Koala Beach Resort - Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach

2 of 12

Address	336 Shute Harbour Road, Airlie Beach Queensland, Australia Map
Price	$25 for Dorm Accommodation $67 Double/Twin Accommodation Check Current Prices by Date Here

Location/Contact

Details

This is a VIP hostel. Show your VIP Backpackers membership card for a discount at check-in.

Their Description

Features

Kitchen
Lockers
24 Hour Free Hot Showers
Pool Table
Washing Machine (laundry)
Travel information provided
Bar
Food/Restaurant
Clothes Dryer
TV
Phones (public or in room)
Air Conditioning
BBQ
Swimming Pool
Lounge / Common space
Nightclub

The Hostelz.com Review

Koala Beach Resort is one of the three dominant backpackers located on the main street in Airlie Beach. It is conveniently located close to the Airlie Beach Lagoon, the grocery store, the main bus stop, pay phones, an internet cafe, liquor stores and the town's nightlife.

The building is in good condition and the dorm rooms are relatively clean, but not immaculate. This might be partly due to the amount of traffic that moves through the area in relation to the Whitsunday sailing trips.

A couple of dollars extra will get you an ensuite dorm room (6-7 share) with a sink and dinette area. The kitchen facilities are a bit sparse, and Koala's requires a $7 deposit for use of kitchen utensils/plates etc. Don't be surprised if you end up eating out quite a bit and spending quite a bit of money in Airlie Beach. In addition to the cost of the room, guests must pay $1 for linens with a $5 deposit. A $10 key deposit also applies.

Again, due to the high traffic moving through the building, there is often a line-up at reception. If you are catching a boat, bus, or plane, make sure you leave yourself ample time to check out. While the sheer size of Koala's detracts from the atmosphere at the hostel, you will be sure to find some great nightlife that makes up for the difference.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
February 2004

Ratings & Comments

2.1 Average from 36 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
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 Megan , Canada

July 2009

Not good
The staff were unfriendly, not very knowledgeable, and extremely slow! To simply check-in and out we stood for minutes at times without being acknowledged. They acted as though we were a nuisance. Six out of the eight computers were not working (upon my arrival and the day I left). Overflowing garbage in the middle of the the foyer was left for days, complete with rotting vegetables. Rooms smelled like urine. I entered an empty room to find a bunch of leftover food in the fridge and garbage on the floor. Broken towel rack just sitting on the floor in the bathroom (Repairs were heavily need all over the resort!). Pool looked disgusting. I asked one of the staff to check the time my shuttle arrived, and the incorrect time was written down. As a result I missed my shuttle and flight! They acted as though it was the shuttle company's fault (the shuttle company had the correct time logged into their computer). There was no apology, they just shrugged their shoulders and claimed there was "nothing they could do." They did not even offer to give me a room free of charge for the extra night I had to spend there. As a result I had to pay for a new flight. Unbelievable! Worst hostel I have stayed in throughout my travels. Cannot believe what ignorant people they choose to employ at that place.

Comment by Pez

January 2009

Fair
Private rooms are of a good size, relatively clean, a fair price. only complaint was that the sheets provided were stained. Staff were ok. Morocco's the bar there was pretty good, an event every night. Free meal voucher provided on arrival for use at the bar. Overall a good stay, place just needs a bit of a tidy up as things are getting a bit rundown. Not sure what the dorms are like through.

Comment by Aileen, Ireland

February 2008

Filthy, and awful staff!
Don't even know where to start. The kitchen is a joke -- filthy and tiny and really badly equipped. You have to pay for bed sheets. The rooms were filthy (we stayed in two different ones). Bedbugs. Huge cockroaches everywhere. Morrocco's, the bar, is an awful, tacky place with no amount of class whatsoever. The pool is dirty. And don't even get me started on the staff. They were all rude and didnt have a clue what they were doing, but one particular blonde girl on reception was the worst. She was only about eighteen years old and didn't care about her job at all, and made us feel like a complete nuisance when all we wanted to do was check in. They were all so rude and unfriendly and unhelpful. When we were trying to check in the transaction was mucked up by the clueless girl on reception, and then this other guy (Justin from Canada) came along to fix the mess she had made. He seemed to know what he was doing, and checked us into another room, and we were happy with that. Now here comes the best bit. Later that evening I got out of the shower to discover he had checked us into his own room! How convenient! He spent that night desperately trying to chat up first one of us and then the other, and pretty much completely ignored us the following day when he realised we werent up for constantly drinking with him. Lovely behaviour from the staff of a hostel! It's a pity about the state of the place, because it has a lovely layout and could be lovely if it wanted to -- as it is I'd just say avoid at all costs. Also avoid their boat on the Whitsundays, the Pride of Airlie -- just do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. we didnt get to see much of the Whitsundays at all, because all the crew were interested in doing was getting drunk, and the food was disgusting. Cheers for that lads!

Comment by Sarah, England

August 2007

Awful!
Do not stay here, unless you are a fan of bedbugs, cockroaches, and rats! It is by far the dirtiest hostel i've stayed in! I was eaten alive by bedbugs, the room was filthy, there were dead insects everywhere, and one poor girl literally had her bag eaten to bits by rats. I know hostels are cheap and you don't expect it to be the ritz but there is no need for a hostel to be that dirty, particularly when i have stayed in some really clean hostels!

Comment by faye and steve, england

May 2007

Filthy, rude staff, and not worth the money
Warning to all -- do not stay in this filthy, cockroach- and bedbug-ridden hole! This is putting it politely. Rooms are filthy, even the doubles which you pay quite a lot for are infested with cockroaches and god knows what else, plus broken glass on the floor (which we nearly trod on) and on complaining to the so called manager, we were told, "so what, I have cockroaches in my room." Absolutely disgusting service from reception staff (I would suggest a customer service course for all members). We were then allocated another room and on opening the door, we were greeted with an even filthier dorm (bearing in mind that we had paid for a double) and the stench of urine, not to mention the pile of soiled mattresses, on top of a bunk bed, which was falling apart. This place is a serious health hazard, we wish now that we had photographed the rooms and reported Koala's to health and safety. Stay well away, as far away as possible.

Comment by Katie

December 2006

Koala thoroughly let us down. The rotting fruit and stale beer smell meets you at reception and the whole outside area is messy and unkempt. The pool resembles a pond in colour and is out of order. Rooms dire. Most beds in our room had holes in the middle and therefore were very uncomfortable. Door also not on hinges! Had to pay for everything from a washing fee for linen to hiring pots and pans in addition to cutlery and crockery and a key deposit. Kitchen filthy too. Grossly understaffed all round and the people we had were not helpful.

Comment by Jody - Canada

May 2006

I enjoyed staying at Koala's. The people there were helpful with anything you needed, and it was an overall great atmosphere, besides everyone being pretty beat after their sailing trip! Pride of Airlie was the boat to be on, such a good time! Only bad party is small and broken down laundry facility, but the laundry place around the corner was cheaper anyways!

Comment by Jenny

March 2006

Rooms not very clean and kitchen was rubbish. Also this place is massive and hard to find your way around, especially at night when it is badly lit and no signs anywhere! Good location though and nice pool etc.

Comment by Jessica Grimm

March 2006

I don't really know how anyone can recommend this hostel... The rooms were bad: no aircon (it had one but it didn't really work), bad smell, fleas, you need to walk 10 min to get to your room from main street, leak in the roof (everytime it was raining, you heart this constant dripping sound which drives you carzy - if it hasn't been dripping on your clothes). And above all that the staff was really really unfriendly... Try to avoid koalas!!

Comment by Holly

February 2006

Decent hostel, our dorm had a kitchenette and was clean. Good location, although the main kitchen was a little dirty and nothing was provided to cook with.

Comment by Rob Martin

November 2005

I have visited the Koala Beach Resort on both my visits to Australia. Both times I found it to be value for money and a safe place to leave your pack if you take a boat trip. A lot of happy beered-up nights, thanks to the Koala's.

Comment by Antonia

October 2005

minging. $24 dollars a night and they still want to charge a fee for the bed linen. And a deposit. Beds are uncomfortable at best, falling apart at worst. Air-conditioner was ineffective and noisy. There's a $3 charge for luggage storage. The kitchen has nothing in it. Grubby. Shabby. Horrible.

Comment by Anon

October 2005

I can't think of any words to describe how disgusting this place is! It looks nice from the outset but the rooms smell badly of urine and there was an ant nest in our room, a rodent in another room and bedbugs in another. At $25 a night having to pay for linen is just unbelievable! I wouldn't advise anyone to ever stay at any of these resorts!

Comment by Naomi Dunnings

September 2005

It was ok here if you were just staying one night. It's not that cheap, though. It's probably better to look elsewhere.

Comment by Chris

August 2005

The room was not too clean and the staff didn't seem to have much of a clue what was going on. They also charge you three dollars a day to store your pack while you are away, even if it's one of their own tours; pretty shoddy really.

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