Torquay Backpackers is four floors of dorms and double rooms. Weekly rates are available. The beds are comfortable and there are lockers and sinks in most rooms. The hostel is colourful, but that doesn't entirely cover up the fact that it's in quite an old state. The sign in the bathroom is an indication: "the drains clog often as they are 150 years old." Frankly, the place would look a bit dodgy if it weren't for the yellow and blue walls which cheer up the atmosphere.
A major downside is the noise from the common room where music is played, from the guests walking and talking around the hostel, and from the street (simple glazing windows). Ask for a first or second floor room facing the back. The sinks seem to communicate, so when someone uses their sink in an adjacent room, it bubbles up in your own room. The wooden floors creak over long distances, often all the way from one side of the building to the other. Doors slam easily, and when someone opens the door to the dorm next door, it sounds just like they were entering your own room. This hostel may be a nightmare for light sleepers, so don't forget your earplugs.
There is one bathroom per floor, i.e. a room with shower, toilet, and sink, meaning you can't use the toilet if someone is in the shower. Each guest receives a token for seven minutes of warm water for each night that they stay. The bathrooms are dry and clean in the evening but in the morning, the lino (plastic) floors are soaked.
There is free coffee and tea in the kitchen located in the basement next to the common TV room and dining area. The dining area has wooden benches and tables, arranged in a mixture of picnic and pub style. The dining room is the only smoking area in the hostel, which is unforunate if you're trying to eat there! Pots, pans, cutlery, and leftovers are available in the kitchen. There are gas hobs, a microwave, two fridges, and food storage boxes in the back of the room for the guests' use. It's a spacious and well maintained, clean kitchen, a nice place to cook and socialise.
All in all, we wouldn't come back mainly because of high noise levels. On the other hand, for deep sleepers, this hostel is alright with a convenient central location and a nice kitchen and common areas.
— Exklusive Hostelz.com Übersicht
October 2005
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