myOZexp Palmerston Lodge

Really good value, with comfy rooms that have fridges. The atmosphere was nice and the staff were friendly. Great location too. I’d recommend it without hesitation.

I found it a good place to meet people, with a large shared space and a yard that has a big table. It’s also close to the city centre. There was only a fan in the room, but it was enough overnight. The shared areas could have been cleaner, though they weren’t terrible. For the price, I had a positive stay.

Noise carried on until about 5am most nights, with shouting, slamming doors and general chaos. There was no staff on site. Check-in was online, and the one contact person stopped replying after 6pm, or earlier on weekends, so if your room or code caused a problem, you were on your own. Even after our code was changed, it seemed likely that it would soon become common knowledge again. The place felt completely unmanaged. We booked a private room at Palmerston in Northbridge, supposedly secured by its own access code. At 4am on our first night, someone entered using that code while my girlfriend and I were inside. They looked startled, shut the door and ran. I was awake by chance. If I hadn’t been, they could have taken our things. It made us feel that anyone could walk in, and that people who weren’t guests knew the codes. There were also squatters staying at the lodge who weren’t paying for rooms. The code was written on the inside of each room door, which seemed completely unsafe. When we told the manager, they said they’d check the cameras and change the code. Another guest who knew the hostel told us there were no cameras covering that area, so the manager’s claim about checking them seemed untrue. That guest also described an earlier case where a couple woke to find four strangers asleep on their floor after they’d entered the private room with its code, and police got involved. The place was extremely dirty as well. Our bedding smelled bad, we weren’t given towels, and the bathrooms were filthy. The only thing going for it is the location, close to the city and convenient for getting around Perth. This was easily the worst place I’ve ever stayed. It felt unsafe, dirty and unstaffed, and I wouldn’t recommend it. There are better, safer places nearby, and I wouldn’t trust my belongings there while out of the room.

I’m giving one star because I can’t give zero. This was the worst experience of my life. I’ve travelled to several countries and never come across a hostel like this. It was like a horror hostel, with months of grime built up and no real cleaning. The bathrooms were disgusting, and there were rats in both the kitchen and backyard. There was no security and the facilities were awful. The manager, Roxana, doesn’t even live in Australia and only gets in touch through Facebook. The room prices felt like a rip-off. I wouldn’t sleep there even for free. Sleeping in a park would feel more dignified than staying in that dump. I’d like to say something positive, but I can’t. Don’t even consider staying here. I absolutely don’t recommend it.