Cronulla Beach Backpackers

The services were alright, but this didn’t feel like a YHA-quality hostel. I’ve stayed in a lot of hostels around the world, and this was one of the worst because basic rules weren’t kept. Parties carried on until 3 am with music blaring, and people smoked in the laundry room, including weed. I have no issue with weed itself, but I get tested at work regularly, so that made me nervous. By the middle of the night the shared facilities were pretty much wrecked. Some rules need enforcing so everyone can enjoy their stay. Unless you’re there to drink and party all night, I’d avoid it.

It’s under five minutes from the beach, and since it’s the only hostel in town, you get to know people. The hostel is fairly quiet. The lounge and kitchen are mostly clean because they’re cleaned each morning, though the rooms aren’t. Wi-Fi is pretty slow and costs extra. There are big lockers with a safe for each bed, which is good, and plates, bowls and cutlery are available if you leave a deposit. It does the job, but it wasn’t the best hostel I’ve stayed in. 2/5

The location was very good, and when we managed to find a staff member, they were friendly. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this hostel. It was the dirtiest place I’ve stayed: our room stank, the bin hadn’t been emptied, and there was someone’s bloody Band-Aid on the floor. The loose metal furniture seemed dangerous, and the TV was partly broken. The beds were smelly, uncomfortable, disgusting and small. We thought we’d booked a private double room, but it felt like a dorm with bunk beds. The shower was like something out of a horror film, and the bathroom had mould and some undefined smelly stuff. They’d left us only half a toilet roll. The whole room was run down, like management had given up on the place.

If you’re looking for a backpackers in Cronulla, go elsewhere and pay less. The location was fantastic, but the hostel was dirty and neglected, and I’d give it 10/10 for not staying again. We booked five girls into a six-share female room, yet were split between mixed-gender dorms because long-stay residents, some living there for over three months, had priority. When we asked if anything could be done to keep us together, we were told to take the beds offered or leave. Even though we’d booked and paid for a female dorm, beds weren’t guaranteed. Long-stay tenants had left mess across all the rooms, including day-old food and week-old dirty coffee cups in the bathrooms. The bathrooms looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in weeks, and the kitchen had piles of food and dishes meters high. Nobody seemed to enforce the rules about cleaning up after yourself.