Ningaloo Coral Bay Backpackers

Coral Bay is beautiful. The accommodation is very basic and shared, but it’s cheap and cheerful. Each bed has its own locker, which you can lock if you bring a padlock. The toilets and kitchen are about 30 seconds from the room.

I felt safe and comfortable travelling solo as a woman, and the staff were friendly. On my last day, they let me store my luggage and keep using the kitchen and bathroom after check-out, which was great. It’s also really handy for bus stops, shops, and the beach. I stayed in a basic but clean two-bed dorm with a fan, A/C, and a small lockable cupboard. The shared bathroom and kitchen were okay, and the photos matched what I found. Good value, and I’d recommend it :)

The location near all the shops was fine. The room setup, though, was not: one plug for something like 12 beds, and you have to make your own bed and strip the sheets when you leave. There’s also a $10 blanket deposit. Why isn’t that included automatically? Expecting people to sleep with only a top sheet in winter is crazy. The staff member I mean was specifically the girl with braces. She was really rude and condescending to our tour guide and kept creating unnecessary problems. She rubbed our whole group the wrong way. Unfortunately, this is the only hostel in town.

The girl with braces at reception was nasty!!!!! There was no customer service at all, and she made my group and me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable at the backpackers. This place only gets business because it’s the only backpackers available. My tour guide was lovely and tried hard to fix the situation and make sure we still felt looked after. I can’t believe this lady still works there.