Noahs Backpackers

The best parts are the views, the location near the beach, shops and buses, and the friendly staff, who were happy to help when we asked. The room is tiny, but you get what you pay for, and the beds were comfortable enough for a decent sleep if you’re not a light sleeper. Other guests could be inconsiderate, with kids sometimes stampeding down the hall to rooms or bathrooms after a rough night. Wi-Fi was free and slow, though still usable. The girls’ bathrooms were the main problem for me: some showers had flimsy curtains you could peek through, and others had see-through doors with little privacy. I imagine this is easier to deal with if you brought swimmers you’re comfortable showering in. Noahs seems like a good budget option if those tradeoffs work for you.

Getting to the beach, restaurants and other amenities on foot was easy, and our room had a great view. The staff were friendly and helpful. The kitchen wasn’t especially clean, but it’s a hostel, so I didn’t mind much.

The beachside location is the one good thing I can say about Noah's backpacker. I changed rooms once during my stay, which made things a little better, but overall the place was disgusting and poor value. There were cockroaches everywhere, which felt unhealthy. When I told reception, staff said they knew about the ongoing problems in rooms 404 and 406 and couldn’t do much, though they thought the room I was moving to the next day might be better. I could put up with urine-smelling toilets and some dirt in the rooms, but cockroaches are a different matter. I definitely wouldn’t recommend staying here.

We were four girls sharing a private four-bed dorm, and the fresh linen we got on arrival made it feel clean. Bondi beach was right there in the view from our window. The bathrooms and toilets were clean, though a bit run down, and some of the doors wouldn’t shut.