanks lou) and you get a free drive there. the hostel has a fine tv room with lots of dvds. i just can say, i stayed in that hostel for a bit more than three months and it was cool. — Henrik (2006-12-20) I stayed in this hostel for a bit more than 4 weeks, and had the best working time ever. I worked a lot, I was paid at hourly rate, so I earned a lot of money. I moved to this one from another hostel because I heard that I could find better work, which was totally true. The Grand backpacker is new, and everything is included -- swimming-pool, dvds, linen, cutlery. The place is built like a motel, so everyone is close to each other and you can meet a lot of great people. You need money in Bundaberg, your choice is done! — Pape (2006-11-28) The Grand Backpackers was a really friendly place with a very homely feeling to it. Lou, the manager, was so nice and helpful. Once you're in, you don't want to leave! — Anonymous (2006-11-14)