Koala Beach Resort - Cairns

A great place to stay
really nice rooms, nice atmosphere over all, you can make a lot of friends if you want to but you have enough privacy in terms of room size that you can also do your own thing -- the staff were really helpful, only down is that it gets loud at night so if your trying to sleep and you're a light sleeper it can be tough, overall I'd stay here again.

Examples of the deposits: Sheets $20, with a $3 cleaning fee. If you take them back to get fresh ones, they charge you another $3. Pots and pans $20.00 (but get in early as they don't have that many to spare). Cooking box with cups, etc. $10. The staff at the desk are very, very rude. They will also charge you if you want them to take you to the airport. That's another $5 but it's not refunded and it doesn't run on time. I almost missed my flight. I was going to stay in Koala Hervey Bay but I have now cancelled.

My girlfriend and I had booked three nights accommodation through a travel agency and paid in advance. We paid 60 dollars a night. We planned on arriving after reception hours, which we had informed the hostel about twice, the latest time being the day before our arrival. We were told to call them when we showed up and someone would come and let us in. Nobody answered on any of the three different numbers provided. We had to find another accommodation for the first night, which wasn't easy at 12:30 a.m. When we asked for a refund for the first night they just told us to wait until they had talked to the manager. The third or the fourth time a guy called the manager in our presence. The manager only gave us a $45 refund and told us that the booking organization gets 15. Who cares? They should give us at least 60 and something extra for the trouble caused. Except for the extremely bad management of the hostel and the lack of staff initiative, the place was all right. But that hardly compensated us for what happened.

This hostel was excellent. The standard of hostels in Australia is high anyway but this was brilliant. It was no nice to have an en suite bathroom and kitchenette. That completely made my stay, and I went on to stay at Koala's in Hervey Bay. After three months of being back in the UK, I'm dying to go back!

I stayed here in July and it was good. Natalie and Rebecca were very helpful to me. I come back now and it is terrible. Rebecca is still there but that's all. Other staff people are rude and have nothing nice to say about anyone. They all complain about the manager who does nothing, and when I ask to speak to him he is not there. My room was very dirty. The kitchen is bad and they never clean it. I will not stay here again.

This place is massively overpriced for what it offers, and you pay a fortune in deposits. When we moved in they hadn't even cleaned the room from the previous people living in it. There's a kitchen in every dorm but we were not even offered crockery. The shower is good and the TV is cool, but that's it. Reception was unhelpful and rude. I couldn't wait to leave, to be honest.

The girls at the reception were awful. There was a new one every time, and if you asked one of them something, the others never heard about it. Everything you ask for needs a $5 or $10 deposit. The room was big but not really convenient. For example, it had an okay kitchenette but no table or chairs. The room smelled bad, too, even if it looked clean. And they always tried to sell me tours instead of just telling me which bus I could take. The only good thing about this hotel is that it is really near the lagoon. Sorry, but I really do not recommend this place.

We left Parkview and came straight here--what bliss. I thought I was checking into a 5-star hotel. The rooms are great, with bathrooms in all; Austar TV; new beds; clean, crisp sheets; and kitchenettes in all rooms. The atmosphere needs a little work, but if you want a laugh, go to reception and sit there and watch the girls behind the desk do their stuff. They joke with everyone that walks through the door and have a great BIG hello to one and all. They play silly games on each other and you can tell they love to be there. Nat and Bec basically run the show (though they're not the managers) and do a fantastic job. Nat knows her stuff on tours, and WON'T sell you anything you don't want. The communal kitchen is OK, it just needs more pots and pans. I've stayed in other Koala backpackers and this is the best one by far. Actually, room wise, it's the best in the world.