A fabulous hostel in the gorgeous Noosa (Noosa Backpackers Resort (Noosa))

Member Name: aylawarner

Product:	Noosa Backpackers Resort (Noosa)
Date:	26/05/09 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge spacious rooms, lots of computers, tour desk, free surf/bodyboards, cheap bar and food

Disadvantages: Staff didn't make enough effort to let us know about our tour being cancelled

There isn't a huge range of hostels to choose from in the small town of Noosa, which is in Queensland, Australia, just above Brisbane. We opted for the one that looked the nicest as all the prices were very similar and I am so glad we did pick this one.

Noosa Backpackers Resort was one of the best hostels we stayed in in Australia, not only because we made some really great friends there. As the other hostels do, Noosa Backpackers offers free pick-ups to and from town, both to pick you up when you arrive in Noosa, and to drop you into town on your stay there. The hostel is a little way out of the centre of town so you would be better off waiting for the free van as it will take you a good 20 minutes walking.

The hostel is located in a quiet residential area just along the big river which makes for a beautiful walk at any time of day. There is a shopping outlet a 10 minute walk away which has a huge supermarket where you can pick up your own supplies. The front of the hostel is covered in plants and you walk up a small path under the plants to get to into the hostel. At the end of the path, the rest of the hostel is all out in the open, with rooms going off on either side. The reception is the first thing you come to and there is also a travel information centre, an internet room with about 8 computers, a large kitchen and common area with a big TV and pool table, and the bar which is in the centre of the open area. The bar is one of the great things about this hostel where they offer great bargain meals - a pizza and a free beer or wine costs only $9 at happy hour and so we ended up having this almost every night. There is a restaurant which is attached to the hostel at the front, along the road, and is accessible to everyone, not just to members of the hostel. It is quite an upmarket restaurant and so the food and drink is quite expensive so we preferred to eat in the hostel's bar or make our own food in the kitchen. In the open area there is also a small swimming pool and a table tennis table.

The hostel offers all sorts of rooms from 4-8 person dorms, twins and doubles as well as family rooms. We booked an 8 person dorm as this was the cheapest at $28 per person. If you have a VIP backpackers card you can receive a discount of $2 and an extra $2 discount if staying for 3 nights or more. This brings the total down to $24 a night which is great value at around only £12 a night. We were a little apprehensive about staying in a dorm with so many people but the room was brilliant and huge with 4 sets of bunk beds laid out spaciously across the room. The floors were all marbled and very clean and we also had our own little kitchen area. Mind you, none of the kitchen appliances worked such as the cooker or fridge but we could use all the cupboards. I think the resort may have taken over some flats because the way the rooms were set out, and the addition of the kitchen, made it seem like they used to be flats or apartments. We had our own ensuite bathroom to share between the 8 of us in the dorm plus 2 guests in a double room which was attached to our dorm. The front door of the dorm was never used as this was round the back so you had to walk a longer way round, so everyone going in and out used the patio doors where we had a table and chair set to sit outside on.

The travel centre was great and you could book up everything to do in and around Noosa from here including Australia Zoo (Steve Urwin's zoo which is a must see) and canoeing in the Everglades. Throughout the day they offer free use of surfboards, bodyboards and kayaks which makes for a great and cheap day down at the beautiful beach.

The only one problem we had with the hostel was that, after booking up a trip with them and getting up early in the morning to do the trip, we then found out that the trip had been cancelled and the organisers had called the hostel to let them know. However, no one had let us know at the hostel which I was so angry about. When I asked them why no one had told us they said they left a note on the front door which we later found. However, as I said above, no one ever used the front door and the staff knew this so how were we expected to see it. Plus, the note had only asked us to see reception - by the time we got back to the hostel the previous night, reception was closed, and in the morning we left too early before reception was open so, even if we had seen the note, there would have been no one there to tell us that it had been cancelled.

There were some great characters staying there, some who live there permanently, including a guy in his 80s who didn't fail to tell each new arrival at the hostel how he had fought in the war and how he now has no man parts due to an illness. He would sit out in the open area playing opera songs loudly on his old fashioned stereo. He was one of those people who couldn't help but make you laugh.

Having heard from others who'd stayed in different hostels, this sounded by far the best one. I wouldn't fail to stay there again - the place was brilliant - great rooms and facilities, helpful and friendly staff, and to top it all off we made some great life-long friends there who we ended up travelling the rest of Australia with.

Summary: The best hostel in Noosa